I Can’t Stop đŸ€Ź … Luckily, Max Boot Can!

Posted on by under education, guns, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

For over 24 hours I have been alternately growling, grumbling, and had @#$%& coming from my mouth over Tuesday’s school massacre in Texas and the horrid responses of some public figures.  I tried twice to put my words to paper, but I ran out of symbols đŸ€Ź and quickly realized that my anger might be just as toxic as the responses that were driving it.  Then I came across an OpEd by The Washington Post’s Max Boot who said most of what I was trying to say, but did so without nearly as many đŸ€Ź

The deceitful dodges Republicans use to resist gun controls

By Max Boot, Columnist

May 25, 2022

We are now embarked upon a distinctively American ritual such as the Super Bowl or the Fourth of July — only much, much grimmer. We are, for the umpteenth time, in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting. Nineteen children and two teachers were just massacred at an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., by a teenager who had been able to legally purchase two AR-15-style assault rifles — weapons of war — as soon as he turned 18 years old.

We are now embarked upon a distinctively American ritual such as the Super Bowl or the Fourth of July — only much, much grimmer. We are, for the umpteenth time, in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting. Nineteen children and two teachers were just massacred at an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., by a teenager who had been able to legally purchase two AR-15-style assault rifles — weapons of war — as soon as he turned 18 years old.

To deflect gun regulations, right-wingers offer their own, increasingly outlandish proposals for how to avert school shootings. One former FBI agent interviewed on the Fox “News” Channel suggested that parents, instead of buying their kids toys and games, should invest in “ballistic blankets” — as if that would stop a determined shooter. Why not dress kids in bulletproof clothing too?

A retired detective suggested on another Fox News show that the answer is to install “man traps” in all schools: “a series of interlocking doors at the school entrance that are triggered by a tripwire 
 and it traps the shooter like a rat.” He did not, needless to say, offer any suggestions for how to pay for this elaborate idea or offer any evidence that it would prove effective.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) opined that “We need to return to God,” as if religious fanatics never perpetrate violence. She also echoed a common refrain on the right: “Our nation needs to take a serious look at the state of mental health today.” No doubt that’s true, and she’s Exhibit A. But (a) there is no evidence that the United States has more mental health problems than any other country and (b) Republicans consistently oppose more funding for mental health services. Indeed, conservatives are targeting mental health programs in many schools for elimination.

Another popular, if self-refuting, GOP talking point is to argue that the answer to widespread gun violence is to make guns more widely available. Sean Hannity suggested a tax break to retired soldiers and police officers who patrol schools. His colleague Jesse Watters called for using covid-19 relief money to hire more school security guards. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to arm teachers.

Its advocates don’t care that this theory — “the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” — has been invalidated time and again. In the Buffalo mass shooting less than two weeks ago, a store security guard shot at the killer, who was clad in body armor, but did not stop his rampage. In Uvalde, a school district officer shot at the gunman but could not prevent him from entering the school.

The Federalist, a right-wing publication, might deserve some kind of booby prize for the most ludicrous alternative to gun control. It ran an article headlined: “Tragedies Like The Texas Shooting Make A Somber Case For Homeschooling.” So if you don’t have schools, you won’t have school shootings? Genius! But weren’t Republicans just complaining about covid restrictions that kept kids out of school?

Of course, none of these suggestions should be taken either literally or seriously. Republicans have shown repeatedly that protecting “gun rights” matters more to them than protecting the right to life. They aren’t actually trying to prevent mass shootings. They’re simply tossing out farcical ideas to distract the public and fill the airtime until public anger dissipates and gun legislation stalls. Then, very soon, we will have the next mass shooting and we can repeat this same pathetic ritual all over again.

51 thoughts on “I Can’t Stop đŸ€Ź … Luckily, Max Boot Can!”

  1. Reblogged this on Michael Seidel, writer and commented:
    I appreciate Max Boot’s comments, but take exception to that expression, the ‘umpteenth time’.

    No. It is not the umpteenth time.

    Texas has had eight mass shootings in the last thirteen years. Here’s a timeline. Sorry, you’ll need to copy and paste it.

    https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2019/texas-10-years-of-mass-shootings-timeline/?fbclid=IwAR1_ESbLx4qlO6OeAjDT4XUT9ByQMxUZdt-QhVxCz5T51hSOfYweF9sg-CY

    Yet, Governor Abbott bemoaned that the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde was unpredictable. Sure, it was if you deliberately keep your head up your ass. It’s as unpredictable as snowstorms around Boston, MA, in the winter, or hurricanes threatening Florida.

    Nationally, there have been eighteen mass shootings since Columbine in 1999, accounting for 169 people dead. These were the ‘deadliest shootings’, where four or more people were killed.

    https://apnews.com/article/list-of-deadliest-us-school-shootings-f25dad31e68c8acbdbcb952352df9249

    But when you remove that ‘four or more’ qualifier and just list school shootings, my, how the list grows.

