I liked the music group “Guns and Roses” but it is quite a metaphor for America’s continual treatment of mass gun murders by
mentally disturbed young men. It is especially creepy in learning they were able to pass our equally mentally disturbed background checks. The theater acts repeat themselves. Disturbed individual accumulates an arsenal, obsesses on past and current slights or causes, hides in plain sight and then swoops down and annihilates an innocent group of citizens. The community is shocked, the large number of police cars rush in followed by swaths of media trucks, microphones and reporters. Next come the roses.
We start the candle light vigils, lots of flowers, prayers by all the preachers, rabbis and others from various faiths. We wear ribbon pins and we huddle for some type of solace. Funerals and eulogies follow and then it all fades from the news. We return to our lives. Of course, those who are directly impacted by the loss of their loved one will probably never recover, or will find some way to cope with their lives forever marred by the loss.
Give it time and the theater will repeat another act. It will continue to go on until we, the people, figure out that prayer vigils and political platitudes are not enough. 2nd Amendment interpretation by the NRA won’t support this terrorism. Politicians won’t touch this hot potato unless his/her constituency insists on the holding of feet to the fire until laws are changed and enforced. The statistics are all there. No special committee has to be formed to study it. Citizens just need to become politically engaged and focused. Given the randomness of this event, individuals don’t think it will ever happen to them. Maybe if citizens got tax write offs for being involved in these types of issues, we might get somewhere. It is sad but true, we are just not that invested in stopping these attacks. We just act with horror, shake our heads and move on.
I just completed a survey to my govt. rep. and I stressed that we need to take care of the mentally ill. They’ve been swept under the carpet so to speak for too long now, neglected and allowed to act out their fantasies. We need to educate the public to spot these people within our society, especially the parents who allow them free rein. Not medicating and in some cases institutionalizing them has gotten us nowhere. Yes, the mentally ill have rights, but so do those they maim and murder. I know a mother who for years tried to take care of a schizophrenic son. He trashed her home regularly and nearly burned it down. He drank and used drugs (all but those the doctor prescribed to help him), but there was nothing she could do about it. Every time he got out on his own he wound up either incarcerated for a short time or returned home again. Her life was ruined yet no one cared. There was no one to put him into a mental institute for her. He finally died of diabetes which he never took seriously.
Guns don’t kill but those who wield them do. There’s no way we can get rid of all the guns, but we can take care of the mentally ill.
We the people, together can make change. The will to do it is scattered. If money was the only requirement, only those with the most money would be elected and they aren’t. Thanks for commenting John.
From a certified cynic, What are we supposed to do? We the people do not have the resources ($) to actually make these clowns change. In spite of overwhelming support by the general public, nothing has happened to change the gun control laws. The NRA have their money & still rule .