Again …

Posted on by under Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

It happened again, my friends.  Twelve lives … snuffed out with a pull of a trigger.  We just keep killing each other … for no reason or any reason … it’s so easy, isn’t it?  Go to Wal-Mart, buy a gun.  Mad at the boss?  Hey, let’s go shoot a few co-workers … that’ll show ‘im!  Mad at the wife?  Hell, just shoot ‘er!  Bet she’ll never burn the rice at supper again!

In 1787, the Founding Fathers as we’ve come to refer to them, made a couple of big mistakes.  The first was that they believed that humans had consciences and would use them.  The second, they failed to foresee how the citizens of this country would develop a love, an obsession really, of guns and all things that go ‘boom’.

Did you know that there were 47 multiple victim shootings in May, according to the Gun Violence Archive? Just last weekend, nine people were hurt, and one was killed in the neighboring city of Chesapeake, Virginia when gunfire broke out at a party.

For those who may be tempted to send meaningless ‘thoughts and prayers’ to the families of the victims in Virginia Beach, let me suggest that instead you send apologies.  Yes, apologies. We have had opportunity after opportunity to elect people to office who were committed to implementing stricter gun regulations, but time after time we have failed to do so.  Instead, we send people to Congress who are in the pockets of the National Rifle Association, people who place the value of the right to own a gun above the value of the right to life, so the blame lies squarely on our shoulders.

Our apologies to the victims and their families …

  • Christopher Kelly Rapp
  • Ryan Keith Cox
  • Laquita C. Brown
  • Tara Welch Gallagher
  • Mary Louise Gayle
  • Alexander Mikhail Gusev
  • Katherine A. Nixon
  • Richard H. Nettleton
  • Joshua A. Hardy
  • Michelle “Missy” Langer
  • Robert “Bobby” Williams
  • Herbert “Bert” Snelling

victims

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37 thoughts on “Again …”

  1. My wife and just left Virginia Beach on our road trip the day before the shooting. We were visiting a retired police detective who told us she was hearing a strange amount of suspicious chatter on her police radio. Who would have thought that this seemingly quiet tourist town would display such “ramped” up police interest? I can honestly say that this occasion was the first time in our three month journey where I sensed an unsafe presence in a city.

    I

    Liked by 1 person

    • How frightening! Yes, Virginia Beach is a quiet tourist town, but the insanity in this country today knows no boundaries … it is widespread. As far as I know, they haven’t figured out a motive yet … these are becoming frightening times … you just don’t know what people are thinking, who is carrying a gun … I’m glad you and your wife are okay.

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  3. My heart breaks for the victims and families, and yes we MUST apologize for not doing enough to affect change and prevent more mass murders from happening. Perhaps campaign finance reform to stop accepting donations from harmful entities like the NRA and gun manufacturers. Problem is our greedy politicians will block such legislation b/c it’s simply against their interests, to hell with the ppl.
    Totally agree with your sentiments Jill, abiding by my faith in humanity I’ll offer prayers of healing to the victim’s families, more significantly I pray that our legislators begin to see the light, acknowledge the error of their ways, and denounce unclean blood money from the NRA.
    Or perhaps Gronda is correct, laws will change only when gun violence personally affect our elected officials and the elite class who has real influence on gov’t policy. We can only pray, b/c anything else we do falls on deaf ears. 😦

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Jill, new signs are needed at our airports, “Welcome to America, you are in our thoughts and prayers.” And, customs people will ask visitors to sign a waiver confirming they are entering at their own risk.

    Dear Senstor, it is obvious we have a gun death problem in America. How many more lives must be lost before you do rhe right thing and act?

    Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • I especially agree with asking visitors to sign a “Enter at your own risk” waiver! These shootings are not going to end until we elect people with the guts to stand up to the 2nd Amendment crowd and the NRA. I don’t think there is much hope of the current batch of nudnicks in the Senate changing their tunes … I say get them out and let’s start over!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Reverence for life. People used to have it, they lived by it. Not anymore. Just look at the shootings, the disregard for the environment, the intolerance of immigration. And we must not confuse that reverence with religion. Religion betrayed us generations ago. We, mankind, need to find the inner voice which says, “namaste – I honor the divine in you” and then extend that reverence to all of creation.🙏 (just as few thoughts from a tired old man)

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    • Agreed. There was a time when the mass shootings such as we see today were unthinkable. But … there were other humanitarian atrocities in those days, like Jim Crow laws, lynchings, etc. I think humans have always had a propensity for violence toward others, just in a variety of manifestations. I think that people respect life within their own parameters. Some of us have broader parameters than others. After so many thousands of years, if we haven’t found that inner voice, I have lost hope that we ever will. Some of us already have it, others have closed it out. Meanwhile, from a tired old woman to a tired old man: Namaste, my friend.