    Thurston High School.
    Columbine High School.
    Heritage High School.
    Deming Middle School.
    Fort Gibson Middle School.
    Buell Elementary School.
    Lake Worth Middle School.
    University of Arkansas.
    Junipero Serra High School.
    Santana High School.
    Bishop Neumann High School.
    Pacific Lutheran University.
    Granite Hills High School.
    Lew Wallace High School.
    Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.
    Appalachian School of Law.
    Washington High School.
    Conception Abbey.
    Benjamin Tasker Middle School.
    University of Arizona.
    Lincoln High School.
    John McDonogh High School.
    Red Lion Area Junior High School.
    Case Western Reserve University.
    Rocori High School.
    Ballou High School.
    Randallstown High School.
    Bowen High School.
    Red Lake Senior High School.
    Harlan Community Academy High School.
    Campbell County High School.
    Milwee Middle School.
    Roseburg High School.
    Pine Middle School.
    Essex Elementary School.
    Duquesne University.
    Platte Canyon High School.
    Weston High School.
    West Nickel Mines School.
    Joplin Memorial Middle School.
    Henry Foss High School.
    Compton Centennial High School.
    Virginia Tech.
    Success Tech Academy.
    Miami Carol City Senior High School.
    Hamilton High School.
    Louisiana Technical College.
    Mitchell High School.
    E.O. Green Junior High School.
    Northern Illinois University.
    Lakota Middle School.
    Knoxville Central High School.
    Willoughby South High School.
    Henry Ford High School.
    University of Central Arkansas.
    Dillard High School.
    Dunbar High School.
    Hampton University.
    Harvard College.
    Larose-Cut Off Middle School.
    International Studies Academy.
    Skyline College.
    Discovery Middle School.
    University of Alabama.
    DeKalb School.
    Deer Creek Middle School.
    Ohio State University.
    Mumford High School.
    University of Texas.
    Kelly Elementary School.
    Marinette High School.
    Aurora Central High School.
    Millard South High School.
    Martinsville West Middle School.
    Worthing High School.
    Millard South High School.
    Highlands Intermediate School.
    Cape Fear High School.
    Chardon High School.
    Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
    Oikos University.
    Hamilton High School.
    Perry Hall School.
    Normal Community High School.
    University of South Alabama.
    Banner Academy South.
    University of Southern California.
    Sandy Hook Elementary School.
    Apostolic Revival Center Christian School.
    Taft Union High School.
    Osborn High School.
    Stevens Institute of Business and Arts.
    Hazard Community and Technical College.
    Chicago State University.
    Lone Star College-North.
    Cesar Chavez High School.
    Price Middle School.
    University of Central Florida.
    New River Community College.
    Grambling State University.
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
    Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School.
    Ronald E. McNair Discovery Academy.
    North Panola High School.
    Carver High School.
    Agape Christian Academy.
    Sparks Middle School.
    North Carolina A&T State University.
    Stephenson High School.
    Brashear High School.
    West Orange High School.
    Arapahoe High School.
    Edison High School.
    Liberty Technology Magnet High School.
    Hillhouse High School.
    Berrendo Middle School.
    Purdue University.
    South Carolina State University.
    Los Angeles Valley College.
    Charles F. Brush High School.
    University of Southern California.
    Georgia Regents University.
    Academy of Knowledge Preschool.
    Benjamin Banneker High School.
    D. H. Conley High School.
    East English Village Preparatory Academy.
    Paine College.
    Georgia Gwinnett College.
    John F. Kennedy High School.
    Seattle Pacific University.
    Reynolds High School.
    Indiana State University.
    Albemarle High School.
    Fern Creek Traditional High School.
    Langston Hughes High School.
    Marysville Pilchuck High School.
    Florida State University.
    Miami Carol City High School.
    Rogers State University.
    Rosemary Anderson High School.
    Wisconsin Lutheran High School.
    Frederick High School.
    Tenaya Middle School.
    Bethune-Cookman University.
    Pershing Elementary School.
    Wayne Community College.
    J.B. Martin Middle School.
    Southwestern Classical Academy.
    Savannah State University.
    Harrisburg High School.
    Umpqua Community College.
    Northern Arizona University.
    Texas Southern University.
    Tennessee State University.
    Winston-Salem State University.
    Mojave High School.
    Lawrence Central High School.
    Franklin High School.
    Muskegon Heights High School.
    Independence High School.
    Madison High School.
    Antigo High School.
    University of California-Los Angeles.
    Jeremiah Burke High School.
    Alpine High School.
    Townville Elementary School.
    Vigor High School.
    Linden McKinley STEM Academy.
    June Jordan High School for Equity.
    Union Middle School.
    Mueller Park Junior High School.
    West Liberty-Salem High School.
    University of Washington.
    King City High School.
    North Park Elementary School.
    North Lake College.
    Freeman High School.
    Mattoon High School.
    Rancho Tehama Elementary School.
    Aztec High School.
    Wake Forest University.
    Italy High School.
    NET Charter High School.
    Marshall County High School.
    Sal Castro Middle School.
    Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
    Great Mills High School
    Central Michigan University
    Huffman High School
    Frederick Douglass High School
    Forest High School
    Highland High School
    Dixon High School
    Santa Fe High School
    Noblesville West Middle School
    University of North Carolina Charlotte
    STEM School Highlands Ranch
    Edgewood High School
    Palm Beach Central High School
    Providence Career & Technical Academy
    Fairley High School (school bus)
    Canyon Springs High School
    Dennis Intermediate School
    Florida International University
    Central Elementary School
    Cascade Middle School
    Davidson High School
    Prairie View A & M University
    Altascocita High School
    Central Academy of Excellence
    Cleveland High School
    Robert E. Lee High School
    Cheyenne South High School
    Grambling State University
    Blountsville Elementary School
    Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)
    Prescott High School
    College of the Mainland
    Wynbrooke Elementary School
    UNC Charlotte
    Riverview Florida (school bus)
    Second Chance High School
    Carman-Ainsworth High School
    Williwaw Elementary School
    Monroe Clark Middle School
    Central Catholic High School
    Jeanette High School
    Eastern Hills High School
    DeAnza High School
    Ridgway High School
    Reginald F. Lewis High School
    Saugus High School
    Pleasantville High School
    Waukesha South High School
    Oshkosh High School
    Catholic Academy of New Haven
    Bellaire High School
    North Crowley High School
    McAuliffe Elementary School
    South Oak Cliff High School
    Texas A&M University-Commerce
    Sonora High School
    Western Illinois University
    Oxford High School
    Robb Elementary School

