Okay, I want to move on from posts about the recent school shooting in Florida, so this will have to be my last post on it.
It just upsets me that this not only keeps happening, but that people seem to be moving on ever more quickly after each such incident. I mean, seriously! Remember when the tragedy at Columbine had everyone stop in their tracks, and the news cycle seemed fixated on every detail that emerged from Littleton, Colorado for those next few days? Now, after not even a full 48 hours, it seemed that the news was returned to normal, with the details from the Florida shooting already coming in second or third, or in some cases later, as the main news seemed to return to Congressional nonsense, the ridiculous gridlock and do nothing Congress, which it is almost assured will do nothing after this latest shooting, as well.
However, one thing that I take heart in is that more and more people are growing sick and tired of their inaction, and there is word that there will be walkouts in protest coming in the future, urging Congress to do something. Still, I am not sure that this will work, especially since one of the dates I saw was for sometime in April, after two months would have passed since Florida. If people have largely moved on and forgotten after two days, do we really think the impact is going to be stronger two months later?
Then again, who knows? Maybe it will work.
Also, let's face it: the reality is that there very well may be another major mass shooting or two between now and then. Would anyone really be surprised if there was?
There was one last aspect of this latest school shooting that I wanted to focus in on, and that is President Trump's response.
First, he said nothing about gun control, and his tweets were surprisingly silent about the incident, until he finally suggested that the FBI's investigations into his alleged ties with Russia might have interfered enough to miss the signs that they should have jumped on with the shooter, Nikolas Cruz.
He went down to visit, because it was conveniently on his way to Mar-a-Lago. Rumor has it that he even cut out a round of golf, which really is as close to a sacrifice as we can expect from this very entitled man.
Of course, there were photos, and the ones that came out were truly appalling. Trump is shown apparently beaming his smile and with a big thumbs up, as if this were a time to celebrate. No sobriety in that response, and everyone knows that it is not only not natural, but grossly inappropriate and disrespectful to the victims and their families. Also, it seems to suggest - clearly suggest - that he really does not understand, or worse, care, about the suffering that his own policies are responsible for.
But President Trump's weekend was far from over. Hell, it was just beginning. He got the Parkland visit out of the way, because he had other matters to attend to. After all, the President is a busy man, right? Here is where he went after the heartfelt visit to Parkland:
Kevin Liptak ✔ @Kevinliptakcnn President Trump and the First Lady stopped by a Studio 54-themed disco party in the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago last night after returning from the Broward sheriff’s department 3:23 PM - Feb 17, 2018
But President Trump's weekend was far from over. Hell, it was just beginning. He got the Parkland visit out of the way, because he had other matters to attend to. After all, the President is a busy man, right? Here is where he went after the heartfelt visit to Parkland:
Kevin Liptak ✔ @Kevinliptakcnn President Trump and the First Lady stopped by a Studio 54-themed disco party in the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago last night after returning from the Broward sheriff’s department 3:23 PM - Feb 17, 2018
After his thumbs up, President Trump excused himself to go to his already planned weekend retreat at Mar-a-Lago, which he likes to refer to as "White House South." He may have given up a round of golf, but that did not prevent him from attending a disco party, of all things. Clearly, he is not taking this school shooting to heart, and is hardly seriously shaken up by it. I wonder what the kids and teachers in the school, who saw their friends and students gunned down in cold blood, would think. I wonder what the families of the fallen victims think, when they see that.
Still, the President's weekend was not done! He sent a tweet on Saturday, suggesting that the FBI might have missed the signals on Nikolas Cruz because it was focusing too much on the Russia investigation:
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud! 11:08 PM - Feb 17, 2018
So, just a few days after the worst school shooting that this country has seen since Sandy Hook, President Trump was basically playing the role of victim, and using this same school shooting to reinforce his point! But this did not sit particularly well with some. Some reactions from apparent survivors of the shooting via tweets to answer the President (here is a sampling):
"17 of my classmates are gone. That's 17 futures, 17 children, and 17 friends stolen. But you're right, it always has to be about you. How silly of me to forget. #neveragain"
"17 innocent people were brutally murdered at my school, a place where they should have felt safe. Their lives were gone in an instant. You are the President of the United States and you have the audacity to put this on Russia as an excuse. I guess I should expect that from you."
