If the shooter is …

Posted on by under education, guns, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

This post is spot-on, and I would only add that it is noteworthy that yesterday’s shooter is still alive. He is white. The Buffalo shooter who killed 10 people in a grocery store is still alive. He is white. Jayland Walker didn’t even shoot anybody and yet he is dead with over 60 bullet wounds in his body. He is Black.

Scottie's Playtime

View original post

23 thoughts on “If the shooter is …”

  2. Thank you for sharing!!.. back in the days of the Frontier, when guns were needed for food, etc. there were gun laws to protect the citizens without anyone losing their right to bear arms… in today’s world where there is no need for guns, and we have a self–centered minority who refuse change and being told what to do, be it guns, wearing covid masks, abortion, climate, religion, etc. …what one is witnessing today are that element of society grabbing a straws trying to prevent change thinking more of themselves than the rest of the country and, in this case, for the most part those who call themselves conservative Republicans, the rest too timid not to follow… 🙂

    Until we meet again..
    May you always be blessed
    with walls for the wind,
    a roof for the rain,
    a warm cup of tea by the fire,
    laughter to cheer you,
    those you love near you,
    and all that your heart might desire.
    (Irish Saying)

    Liked by 2 people

    • You are so very right, Dutch! There are those who simply bristle at being told to do or not to do anything, even when it’s for their own good, or perhaps to save the life of their own child! It is … beyond belief. I was shocked when that element protested vociferously against vaccines and mask requirements … it was to save their own lives, for Pete’s sake! And today, I read where one man claimed his ‘right’ to own guns is constitutional, while our right to life is not. Apparently he forgot that line about “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I really don’t understand the mentality, my friend. Some days I think I’m just ready to leave, that I’ve lived too long already, but then that determination to fight for a better world kicks in and my fingers are on the keyboard again. Thank you for this Irish Saying … I just printed it and am going to put it on the front of my refrigerator where I can see it every day, for I need to be reminded daily of those things that make life worth living.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Gun violence does happen in other countries. Just not on the level that it happens here, which is DAILY.
    Also, Jill’s point is that white perps get taken in ALIVE, while POC get shot, usually numerous times, regardless of their original crime.
    Your remark about gun violence in other countries is an attempt to shut the conversation about race down. NICE TRY but I’m not going to let you get away with it.

    Liked by 1 person

    • The U.S. has more guns than people, more guns than any other nation on earth, in fact I believe it’s more than the next 20 nations combined. And the U.S. has fewer regulations … actually, almost NO regulations these days. But thank you, Polly, because you’re right … my point this time had NOTHING to do with gun laws and EVERYTHING to do with racism in the U.S. and systemic racism in such as police departments. Thanks for bringing it back on point!

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Pingback: IF THE SHORTER IS … |jilldennison.com | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

      • I agree. It is very sad to think of the fear one has to just be out in public. If I lived in the States, I would not feel safe anywhere, regardless of my background or political affiliation. Not in a night club or a church and everything in between.

        Liked by 3 people

        • I read somewhere tonight that one man said his ‘right’ to own guns was in the Constitution, while our right to safety is not. Apparently he forgot about that clause that guarantees us the right to “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Sigh.

          Liked by 2 people

            • Well … the Constitution was actually written with the intention that it would grow and evolve as times change, but today the politicos prefer to stick to the interpretations of 250 years ago … a time before airplanes, before modern weapons (including nuclear), a time when Black people were still considered only 2/3 of a person and women were even less than that! It fits the world as they would like it to be, rather than how it actually is.

              Liked by 2 people

  7. As you say, Jill, spot on. I can of course only speak for myself, but, from the outside looking in, the way I see it your entire society (or, at least, those who ‘lead’ it, though they are allegedly elected ‘democratically’) is utterly insane.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I’ve come to the conclusion over the past 6 years or so that you are right … we have lost our collective sanity. We’ve sold our souls to the lowest bidder and forgotten any humanitarian values we may have once had. Sure, there are exceptions, but overall this nation is greedy and arrogant, bigoted and uncaring.

      Liked by 2 people

  8. There was just a shooting in Copenhagen, Denmark a couple of days ago. Regarding gun laws, why should law abiding citizens be punished on the account of well known documented lunatics? Chicago, run by Democrats is a gun free zone. The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights preserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, every effort must be made to address the real issue which is the rampant failing mental health of young men.

    Liked by 1 person

        • You’re absolutely right. Gun violence has everything to do with gun laws. Gun violence is proportional to the number of guns in circulation and is inversely proportional the strictness of gun laws.

          But you’re missing the point. The first meme has nothing whatsoever to do with gun laws. It’s about ethnic stereotyping/bigotry, plain and simple.