    Umpteenth time? No, it’s very well documented. We know exactly how many have been killed, when, where, and how. The common denominator remains a gun in someone’s hand, a gun that the GOP keeps in those hands, and pious ‘thoughts and prayers’.

    Now that we’ve addressed the school shootings, shall we hold our breaths and wait for another mass murder at a church, or another Vegas style massacre, such as the one in 2017 where sixty were killed?

    Liked by 3 people

  2. With each horrific act, more people endure personal trauma, and I compare that to the trauma people experienced here after the 7.8 earthquake. It’s been six years, but at the slightest shaking of the earth, people scream and dash to the streets or drop to their knees and start praying. Many burst into tears. Terror and horror and grief were trapped in the psyches of those affected . I think that all of those children, adults, neighbors/survivors and witnesses of these senseless killings will never exorcise their trauma. They will get better in time, but their bodies and psyches will always be prepared to react. How do the people heal from this?.

    Liked by 3 people

      • I think that with the effects of climate change, there will be more and more traumatic weather events in the future. I hope there were no serious injuries in Peru today … I hadn’t seen it in my travels through the news … will go in search of a bit later.

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    • Trauma, whether caused by nature or by man, leaves an enduring legacy, one that likely stays with us for the rest of our lives. I often wonder if the people who were in New York City on the morning of September 11th 2001 still cringe when they hear a plane flying low overhead. You ask how people heal from such traumas. I don’t think it’s so much that we heal as that we learn to live with the scars. Hugs, dear Lisa!

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  3. Pingback: I CAN’T STOP … Luckily, MAX BOOT CAN ! |jilldennison.com | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

  9. Jill, good post. We are thinking along the same lines. A couple of comments. “Umpteenth is insufficient.” It is far more than that. The other is how I closed my post today. God gave us a brain and a backbone giving us the power to act. I am tired of weak-kneed politicians who are scared of the NRA base that can be wound up like a toy soldier. Most gun owners do not belong to the NRA and want better governance. We will NEVER solve this problem until we actually start doing something about it. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks, Keith! It seems we are often of like minds these days … ’tis true what they say about great minds thinking alike 😉

      My thoughts of late are that we will NEVER solve this problem, for far too many are blinded by the rhetoric of the politicians, and the politicians have put their greed before their humanity. Sigh.

      Liked by 2 people

  10. “there is no evidence that the United States has more mental health problems than any other country”

    Science and statistics prove him wrong in this point specifically.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh oh oh, and also the shooter was known and diagnosed as mentally unstable, he was even talking about a school shooting and planning it. This was a premeditated catastrophe but neither police nor medical dept took responsibility to remove the guy from society and institutionalize him. And now everybody’s crying crocodile’s tears. 😐

      Liked by 1 person

      • I can’t really comment on that until all the facts are in — right now there is conflicting information. But, my friend, do not believe for one minute that ours are crocodile’s tears … I can tell you from my own personal experience that our tears are genuine and our hearts are breaking.

