Fifty-eight people dead, hundreds wounded. Another tragedy in America.
The news media is already having a field day. You can already go to the various news sites and see multiple stories all saying the same thing. We really do not know anything yet, but they are going to fill up our space with stories that concentrate on different facets of what we do not know. Story after story, all of them saying that they do not really know anything yet.
Right behind them, you can feel the politicians waiting to make their statements. One jumped in prematurely, Hillary Clinton. But, you can tell that they are lining up. But, they are waiting to see which way to jump. What triggered the gunman? Was he Muslim? Was he an immigrant? Was he a veteran? The politicians are waiting to check the boxes on their answer sheet in order to know what they are supposed to say. And that is because every tragedy must be spun to either support their viewpoint or to deflect from their viewpoint.
The rest of us are probably beyond heavy shock. And that is a sad statement in and of itself. When I was younger, the Texas tower massacre was an inconceivable tragedy. The whole country mourned. People thought about the story for weeks. Now, this tragedy will simply be another story that lasts a few days.
What will be lacking will be in-depth analysis of the what, who, why, when, where. And, for the few who do those analyses, they will either not be published or will not be read. (Or worse, some troll will simply denounce the studies as being biased simply because they do not agree with them.)
I would like to make some deep point about the shootings. Sadly, deep points can no longer be made because there are few to hear them. It reminds me of that old pseudo-zen saying, “Does a tree make a sound when it falls if there is no one to hear it?” I have the same question about deep analyses of situations today. Given that there is no one listening, is a deep analysis really a deep analysis?
I have no deep point to make. Another day in America. Another mass shooting in America. News media and politicians circling like vultures to grab what scraps they can. Another set of preset positions being spouted in Facebook, etc., with everyone accusing every one of [fill in the blank]. No one is listening; nothing will change. “‘Vanity all is vanity’, saith the Preacher.”
How many have to die before the people insist on legitimate reasonable gun restrictions. The reason what you have stated is so very true is simply because nothing is ever done about it because the gun lobby is too strong and well-funded.
I didn’t see Hillary’s statement but when you have said the same thing every time, how is it premature? We will all wring our hands and say we can’t do anything about it but “thoughts and prayers” and say “Next!” when every other nation on earth has managed to do just that. Just like the country bassist now an avid fan of gun control, it doesn’t matter until it touches you. I guess if the idea of 20 6 year olds blown to bits didn’t move our populace, we are pretty much without hope.
It troubles me that gun control is the first thing mentioned, when in America day to day gun violence is much worse in areas that have gun control, like Chicago and New York, where an unarmed populace is easy prey. I also have friends of Eastern European background who are quick to remind me that totalitarian takeovers began with disarming the people.
There is no easy solution. Criminals and crazies won’t obey gun control laws.
Both sides are stuck in their positions. There is some good polling that shows that there is good majority support for certain changes. For instance, if we go to full reciprocity, a vast majority is in favor of standardizing, like we did with driver’s licenses, so that people who wish to take their gun to another state would need a photo ID, training, etc.
There is also support for background checks, mental health checks, etc. None of these do away with gun ownership, but they do put some reasonable protections for other citizens.