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  8. It appears that the NRA is in disarray these days. I think the Parkland kids have been wonderful in what they’ve been doing on the national stage. Normally I wouldn’t root for an organization to crumble. But the NRA? I hope they go down…fast and hard. Once that happens I think we might start to see some action from the spineless politicians. This is beyond tragic. We have become the laughing stock across much of the civilized world. Most of the West can’t comprehend what happens over here. Elect more woman!! Elect more gun-control advocates! Impeach Trump…….had to add that last one….

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    • I’ve been meaning for a month or so to write a piece about the current state of the NRA, ever since they evicted Ollie North! They are in a state of disarray, but unfortunately not likely to crumble any time soon, I fear. Like you, I applaud the young people who have stepped up to the plate as a result of the Parkland shootings and take heart in the knowledge that they are our future. Meanwhile, though, at the current rate, we won’t have a future. Those who place the 2nd Amendment even above the lives of their children have no moral compass and will continue to support the NRA and politicians who take money from them in order to squelch any attempts at sensible gun control. Sure, we are the laughingstock of the Western world, and not only because of our utterly ignorant gun laws, but also because of our equally ignorant ‘president’! Sigh.

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      • It just goes to show you Jill…the majority of Americans are for universal background checks and other common sense reforms…and we can’t get it done. I keep waiting for the turning point and it never occurs. Beyond disappointing

        Liked by 1 person

          • as someone on twitter pointed out, ” The evil killer in Virginia Beach used two legally purchased handguns to kill all those innocent people. What new gun laws would’ve stopped him? None.”

            Liked by 1 person

            • It might well be that better background checks, or competence testing might have kept the guns out of his hands. We’ll never know, and I admit that unless we ban them altogether and go house-to-house collecting the ones that are already in circulation, we will never completely end gun violence in this nation. But, we can do a heck of a lot more than we are doing now.

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  9. Though the people who did this are in my eyes murdering scum I think the Government are complicit in each and every death for making it so easy to place weapons in the hands of the killers.I think you should publish another list of the recipients of the NRA ‘donations’ and suggest the killers at least shoot someone worthwhile and do you a favour.
    Cwtch

    Liked by 4 people

    • While I will probably stop short of suggesting the idiots shoot someone, I DO plan soon to publish a list of at least those who are taking the largest NRA donations. If anyone has a conscience after all these mass shootings, perhaps they will think twice about voting for them. And frankly, I wouldn’t shed a tear if they did turn their guns on them instead of innocent people. Sigh. This is what we are becoming. 😥
      Cwtch

      Liked by 1 person

      • I think it is a good idea to publish the list, after all, we do need to know from whom the politicians are getting their money, that’s all a part of transparency and if memory serves, Trump promised the most transparent government in history and I think Obama made that promise as well, though I could be wrong. Either way, we haven’t had a leader for a long time who has done much to allow the average citizen to really know what’s going on with government. We deserve to have that access, after all, we pay for it.

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              • I’m doing alright, putting together a collection of some previously released as well as unreleased stuff that I’ll eventually put out on my site but for now, I’m going to submit the package to the free floating label, probably with the title of ambient calm. It’s got tracks from Transition and soul Journey as well as other albums. I’ve also reduced my prices on bandcamp and two new people purchased my whole discography. At a little over $23.00, that’s around $0.10 a release, cheaper than penny candy which I’m sure a lot of you guys remember. I used to love to go to the penny candy store up the street from Grandma’s house with my brothers and sisters when we would visit over the summers.

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                • I’m glad to hear that you’re working on a project and have some new customers! Yes, I well remember penny candy … fireballs were always my favourite! Ah, the “good ol’ days” … Hope you have a great week, my friend!

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