"...my friends were brutally murdered and you have the nerve to make this about Russia. I can not believe this"
"Oh my god. 17 OF MY CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS ARE GONE AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO MAKE THIS ABOUT RUSSIA???!! HAVE A DAMN HEART. You can keep all of your fake and meaningless 'thoughts and prayers'."
One of the Parkland high schoolers who was there that day, David Hogg, was on NBC's "Meet the Press" and directly challenged President Trump to take responsibility, and take action:
"You're the President. You're supposed to bring this nation together, not divide us. How dare you? Children are dying, and their blood is on your hands because of that. Please take action. Stop going on vacation in Mar-a-Lago. Take action. Work with Congress. Your party controls both the House and Senate. Take action, get some bills passed, and for God's sake, let's save some lives."
Frankly, I am not shocked that three of the ten deadliest mass shooting in modern American history have come in the slightly more than one year time that Trump has been in the White House. Truth be told, I would not be at all surprised to see more.
Still, the President's weekend was not done! He sent a tweet on Saturday, suggesting that the FBI might have missed the signals on Nikolas Cruz because it was focusing too much on the Russia investigation:
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud! 11:08 PM - Feb 17, 2018
So, just a few days after the worst school shooting that this country has seen since Sandy Hook, President Trump was basically playing the role of victim, and using this same school shooting to reinforce his point! But this did not sit particularly well with some. Some reactions from apparent survivors of the shooting via tweets to answer the President (here is a sampling):
"17 of my classmates are gone. That's 17 futures, 17 children, and 17 friends stolen. But you're right, it always has to be about you. How silly of me to forget. #neveragain"
"17 innocent people were brutally murdered at my school, a place where they should have felt safe. Their lives were gone in an instant. You are the President of the United States and you have the audacity to put this on Russia as an excuse. I guess I should expect that from you."
"...my friends were brutally murdered and you have the nerve to make this about Russia. I can not believe this"
"Oh my god. 17 OF MY CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS ARE GONE AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO MAKE THIS ABOUT RUSSIA???!! HAVE A DAMN HEART. You can keep all of your fake and meaningless 'thoughts and prayers'."
One of the Parkland high schoolers who was there that day, David Hogg, was on NBC's "Meet the Press" and directly challenged President Trump to take responsibility, and take action:
"You're the President. You're supposed to bring this nation together, not divide us. How dare you? Children are dying, and their blood is on your hands because of that. Please take action. Stop going on vacation in Mar-a-Lago. Take action. Work with Congress. Your party controls both the House and Senate. Take action, get some bills passed, and for God's sake, let's save some lives."
Frankly, I am not shocked that three of the ten deadliest mass shooting in modern American history have come in the slightly more than one year time that Trump has been in the White House. Truth be told, I would not be at all surprised to see more.
Very trying times we are living through. Mediocre times, with the most mediocre of Presidents enjoying a long weekend off for President Day.
What a farce! What an utter humiliation for this country, to have such a pathetic man holding the highest office, and supposedly representing the people for four years! How appalling is this inexcusable behavior, in the wake of what really should be an unthinkable tragedy. What a ridiculous imitation of "leadership!" What a fake President!
Here are the articles that I used in writing this particular blog entry about President Trump's absurd and inexcusable response to the school shooting:
Trump tweet angers survivors of Parkland shooting By Eli Watkins, CNN Updated 8:10 PM ET, Sun February 18, 2018
After Ignoring Parkland Shooting Victims, Trump Went To A Disco Party By Jason Easley on Sat, Feb 17th, 2018:
Thumbs Up! President Trump Congratulates Everyone for Their Hard Work During Another Mass Shooting. By MATTHEW DESSEM FEB 17, 2018:
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