        Liked by 3 people

      • Hello Orca. Please present the evidence that the shooter was known and diagnosed as mentally unstable. I have not seen anything presented about the shooter’s history nor details of his life. If you have this data, you might be able to help the authorities greatly. Infact one of the things the limited background check we have in the US is supposed to flag is mental illness. Yet the shooter bought his guns legally. Thank you. Hugs

        Liked by 2 people

        • I’m just some internet person, I don’t collect data and I forgot via what channel I heard about some shooting in a far away country. But it was mentioned there that the shooter had a history of mental illness and was openly talking about his violent fantasies.

          Liked by 1 person

          • Hello Orca. Here is a quote from https://www.npr.org/2022/05/25/1101307595/what-we-know-about-the-gunman-and-victims-of-the-uvalde-shooting

            While Uvalde is the kind of place where people know everyone, they just sort of knew him as another classmate, one who at times was bullied for his speech impediment. Abbott said Ramos didn’t have a mental health diagnosis, didn’t have an adult criminal record, and it wasn’t clear if he had run across the juvenile system. Hugs

            Liked by 2 people

            • Thank you.
              So Texas fuxxed up by permitting that guy to buy not one but two attack rifles. And nobody reacted to his clearly communicated thread about shooting his granny and the school.
              That’s all I said: That guy needed an intervention by the authorities just like Ukraine needed an intervention by her big brother Russia. In Ukraine it worked and turned out to the best, in Uvalde things got bad due to no response. 😐

              Liked by 2 people

              • Ukraine is an independent nation and had no reason to need an “intervention” … or rather, to call a spade a spade, a murderous attack, by Putin. It is Putin’s lust for power, lust to establish a Soviet-style empire before he dies, that led him to invade Ukraine and begin killing civilians. What’s next on his agenda … Poland? I don’t know why you are so head-over-heels in love with Putin, for he is among the cruelest, most evil of men walking the earth today.

                Like

              • Hello Orca. You may not have been wrong about the shooter. It seems unclear. The information the other day was muddled, and the politicians want to have both sides. The politicians want to blame mental illness rather than guns but then there are no reports I have seen yet myself that the shooter was in currently or had been in mental health treatment. One source claim he has a bad childhood with a single mother and was abuse at school including recently told he wouldn’t graduate. But I cannot confirm that as the source offers no proof.

                As for Ukraine you are drastically wrong and ill informed but as that is OT from Jill’s post, I won’t do more on addressing it. Best wishes, Hugs

                Liked by 2 people

    • Eh, I’m not sure that we have more mental health problems, but I do know we have a great deal more ignorance, the results of which can sometimes be misidentified as mental health issues.

      Liked by 3 people

    • Unfortunately, the gun nuts claim it is their ‘right’ to own military assault weapons and our members of Congress agree with them. Personally, I agree with both of your points as a starting point, although for me the end goal should be to get rid of guns in the hands of civilians altogether. It won’t happen though … not in my lifetime, maybe never. Sigh. xx

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hello Michael. IMO you might as well ask that maga Republican adults wanting to go through the airport security check points be nude with cavity searches. 😀😃😋

      I am not making fun of you my friend just pointing out in the US the gun mythology and maga culture is so strong these people would rather prance around proudly nude wearing only their firearms and ammo rather than clothing. The Republican politicians and the right wing media have created a link between gun rights with no restrictions as equal to freedom which is a mythical thing the right cannot define but claim anything they don’t like curtails it. Also the males equate their guns with their penis size so making them wear only small ones will cause them a lifetime of distress they will only be able to work out by buying large pick-ups with oversized tires and that belches black unburned fuel that they complain they cannot afford to buy because Biden has personally raised the price of just to get more women to abort babies. đŸ™„đŸ˜đŸ˜đŸ˜˜đŸ€© Best wishes. Hugs

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Not making guns so easily accessible, so easy to purchase, to have a stricter set of rules, psych evaluations, before you are allowed to buy a weapon, that will probably, start to, reduce the number of shootings, where innocent people had, died in the U.S., but seeing how there are so many, second amendment fanatics, with their right to bear arms, yeah, good luck!

    Liked by 3 people

    • I fully agree with all your suggestions, and I would add that there should be both a written and shooting test required just as there is in order to obtain a driver’s license. But even with all those safeguards, we never know when something will push someone over the edge. In my book, guns simply do not belong in the hands of civilians. Leave them to the police and military. But you’re right … there is zero chance that we will even get sensible gun legislation, let alone making guns taboo. Sigh.

      Liked by 1 person

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