Yesterday was my birthday, and so my family got together, as we normally do when a family member has a birthday.
However, it goes without saying that this was not a normal day, and that meant that we did not celebrate like we normally would. How selfish and blind would you have to be to celebrate so soon after such a horrific tragedy like the one that we saw in Las Vegas? Frankly, I once saw our neighbor riding his motorbike with a big smile on his face just hours after planes had struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while a fourth one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, and admittedly, not only have I never forgotten that, but I guess a part of me has never forgiven him for that, either. We had our differences - and significant ones - before that, but that is really crossing a red line, and it was not even directed at me or anyone else, and not meant to be insulting. Yet, on so many levels, it was more insulting than almost anything that he ever had done to me or anyone else that I am aware of, because it betrayed his lack of empathy and his selfish desire not to be confronted with any kind of serious issues - not even on a day like that.
To me, it would feel incredibly selfish and narrow-minded of me to celebrate my birthday like nothing happened, and so I did not. Sure, I got some birthday hugs and ate some cake. But there were no real celebrations, and the entire day felt subdued.
How could it not? The death toll from the Las Vegas shooting kept rising as the day progressed. Last I heard, 59 people were confirmed dead, and well over 500 injured. Also, Puerto Rico is still struggling and on it's knees, with now 95 percent of the island without power.
Then, to boot, Tom Petty was pronounced brain dead, then dead, then back to not quite dead yet. It was hard to tell what the truth was, and frankly, it seemed to confirm that this age truly is one of fake news, at least at times.
So in any case, obviously the Las Vegas shootings came up as a topic of conversation. And one thing that kind of surprised me by not surprising me, was that no one was surprised by this rather shocking event. Maybe that sounds like a mouthful, but what it comes down to is that we as a society have come to expect these kinds of shootings nowadays. It sometimes seems to me that these madmen mass shooters are almost in competition with each other, trying to outdo one another. If memory serves correctly, one of the mass shooters, Adam Lanza (the demented guy responsible for the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings), felt in direct competition with other shooters, perhaps particularly with Thomas Hamilton, the guy who killed 16 schoolchildren in Scotland. It seems that we see records for biggest mass shooting in history broken, one after the other, and at some point, you have to realize, or maybe it's a matter of admitting, that there is really something wrong in this country in particular.
No other country allegedly at peacetime has to deal with these kinds of regular episodes of violence. And much like with the healthcare debate, this is a news story that pops up from time to time, and horrifies everybody, yet largely is allowed to just fade away on it's own, as the news grows overly repetitive, and as other stories from around the world come to dominate. That is, until another such incident comes around. Like it did in 1999 with Columbine, when the nation truly seemed to be shocked and jolted. And then again in 2007 at Virginia Tech. And again in 2012 at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. And again later that same year at Sandy Hook Elementary. And again last year at a gay dance club in Orlando. And now, once again, on the Las Vegas Strip.
Mind you, those ones that I just pointed to were out of memory, because they particularly stood out, but that does not mean that they were the only ones. Hell, not even close! There seems to be mass shootings once every two to three weeks, tops. But when there are "only" two or three victims, it hardly becomes much of a story at all. Only when the numbers are incredibly high, or when the shock value (such as at Columbine or Sandy Hook) are so staggering, does it make the country seemingly stop in it's track and think. Usually, it does not even give that much thought to it, before efforts to try and impose stronger, frankly common sense gun laws are, once again, predictably defeated.
Yes, this reminds me of the healthcare debate, because much like with that, the answers, and the skewed perception held by far too many Americans precisely because they feel that they are Americans, and thus unique and "exceptional," indeed separates them from the rest of the world.
I would add that it does so for all the wrong reasons, as far as Americans are concerned. Much like the United States is the only industrialized nation that fails to provide it's citizens with affordable, universal healthcare, the United States is also the only nation in the world where common sense gun laws are never even discussed, because it allegedly infringes on a citizen's right to own arms.
This man, though, had more than simply "guns." What he had was an arsenal. And the weapons that he used were automatic, meant really only for one thing. Those were not guns that he was going to possibly use for hunting, or most likely for target practice. Those guns, as evidenced by the video clips with audio, were automatics, and there were so many shots fired, that people down below lost count, they were coming in so fast. Guns like that serve only one purpose: to kill.
Paddock had more than 20 guns in his room alone. Among these were assault style rifles that had been modified to turn them, for all intents and purposes, into machine guns. He had devices attached to the stocks that to allow fully automatic gunfire. That was why it sounded like machine gun fire - because in effect, it was.
Obviously, he was equipped to do a hell of a lot of damage, and it should surely seem amazing that he managed to get them all in, without raising any kind of alarm. He checked into the room on Thursday, so he would have had plenty of time, and numerous trips, to get this accomplished. Still, is it time to perhaps put some metal detectors in hotels, or at least in large hotels, especially high-rises towering above areas where large groups of people are going to be?
