Even though it’s become a common occurrence for a school shooting to happen, it’s something we should never get used to. As of this posting, the families of the six victims are planning funerals and unsure of how things will happen. I’m thinking of Easter baskets and goodies sitting in a closet for one or all three of the kids killed that will remain there for weeks or months after until someone tosses it out with the trash.
As usual, the Republican Party is calling for thoughts and prayers. If prayer was worth anything in this country, poor people and non-whites wouldn’t be allowed to do it. The fact that it’s useless is why they call for it over and over again. Right-wing media and conservatives are actually calling for more guns to prevent these types of shootings. If you have a fire, you don’t pour an accllerant on it. If someone is drunk, you don’t serve them another drink. If someone is shooting up and near death, you don’t give them another shot.
Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican, had the most honest answer when he said, “We’re not going to fix it.” No, of course they’re not.” Burchett homeschools his kids. He has nothing to worry about. And most elected officials in Washington, D.C. either send their kids to highly secure schools or they’re too hold to end have grandkids still in school. It doesn’t affect them.
So, why the hell do Republicans think more guns is the reason to stop gun violence? They’re paid off by the National Rifle Association. It’s like the mobster tells the bar owner in The Untouchables. “It’s not supposed to be good; it’s supposed to be bought.” Buy more guns. And the Republican can push for more gun sales by saying that’s what needed. It’s the old “Good Guy With a Gun” theory. But the Uvalde, Texas massacre has prove that’s not the case. Cops (plural) are in the hallway feet away from the gunmanbeing a closed door and run they hear the gunfire of an AR-15.
We’ve all seen the footage of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) running like a scared person from the insurrectionist on Jan. 6, 2021. Yes, other people were running. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) can wear all the tighter shirts he wants to make it look like he has a broader chest and shoulders, but he cowered in the chamber room on that same day. He’s a wimp. He can talk smack to Teamsters. But he’s not a tough guy.
As of this posting, we know it’s Audrey Hale, 28, who was the shooter. It’s a change because they’re usually white men in their 20s and 30s. This is a white woman, who claims to be a transgender male, even though it’s not known she was on hormone therapy. People are saying that she had mental problems and she was a former student at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian parochial school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville.
And now Fox News is using the shooting to target all transgender people. As a journalist myself and a firm supporter of the First Amendment, this is the lowest form they can go. People like Tucker Carlon and Laura Ingraham are happy because they know the ugly, disgusting bigoted people who watch their shows are going to keep tuning in to hear them say transgender people are waging a war on Christianity. It’s alway the one who fights back who gets in trouble.
I’m not pointing fingers but let’s not be surprised when skeletons start coming out of the closest. All you have to do is Google “Pastor arrested,” “Pastor charged” “Pastor convicted” or anything involving a youth minister or some type of Christian school and criminal charges and you’ll see a plethora of crime cases against religious clergy who have committed sexual assaults against children.
But they want to say it’s the transgender community that is the problem. Tennessee, like other conservative states, are targeting transgender people with laws that would only exist in other countries. Yet, people are using their religious bigotry to target people they don’t want. It’s not supposed to be good; it’s supposed to be bought. They can get re-elected while getting campaign donations from people who are even bigger bigots.
Carlson and Ingraham and others are encouraging violence against the LGBTQIA community. And no one will do anything about it until the end up in emergency rooms being harassed by backward sheriff deputies or in the morgue. It’s disgusting that Carlson wants this. He’s inhuman. And if he is sued, all his lawyers got to say is no sane person would take him seriously, your honor.
Most civilized countries wouldn’t allow this type of media reports even if it was for entertainment. We’ve already seen what the reports on the Dominion voting machines did. It led to people trying to kill members of Congress. This is the Reichstag Fire to go after transgender people. A transgender woman from Oklahoma on TikTok said last year that someone approached her and said he is waiting for the day it’s legal to hunt transgender people.
I don’t think they’re going to wait.
And while Carlson and Ingraham focus on it this week for ratings, they’re doing nothing more than poking a hornest’s nest. But they don’t care. They’re not going to get stung. Carlson comes from a wealthy family and there’s no way they can touch his money. He’s not as dumb as Alex Jones, but he is far worst. And he’s more dangerous.
As for guns, it’s really doing nothing more than causing more confusion. Everyone thinks they’re the good guy. You’re in a crowded area on the phone to 911 and you see someone with a handgun running through a school or store. You’ve never seen this person before. Or even if it’s someone you’ve seen before. How do you know who the shooter is? How do you know how many shooters there are? You’re going to give a description to the dispatcher and they’re going to pass it along to the police.
Even in states where you don’t need a permit to carry a firearm, every question a law officer asks during a traffic stop is if you have a weapon. What does it matter? It’s legal to carry a gun if you’re not a convicted felon. Philando Castile got shot and killed by police during a traffic stop. Tamir Rice got killed for having a toy gun. Kenneth Walker, boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, got arrested for having a gun in his home, during what he thought was a home invasion. You know, for the exact situation they argue you should have a firearm.
The Second Amendment is something people dangle in front of people to get what they want. In all honesty, most people wouldn’t want anyone but white Christians to own guns, which is ironic. We should ban AR-15 rifles but we won’t. Not now at least. Mitch McConnell is still alive. Larry Gohmert is still alive. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley are still alive. They are stopping Congress from doing what needs to be done.
But the bigger problem is what do we do with all the AR-15s that people legally bought. We can’t take them away. We’re in a conundrum that even if we did pass a law, we’d have to prevent it from everything here on out. Everything else would be grandfathered in and someone can still steal, borrow, or be left a high-powered rifle.
We just have to wait for McConnell, Gohmert, Grassley and the rest to either be voted out or die. Millennials and Gen Zers have been taught how to react to active school shooter during drills. We had fire drills and tornado drills. We even had earthquake drills. We never had active shooter drills when I was in school.
Teachers are leaving education because it’s not worth it anymore. It seems the only way we’ll stop school shootings is when Millennials and Gen Zers choose other professions while schools spend all the money on a football stadium. Then, when there’s no longer enough teachers to deal with the students, they’ll have to go back to live streaming. But let’s face it, Republicans want education, like everything is to be for white rich people only.
The 20 kids killed at Sandy Hook Elementary would be considering what they are going to do after high school. Are they going to college, technical school or join the military? Nothing. We’ll never know. They’re all dead. And they did in vain as nothing has been done.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 