Land of The Free,
Home of The Mass Shooting
October 10, 2017
As we finish honoring one murderous white guy with
unregulated access to weapons, and no moral center whatsoever, America finds
itself once again in shock over another armed and deranged white man. Our
current state of shock has to do with the worst mass-shooting-of-the-day since
the Wounded Knee Massacre. Wounded Knee
of course was just one of countless such events in the still ongoing destruction
of the original inhabitants of this continent. Why is there no Wounded Knee
Massacre Day? Our good friend at Paying Attention, Steve Gallop aimed his
(figurative) pen at his local newspaper. Please enjoy his latest Op Ed piece in
the Delaware County Daily Times.
Ed Venture
Editor, Paying Attention
Editor, Paying Attention
To The Editor:
America in the 21st century: 12,000 gun homicides
per year, twice that many gun suicides per year. Toddlers shoot people on a
regular basis. Toddlers. Look it up.
We are now looking back from a small distance, at America’s
latest mass shooting. We average approximately one mass shooting a day right
now. Some get more press than others, but it is constant. We need to make it
keep looking gruesome even as it fades into the fog of the next worst mass
shooting in American history. How much is enough? How can we continue to
protect our guns more than the lives of our fellow countrymen? There has to be
a middle ground.
We keep hearing that this is not the time to talk about
stricter gun laws. Nobody said it was too soon to pass the Patriot Act right
after 9/11. It got passed in the heat of the moment. How many more heat of the
moments do we have to have with mass shootings. Many more people are killed
with guns every year in this country than those we lost on 9/11.
The current interpretation of the Second Amendment is not
the only one available. Maybe it is time to reread the words as they were
written: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security
of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not
be infringed.” For some reason many among us, though likely not a majority,
insist on reading this statement in reverse.
I suppose this latest shooter could be considered a one-man
militia, but he was certainly not well-regulated. And how exactly did he
contribute to the security of a free state?
Senator John Thune (R-SD) said, "I think people are
going to have to take steps in their own lives to take precautions. To protect
themselves. And in situations like that, you know, try to stay safe. As
somebody said -- get small." This sounds frighteningly similar to Donald
Trump’s “both sides” argument after the murder in Charlottesville, Virginia. So
I guess, according to Mr. Thune we are supposed to take responsibility for not
getting shot. I assume he wants each of us to be heavily armed when we leave
our homes, or else to cower in fear whenever we are not safely behind some bulletproof
shield.
Is this really the America we want to live in?
Steve Gallop
Concord Township
Concord Township
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