Here we go again. We’ve been in this mind space before. Many times. We’ve been shocked, dismayed, heartbroken, crushed, dumbfounded, angry, bitter — I can keep going with a lexicon of the reactions which are common every single time there is senseless bloodshed and death from an automatic weapon.
We keep saying with each episode that maybe “this is the one” the mass shooting that will somehow turn the tide. And it never is. That said, something’s gotta give, just like the song says. We are in dystopia right now. It’s not one mass shooting, space of time, then another. No, it is mass shootings on the same day. And we’ve had seven in one weekend.
The shootings are like labor pains, they’re coming faster and closer together. I don’t even want to speculate what they’re giving birth to. Watching the news these days is like one of those supernatural horror movies where Satan comes back to rule, Rosemary’s Baby with an AR-15 and bump stock.
The American right-wing mindset. If you aren’t heavily armed with an arsenal of war, you are a slave. pic.twitter.com/OSNZJLkJL0
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 7, 2023
Your first two sentences are incredibly wrong and naive, and your third sentence is nonsensical drivel.
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 7, 2023
Here is another thought I found worthwhile.
From Noel’s Notes ‘Appetite for Destruction’ sign-up here: https://t.co/f2om85qFPR pic.twitter.com/j79pAZON5E
— NoelCaslerComedy🌙 (@caslernoel) May 7, 2023
In my life I have been friends with the veterans of different wars, WWII, Korea, Vietnam. They’ve told me stories. They all shared the shock of being in a war zone, playing poker one night, or watching a movie, whatever, with a certain group of people and then the next night, not everybody was there. Some of them were dead.
That’s a pretty chilling idea to contemplate, but the fact is, we now live in a society where there’s enough gun play that you don’t know when you go to the market if you’re going to make it home. You don’t know when your kid goes to school if s/he’s going to come home that afternoon. Your spouse might never come home from work.
The level of tragedy from guns is mounting. Anybody who doesn’t think so is a damn fool.
Here’s what happened this weekend. Seven shootings. Raw Story:
CNN reported Sunday afternoon that in Chico, California, six people were shot and one died, a 17-year-old young woman.
“The victims included the 17-year-old girl who died; a 21-year-old man who was admitted into an area hospital and is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries; a 20-year-old man who has been discharged from the hospital with non-life threatening injuries; a 19-year-old man who was admitted into an area hospital and is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries; an 18-year-old man who was discharged from the hospital with non-life threatening injuries; and another 17-year-old girl who was admitted into an area hospital and is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries,” the report listed.
Gunfire erupted in a restaurant Friday night in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, leaving one 19-year-old young man dead and six others injured, WLOX reported Saturday. Most of those shot were able to be released the following day except for one 19-year-old young lady who was still recovering. Police believe that it was gang-related, but those injured were innocent bystanders.
The Columbus Dispatch reported three separate shootings in Columbus, Ohio, left two dead after the weekend.
The report cited the popular nightspot North High Street, from First Avenue to Goodale Street, where one incident occurred on Friday. […]
Another shooting happened in Miami Beach over the weekend, with one dead and two injured. Because only three people were involved, it doesn’t meet the four-victim mass shooting requirement. That would have brought the weekend shooting rate to ten.
“The club’s security ran out to the street. The women ran out of the club crying and were all shaken up,” an individual told WSVN, but did not want to be identified on camera. They tried calm the down. Due to all the noise, the gunshots couldn’t be heard. It was really bad, really bad.”
About an hour later, early Saturday at 3:30 a.m., officers responded to another report of shots fired in the 1400 block of St. Clair Avenue. Five people had gunshot wounds, and one person, Taylin Roland, 28, died at the scene. Investigators believe that another man, Keith Pleasant, 29, was killed by a self-inflicted wound. He later died at the hospital.
Six others were taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive, with only one remaining.
A third shooting broke out in Columbus a little over an hour after the second shooting related to an argument. At approximately 4:40 a.m., shots were reportedly fired in the 500 block of East Whittier Street. David Davis, 36, was found with a gunshot wound. He died just after 5 a.m., however. A suspect was identified, but the person wasn’t arrested as of late Saturday morning.
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, had a shooting early on Sunday morning that left a 17-year-old young woman dead, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
“A group of people were reportedly gathered at the park when an altercation began, and someone started shooting,” police said in a news release. “Both of the victims were transported from MLK Park to Jefferson Regional Medical Center by personal vehicle. Two other people with non-life threatening injuries resulting from the incident were also treated at JRMC.”
An underage suspect was released, and police are unsure of what the motive was or any other details.
