This is one of those moments where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry and the tension is so high from the awfulness of recent events that you simply scream and start throwing things. At least that is how I feel upon hearing this nonsense from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation chief David Rausch, saying that “prayers” are being offered in the wake of six people being senselessly gunned down in Nashville today — and calling for more.
Gee, that’s grand. Now that we know that’s been done, we can heave a sigh of relief and go back to what we were doing before the latest horrific shooting tragedy in this country happened and wait for the next one. Mediaite:
“Again I want to echo what chief has said in reference to the great support and the great teamwork that has been taking place here and, as well as sending our heartfelt prayers to the families, to this community of these victims,” Rausch began. “Now, I know there’ll be people who want to criticize us for prayers. But that’s the way we do that in the South, right? We believe in prayer and we believe in the power of prayer. And so, our prayers go out to these families.”
Rausch believes in the power of prayer and I believe in the power of bullets. One cannot wish the other away. Bullets, and the guns that fire them, are tangible, deadly things and thinking about them, wishing about them, will do nothing.
And I hate to be a killjoy, but if all their *%#^$ prayers did any good, wouldn’t it have stopped the shootings long ago? Let me be clear: I’m not knocking prayer or the spiritual dimension of things. I have seen people of faith weather many storms and churches do much good. There’s no argument there. But expecting a mere prayer to take the place of actual human work, with two hands, is ludicrous.
It’s like the head of some congregation saying, “Let us pray for a new wing to the church,” and then doing nothing to fundraise, hire architects, builders, get permits, etc. The new wing isn’t going to suddenly just appear one day. But evidently a cessation to gun violence is expected to.
It was black comedy a few years ago to suggest that the day would dawn when we would have daily shootings in America, more than 365 per year. It’s no longer a joke. We’ve been there for a while.
I guess gunplay is the same as the lottery in this day and age. Somebody wins the lottery. The odds may be astronomical, but somebody wins it. Likewise, somebody wins the gun lottery as well. If it’s the wrong day, and your number is up, you can be dead by nightfall through no fault of your own. All you need to do is be at the wrong place at the wrong time when some overwrought looney finally snaps. Then you’re gone. You’re a statistic.
But don’t worry. MAGA, the NRA, and the law enforcement folks in the south will pray for you.
[photo: Johnathan Matisse, AP]
That’s the way they do it in the south. Well, yeah, and one hell of a lot of mass shootings happen in the south so we can see just how effective all that t & p is. If you’re expecting anything other than stupidity from southerners, your expectations are out of whack.
Here’s the thing xtians don’t understand: this is our world. We are responsible for what goes on. It’s all on us. t & p’s without actions is so much bullshit we’re knee deep in the crap. Let’s hope our new young voters and the up and coming ones truly want nothing to do with the shit show that is xtianity-we’re pretty fucked if they’re lying.
And you’re absolutely correct Ursula: if their t & p’s did any fucking good, we would not have all these mass shootings.
That’s why the south is still pretty much stuck in the early 20th century: all y’all pray a lot, and think that’s a solution to everything.
Fuck those lying, sanctimonious, religious hypocrites. I spent four years with credible Biblical scholars, my main professor having previously taught at Davidson and Princeton. I am a southern boy myself, and these fuckers have belief systems they just make up on the fly. They couldn’t tell you anything concrete about the cultures, languages, mysteries, evolution, etc., of the Bible. Hell, they worship a word, ‘God’. So, the mystery of the universe is contained in three letters. Really? I guess the word ‘ocean’ sums up the reality of the water covering the earth. When Genesis has a little exchange between the reported writer Moses and the burning bush, where he asks, ‘what is your name?’ “I am that I am” was the reply. Boy! That really clears things up! Jesus was reported to make the point that only those who followed his commandments were his disciples, not those who just prayed a good game for public consumption. That’s precisely his criticism of the Jewish religious leaders. They had the Torah down pat, with all of their rules, but mistreated the poor and downtrodden. These supporters of 400 million guns on the streets are responsible for the situation we are in. Despite thousands of children massacred in our country over the years, they support the gun lobby and take their blood money. So, exactly WHO are these asswipes praying to? The NRA to keep the blood money flowing? The basic problem with our fucking country is SHALLOWNESS. If I squeeze my eyes tight, and flap my lips in a solemn tone, then, somehow I’m in contact with the creator of the universe. Oh, and all my evil shit is ‘forgiven’. Horseshit! Especially when its done in public, again, another reported no no from Jesus. I’m sick of their shit as children’s dead bodies pile up! From one southern boy to another…take your faux religious crap and stick it up your ass. The golden rule exist across many cultures and religions. You want YOUR kids to come home from school. Tragically, the poor families of Sandy Hook and now this 3rd grade class won’t ever see their kids again. So get off your evil hypocritical asses, and start passing regulations to get these fucking weapons off our goddamn streets! Otherwise, from one southern boy to another…just shut the fuck up! Oh, and if my lovely six year old adopted daughter gets shot in the first grade, I can’t promise I will remember the golden rule. I may go Old Testament on your asses. Then someone can pray for you.
