And Yet Again …

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

I have not yet written about the horrific massacre in Colorado that left 5 people dead and 25 injured, not because I had nothing to say, but rather because I have too much to say.  Meanwhile, Dan Rather and Elliott Kirschner have said it for me, and in a much better way than I could have, for mine would have been a rant.  I will, no doubt, have more of my own words on this subject sometime soon, once I can stop 🤬.

Guns and Hatred

Once more

Dan Rather and Elliott Kirschner

22 November 2022

Guns and hatred collide once more.

Peace is broken; lives are shattered.

Again we see the pictures and learn the names of those who have been slaughtered.

“Authorities are trying to determine a motive.” But the broader narrative is already known.

Those who feed the hate, stoke the vitriol, and profit off of our divisions hide behind meaningless expressions of thoughts and prayers. For them, there is no pause for reflection, no sense that we can do better.

Anger, waves of anger, sweep over a deep trench of hopelessness.

We have mourned before, and we surely will again.

A cycle repeats. The words we uttered for the last tragedy could be reprised for this one, and likely the one to come.

In what sane world do we accept a national impotence in the face of unending bloodshed? None.

Why do we demonize people for how they express their love for others? Or for what they look like? Or for how they pray?

Why is celebrating our common humanity not enough?

What do we tell our children? How do we teach them?

Hate is learned, and it is being taught.

If we are honest with our history, we know that hatred has been a constant in our national story. But so too have attempts to rise above it, to make progress toward a more just and equitable nation, to strive for that “more perfect union.”

We celebrate acts of heroism. We find support in our collective grief. But we should never accept this murderous hostility to our diversity. Our national strength is rooted in our differences. We are all at our best when we support each other.

Far too many continue to live in fear because of who they are. This fear is not an accident or unintentional. There are powerful people in this country who base their power on the ability to frighten.

Cultivated terror is a poison that infects our society. Once unleashed, it is impossible to control. It easily explodes in violence, as it did in Colorado Springs. There will be another set of charges to mark, another court case to cover, another verdict to await. But we can already pass a verdict on a society that allows this to continue.

Completely eliminating cultivated hate and violence is not possible, but we can drastically reduce it — if only enough Americans unite to make it happen.

27 thoughts on “And Yet Again …”

  1. And yet again… and again… and again!
    Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting: 7 dead, including the shooter late last night
    Perhaps if a mass shooting occurred during Congress, DC knuckleheads would wake up and do something…. probably not. NRA control both parties’ puppets, money truly is the root of all evil 😦

    Liked by 1 person

  4. This will be tough on those folk who are genuine republicans of the old schools, but for the rest who still buy into or bow to maga; the collaborators, opportunists, the hate-mongers, the intolerants replace GOP with BHP – The Bloody Handed Party.
    In the UK a number of these folk could face court action under Hate Crime legislation and that’s under a Conservative Government.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. There’s nothing left to say, really. When people who worship guns mix with people who worship hatred, nothing good will happen for those who just want to live their lives in the best way they know how.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Well said, rg. This country has a motto, “In God We Trust”, but I think it should be “Live And Let Live”. It should be on every public building, every denomination of currency, and every newscast should begin with it. Just live and let live, throw away the g-damn guns, and mind your own business! That’s what would actually make this country ‘great’. Sigh. I’m so sick and tired of this. Daily mass shootings, hatred against people because of the colour of their skin or who they love, political retaliation … Beam me up, Scotty!!!

      Like

  6. “Guns and hatred collide once more.”

    I this case they rather colluded, not collided. Coz guns and hatred love and respect another and work so well together. 😦

    Liked by 2 people

    • Indeed, it is, and these sort of hate crimes are on the rise here, incited by some of the very people sending those useless “thoughts and prayers” … grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I find that religious fervor is a large part of the problem … the Christian evangelicals are trying to make everyone fit into their narrow box, a box where Blacks, Jews, LGBTQ people aren’t welcome. They seem to think it is their ‘duty’ to rid the world of anyone who doesn’t look like and think exactly like them. Sigh.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Tragic, and these sort of incidents are escalating. Mass shootings are on the rise, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes are increasing, racism and Islamophobia are on the rise. WHY??? Because politicians, right-wing media, and religious organizations are inciting them, convincing people that the nation should be comprised only of straight white Christians, and that males should be the ‘dominant’ of the species. Sigh.

      Like

Comments are closed.