Two people were killed in St. Louis, Missouri, Sunday, and two others that were injured survived, KMOV4 reported.
“SLMPD says this shooting happened around 2 a.m. Sunday morning in the 2100 block of Branch Street. Two female victims, 18 and 17, were pronounced dead on scene. In addition, two other 18-year-old victims were taken to the hospital for treatment of their gunshot wounds,” said the report. […]
According to The Natchez Democrat, the Natchez shooting happened in the parking lot of a nightclub. No other information has been released as many of those involved are minors.
The Vicksburg shooting that left four injured was dismissed by police as something they could have stopped, WAPT reported.
“I think when these people just finally made up their mind, it’s what they wanted to do, they were going to do it whether we were there at the time, Vicksburg police, or security was in the parking lot. They were going to do what they were going to do to try to accomplish their goal,” said Vicksburg police Chief Penny Jones.
“I think people just tend to react on their emotions without thinking about the consequence,” said Zach Nord, an individual who said he heard the incident as it unfolded.
There are people who are emotionally unhinged who have weapons of war at their disposal. That is not a histrionic statement. That’s a plain fact.
I keep posting this because when I first found it out I couldn’t believe it.
But it is true.
The leading cause of death for CHILDREN in The USA today is gunshot.
This fact does not apply to any other country, including actual war zones in Ukraine, Yemen, or Sudan.
Nowhere else on earth risks the lives of CHILDREN in this way- let alone their mental health.
But apparently the gun manufacturer’s profits are more important here, in the richest country there has ever been.
Perhaps it’s time to put as much effort into the war against guns as the fascists put into the war on drugs.
This is your brain on drugs.
This is your brain after being hit by a .223 round.
F4ck the republiCLOWNS. And gutless democrats….
The fascists actually discount the statistic on the death of children by stating that if you don’t count the black kids it is not so bad. They are beyond being monsters. But hey, racism is all they’ve got in their gym bag. Pure filth.
I am so f’ing tired of the politicians who blame it on everything BUT the firearms, and who insist that nothing can be done.
Gee, the way I understand things, the President of the United States is actually the ceo of every company incorporated in the United States.
That means that the President can actually shut down any “corporation ” in America.
Why not just shut them down? F4ck the “shareholders”.
I’m sorry but you’re woefully misinformed. I don’t know where you got your “understanding” but it’s WRONG.
The government is only allowed to take such extreme actions under VERY LIMITED situations (usually wartime and, even then, it’s typically only to effectively make CERTAIN corporations subject to specific wartime needs).
The type of government you’re thinking of is a FASCIST society (or even a Communist society).
Really? You appear to be mistaken. I am sure that if I wanted to start building nuclear weapons, I would be shut down quickly. Case in point, the marijuana industry.
Why are marijuana retailers under more operating restrictions than gun manufacturers? According to you, those actions must be illegal…
Then we have the pharmaceutical industry, the auto industry and any number of other industries that must comply with government regulations or they get shut down.
I remember when m16’s were manufactured by gm’s hydromatic division in warren Michigan. They had a separate secure entrance and the facility was actually run by the Army. How is some sh1t hole company allowed to produce the same hardware?
My bet is you don’t understand the 2nd amendment either….
Ptg And what of the thousands of fellow Americans who earn their daily bread in the manufacture of these ever deadlier and deadlier weapons? How then can the nation defend its interests in the world without new and then newer weapons? Shutting them down is just a knee jerk reaction at best I guess, it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny well.
You are essentially correct, but the mention of a Communist society is jarring. Fascism is inherently uthoritarian, whereas capitalism, socialism nd communism are based on economiacs. Any of them can also be authoritarian, but any of them can also be democratic/anti-authoritarian.
Sure, this is a question of semantics. But it is semantics, and the failure of poorly educated people too understand the actual meanins of words, which is one of the main reasons why we can’t have nice things.
Maybe when parents and concerned citizens start picketing gun shops, making it harder to go in and buy a gun, it will slow down.
When states that have stricter gun laws start suing the states that have allowed the purchase of firearms that then cross the state lines, it will slow down…much like Idaho making it a felony to assist an underage woman cross into states that allow abortions.
If a firearm was purchased at your store is used to commit a crime in another store, you, the store owner, are guilty of a felony and, as such, lose the right to possess firearms, much less sell them.
Good thoughts, William. But when it makes it up to the SC, Justice Thomas will say “You have no standing.” “Why, sir?” “‘Cuz you weren’t the person killed by the gun.” “But if I’m dead, how can I sue?” “See, now you’re beginning to understand…”