Hallway to Nowhere

Tag: NRA

  • Another Mass-Shooting in A School

    Yesterday on a one of my social media sites I posted the Indigo Girls song Don’t Give That Girl A Gun (video posted at end of this blog) from their awesome album Shaming Of The Sun, along with the comment that it seemed apropos for so many of the recent school schootings (one of which had involved a female). I had no idea that the very next day I would view with horrow reports of yet another mass shooting at a school, my words echoing in my ears and the song playing its sound track through my mind.

    I keep asking myself: When did “mass-shooting” become a tool in the set of “appropriate responses” in the American psyche? How did this happen? The first shooting I remember remember outside of war or accidental death or natural causes was the Kent State shooting. THAT was devastating. Granted, it was not armed-citizen instigated violence, but it WAS the first non-military-against-enemy violence, (yes, it WAS military, national guard, but it was military-against-civilian), that I can remember as a young person. And for the times, four dead, four civilian dead, certainly counted as a mass shooting (then). How little did we suspect what was to come down the road.

    I just googled “mass-shootings in the U.S.” Depending on which source you use, your answer will vary from 146 to 147. Of course, that answer is now sadly out-of-date, b/c it was written JUST LAST YEAR. There have been thirty-count that-THIRTY (30) mass-shootings in the U.S in 2018, including the one that just occurred in Florida. This data comes from Gun Violence Archive, in case your’re wondering. (www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting)  Wrap your had around that for a minute and think about our (lack) of gun control. Maybe also contemplate it the next time you see a nice friendly ad for the NRA.

    I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a parent these days. To send your child off to school when this type of thing is a possibility. Or to be a student when there is the chance that one of your classmates will use the opportunity to kill you.  That was not even on the radar when I was in school. The most we had to fear was physical or verbal bullying. These kids face maybe DEATH by the mere act of attending class. I am in awe of their bravery.

  • Trump’s Response On Las Vegas Vs Puerto Rico

    Trump’s Response On Las Vegas Vs Puerto Rico

    I just finished watched Trump’s (#NotMyPresident) remarks on the the Las Vegas shooting. While I do not mean to diminish the depth of this tragedy in any way, I could help but compare his response to it to his response to the ongoing suffering in Puerto Rico. Trump was immediately on-cue and is visiting Las Vegas Wednesday, only two days after the shooting occurred. He has YET to visit Puerto Rico, though he is supposed to do so Tuesday. (We’ll see if this actually takes place.) Maria struck the island NINE days ago. Part of me cynically wonders if this has to do with the fact that the shooting in Las Vegas struck more at people who might be Trump’s people: it was a country music concert, so chances are the concert-goers were more than likely white. I haven’t seen anything about this, mind you. Whereas Puerto Rico is filled with….you know, nonwhite people. The type of people Trump likes to call names and ban from the country. Just one step up from “rapists and drug lords.” Probably bad hombres.

    Mass shootings are getting deadlier. The shooters have access to weapons that will cause more harm. (Thank you, NRA!) Usually, when the gunman is white, he is said to be a “lone wolf” and often found to have mental problems. But let the gunman be Muslim or African American, and -viola- you have a terrorist attack! Interesting, that double standard there.

    I don’t really have a firm end point here. Just something to think about.

  • Guns For The Mentally Ill-AWESOME IDEA!

    Guns For The Mentally Ill-AWESOME IDEA!

    Among the many regulations that the Trump (#notmypresident) administration is busy rolling back is one that effectively banned persons with MAJOR MENTAL ILLNESSES from BUYING GUNS. Apparently this is thought to be a good idea by the NRA (no surprise there), the ACLU (and I am a card-carrying member), NAMI, and, of course, Republicans everywhere. I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree. First of all let me reiterate my position that I do not think that ANYONE outside of the military or perhaps some few members of the police force should have access to guns, period. But even should you disagree with with that, and most do, what reason would you give for making weapons available to people suffering from mental illnesses that make them irrational, delusional, enraged, depressed, and/or suicidal? We’re not talking about people who need a few bouts of counseling because of a bad break-up or who have a bit of grief after their favorite cat died. No, this are people who have mental illnesses that are debilitating and severe: schizophenia; bi-polar disorder; severe depression; post-traumatic stress disorder; multiple personality disorder, among others. These types of illness can cause changes in mood and can cause the sufferer to completely lose touch with the objective world. With proper medication, therapy, and support, however, they can be managed…as long as the person STAYS WITH THE PROGRAM (takes the meds, sees the therapist, does whatever he/she/whatever needs to do to maintain). That “staying with the program” is key. I’ve known some wonderful people who had major mental illnesses. A few are still my friends and doing well….because they stay with their respective programs. A few aren’t my friends anymore, either because they are dead, or because they have trashed their lives so thoroughly I wouldn’t remain in the hit-zone. Would I give these people guns? Either group? HELL NO!!! I’ve seen the demons with which they struggle, heard them talk to the voices, seen the pictures they’ve painted of the world they see. I do not want to give any of them a weapon to use. I know how hard they struggle daily just to survive. Life is dangerous enough without handing them a loaded gun.