          In your earlier comment you asked “why should law abiding citizens be punished on the account of well known documented lunatics?” the first question that comes to mind is what do you mean by “well known documented lunatics”? As I understand it, the pro gun lobby in the US is opposed to background checks, and recent decisions by SCOTUS seems to support the absolute “right” for anyone to carry a concealed weapon, so I presume no background checks.

          They say that hindsight is 20/20 vision, and it’s not until after the event that all the pieces are brought together to paint a clearer picture of the offender’s state of mind. And then too often in the courtroom of public opinion with few facts to support the conjecture.

          To be honest, with the toxic state of politics, religion and racism in the US, I’m surprised anyone remains sane, but my person observation aside, the mental health situation in the US is not significantly different from other high income “Western” nations. I’m not going to argue here whether mental health is on the decline, or whether we’re more open about it these days and no longer sweep it under the carpet or institutionalise those most in need of support, but I’ll simply state that mental health services in all high income nations is woefully inadequate and underfunded. If you think the US us underfunded, spending per capita is still approximately three times higher than in NZ.

          So if we are to believe your claim that more guns (in the hands of the good guys) makes a safer world we need to ask a question that’s relevant to the second meme: Given the equally woeful state of mental health services in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK (and NZ) and with similar levels of mental illnesses, why are massacres per capita approximately an order of magnitude higher in America than in other affluent western nations, and approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher than in affluent Asian nations?

          In NZ’s case, I would venture four reasons:
          (1) A standard “Category A” firearms licence restricts the types of guns the holder may own. No automatics, and semi automatics can have magazines that are able to hold no more than five rounds of ammunition for example.
          (2) Background checks are mandatory. That includes a mental health history, criminal history, non-molestation orders etc, in depth interview with the prospective licence holder and family members plus two referees (one family member not living in the same household, one friend/work colleague). Historically this has been undertaken by the police, but as the Christchurch Mosque massacre revealed, due to the policing pressures, the vetting has sometimes fallen short of adequate. Recent legislation has strengthened the process.
          (3) It is illegal to carry a weapon (not just guns) for defensive (or offensive) purposes. If it is suspected that that is why you wish to own a gun, then I can guarantee that you will not get a firearms licence. Guns must be stored, unloaded, in an approved cabinet and ammunition must be stored in another approved cabinet in a different part of the premises These are inspected on site by the police to ensure they are compliant. Any time a gun is transported from where it is stored to where it will be used, the weapon and the ammunition must be stored separately and securely away from the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
          (4) The police are not routinely armed. As an experiment, the previous Police Commissioner approved the routine arming of police in three police districts where crime is high. It proved so unpopular with the public (criminals were not consulted, but I suspect they would have held a similar opinion) that the experiment was abandoned well before the anticipated end date. The new Commissioner has given an assurance that routine arming will not take place under his watch. This is an operational matter, not a political one.

          The combined effect is to cause even the criminal elements to feel they have little advantage in possessing guns. The limited availability of semi automatic weapons has caused them to reach exorbitant prices on the black market. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars for a basic semi. That takes them out of the hands of most criminals and also out of the hands of the mentally ill. The problem with making guns readily available to law abiding citizens is that it it also makes guns all to readily available to criminal elements and the mentally ill.

          Finally I fail to understand what you mean by ‘punishing law abiding citizens”. Am I being punished when I’m denied the “right” to drive fare paying passengers when all I have is a standard driver’s licence? I can to fly a microlight aircraft without a licence provided the aircraft is airworthy, but am I being “punished” if that does not give me the “right” to fly a passenger-carrying jumbo jet? I’m not convinced that I’m being punished as a law abiding citizen if I don’t have an automatic right to gun ownership. In all three cases, the limitations are there, not for my benefit, but to minimize the potential harm to others.

          Liked by 4 people

          • Thank you, Barry, for your extremely wise and thoughtful comments! (And for remembering that the purpose of the post was to highlight the racism that rears its ugly head each time there is a shooting by anyone other than a white person. Funny that people will make any and every possible excuse for gun violence EXCEPT the fact that guns are too under-regulated and far too readily available to anyone, even a minor, as we saw in the case where parents had purchased a gun for their 15-year-old son, who then took the gun to school and started shooting. It defies logic to argue against laws to prevent these incidents, but … there you have it. Thanks again, Barry.

            Liked by 1 person

    • Big difference … the Copenhagen shooting is a rarity, while the Chicago shooting was the 309th mass shooting in this nation in just 6 months. The real issue is that those young people with mental health issues can obtain a gun. Period.

      Liked by 3 people

Comments are closed.