From what I’ve read elsewhere, the school was a Presbyterian private school.
Last I heard, Presbyterians are part of that Christian collective.
To be very frank and probably insensitive here, it looks like somebody didn’t “think and pray” hard enough before the shooting, so why do these morons keep thinking that “thoughts and prayers” will do any good AFTER a shooting?
His “prayer” is something like this: “Dear God. I pray for your forgiveness for all the people who died today, especially those kids because I joined with others to fight as hard as I can to make guns, including weapons of war that weren’t designed for hunting or even home defense but rather to kill other human beings. i know fetishes are weird and ‘dirty’ but in my defense could you maybe cut me some slack because I have a GUN fetish instead of one for young girls in school uniforms or stripper type high heel footwear. Ane while we’re on the subject of guns haven’t you regretted even once that your won Jeebus qne his followers had fully automatic assault weapons? Just asking. It’s awful what he went through. Only Trump has been treated worse! Anyway, I’m sorry so many people including kids just trying to have a normal day in school get murdered because I and my cohorts know that in your heart you believe it’s every American’s right to possess and carry around ANY type of GUN that floats their boat. So, if by some tiny chance, tinier than even his little mushroom headed dick our new Savior Trump is wrong and maybe we should enact real, meaningful gun control and save countless lives by doing so you’ll forgive me. In Trump’s (and Jeebus’ too) name I pray…”
THAT is the type of prayer this asshat and his ilk pray.
Another mass shooting? The day must have a ‘y’ in it.
And still. THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH OF CHILDREN, IN THE USA, IS GUNSHOT.
The only country on earth where this is true, even war zones Yemen and Ukraine have a lower deathrate.
How long can this madness continue?
Their prayers are about as effective as a sinner who goes to confession every week but continues to commit the same sins over and over. Prayers are not going to help this situation when guns are being idolized by the gqp, and AR-15 pins are worn by the representatives to these gqp states. Stop the gun madness and pray that the courts will come to their senses, stop taking money from NRA and other hate groups, and work to pass some laws to prevent this killing of innocent people. Maybe start praying for guidance to to the right things rather than the things that put the most money in their pockets. WWJD comes to mind here. They don’t remember the teachings of Christ because they are not Christians. They pose with guns and then offer thoughts and prayers? Nope, doesn’t work. Don’t tell me you’re Christian and then act like this. Just don’t.
In the movie Billy Jack, he being a marshal arts ex-green beret, he walks into the ice cream shop, where the mayor’s son and his huge friend are bullying the local American Indian kids from a local school. They punch one kid and then pour flour over his head. They stop when Billy walks in knowing who he is. Billy, when he sees what’s going on, takes off his hat and says: Jean tells me I need to learn to control my temper. But when I see these beautiful children humiliated like this…well…I just want to go Beserk! He then proceeds to kick their asses. 20 million assault rifles on the streets of America thanks to the Guns Over People party! Then they demonize everyone who isn’t a hypocritical, white, straight, faux religious ‘christian’, essentially putting All of us in the crosshairs. Goddamn any country where the leading cause of death for children is gunshot. Goddamn this country to Hell! Wait…we already live in Hell. The real question is what the hell are the rest of us willing to do about it?
There is something called a “sin of omission.” Nor!pmally a sin is something you shouldn’t. have done but did anyway. In a sin of omission, you fail to do something.
TN is guilty of a,sin of omission.