Are we going to do anything this time, after yet another historical level mass shooting sets still more records? Or, are we going to do nothing, except for token measures, such as flying the flag at half-staff and "sending thoughts and prayers/" We have a real problem in this country right now, and it is not relegated to mass shootings. We have people suffering, people who cannot afford medicine, because the for profit healthcare industry cannot be kept in check, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue. We have people suffering because the for profit prison industry cannot be kept in check, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue. We have people suffering because the for energy industry and major polluters cannot be kept in check as they deny science and try to exploit natural resources everywhere they see fit, including our national parks, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue. We have people suffering because the for profit gun industry, the NRA, and cannot be kept in check, allowing people who should never have guns, or people who should not be able to amass an unbelievable arsenal of weapons and then use them on people, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue.
I think it is clear that a growing number of people are tired of hearing politicians talk about "senseless violence" and sending their "thoughts and prayers" to the families of victims. I would say more needs to be done, but the fact of the matter is that I do not feel that I can say this, because that implies that something has been done. In reality, nothing has been done, time and time and time again. We have had some unbelievable gun violence in this country, and nothing is done. We have seen numerous of these mass shootings dominate our headlines, yet any serious measures towards restricting any access to guns, even for people who are on terrorist watch lists, or people with a history of being mentally disturbed or with violent or even criminal backgrounds.
We have a problem, and we have "leaders" who are too cowardly to act. Both major political parties are responsible, although one party should clearly shoulder more of the responsibility for this unbelievable inaction. I would say that this is the time to do something, but we have had similar episodes of violence before, at least as shocking, and yet nothing was done. That is why it no longer can be said to be a surprise. That is why we likely can expect nothing to get done. Because Wayne LaPierre and the NRA will start crying foul, as will the relatively small, but extremely loud, minority of people who support them, and politicians in their pockets will yield, like they always have done.
And it will be a matter of time and place and circumstance before we see yet another mass shooting. Not just another mass shooting, but another one with numbers that will shock, and should, pardon the expression, trigger action. And really, the most visible sign that we have a serious problem in this country is that, once again, what is clearly a serious problem will somehow be ignored, with nothing done, as we wait for the next time that something like this happens to be "shocked by this senseless act of violence" and to "send our hearts and prayers to the families of the victims," and to do absolutely nothing else.
Paddock had more than 20 guns in his room alone. Among these were assault style rifles that had been modified to turn them, for all intents and purposes, into machine guns. He had devices attached to the stocks that to allow fully automatic gunfire. That was why it sounded like machine gun fire - because in effect, it was.
Obviously, he was equipped to do a hell of a lot of damage, and it should surely seem amazing that he managed to get them all in, without raising any kind of alarm. He checked into the room on Thursday, so he would have had plenty of time, and numerous trips, to get this accomplished. Still, is it time to perhaps put some metal detectors in hotels, or at least in large hotels, especially high-rises towering above areas where large groups of people are going to be?
Are we going to do anything this time, after yet another historical level mass shooting sets still more records? Or, are we going to do nothing, except for token measures, such as flying the flag at half-staff and "sending thoughts and prayers/" We have a real problem in this country right now, and it is not relegated to mass shootings. We have people suffering, people who cannot afford medicine, because the for profit healthcare industry cannot be kept in check, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue. We have people suffering because the for profit prison industry cannot be kept in check, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue. We have people suffering because the for energy industry and major polluters cannot be kept in check as they deny science and try to exploit natural resources everywhere they see fit, including our national parks, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue. We have people suffering because the for profit gun industry, the NRA, and cannot be kept in check, allowing people who should never have guns, or people who should not be able to amass an unbelievable arsenal of weapons and then use them on people, and lawmakers are too cowardly, or selfish, or both, to take this one as a real issue.
I think it is clear that a growing number of people are tired of hearing politicians talk about "senseless violence" and sending their "thoughts and prayers" to the families of victims. I would say more needs to be done, but the fact of the matter is that I do not feel that I can say this, because that implies that something has been done. In reality, nothing has been done, time and time and time again. We have had some unbelievable gun violence in this country, and nothing is done. We have seen numerous of these mass shootings dominate our headlines, yet any serious measures towards restricting any access to guns, even for people who are on terrorist watch lists, or people with a history of being mentally disturbed or with violent or even criminal backgrounds.
We have a problem, and we have "leaders" who are too cowardly to act. Both major political parties are responsible, although one party should clearly shoulder more of the responsibility for this unbelievable inaction. I would say that this is the time to do something, but we have had similar episodes of violence before, at least as shocking, and yet nothing was done. That is why it no longer can be said to be a surprise. That is why we likely can expect nothing to get done. Because Wayne LaPierre and the NRA will start crying foul, as will the relatively small, but extremely loud, minority of people who support them, and politicians in their pockets will yield, like they always have done.
And it will be a matter of time and place and circumstance before we see yet another mass shooting. Not just another mass shooting, but another one with numbers that will shock, and should, pardon the expression, trigger action. And really, the most visible sign that we have a serious problem in this country is that, once again, what is clearly a serious problem will somehow be ignored, with nothing done, as we wait for the next time that something like this happens to be "shocked by this senseless act of violence" and to "send our hearts and prayers to the families of the victims," and to do absolutely nothing else.
Sandy Hook mom goes off: 'We value guns, flags & fake acts of patriotism over people, pain' by Jen Hayden, Oct. 2, 2017:
Truly frightening arsenal of weapons owned by Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock by Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.uk, Tuesday 3 Oct 2017:
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