Thursday, March 30, 2023

The Fire This Time: Nashville TN

Because we're America, damn it, we can't go awhile without a mass shooting, tragedy struck Monday in Nashville TN a shooter with two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol killed three students and three adults at a private Christian school.

Three children and three adults were murdered in this assault.

The shooter was shot dead by police.  

The slaughter itself is horrific in and of itself but add the context that is is not unique but is only the latest in a series of mass shootings in the United States.   

Not counting the shooters and factoring the Nashville tally from Monday, there have been 74 people killed or injured this year alone in mass shootings. 

Maybe the takeaway here is that this is happening too many damn times. 

That maybe children going to school shouldn't expect to die in body shredding hail of bullets.

Maybe the focus is why anyone needs so many guns including assault rifles. 

Or maybe it's doors? 

In the aftermath of this tragedy while authorities were still assessing the damage, treating the injured and counting the dead, an alleged expert was on Fox News was opining that the real threat were unlocked doors and that killers can just wander in through unlocked side doors and that my friends is the real danger to America.

For the record, the side door where the shooter made their entrance was locked. The shooter's assault rifle made short work of that barrier.

When information about the shooter became public, the right wing gun loving nutcases had a something new to pin the blame for the shooting on.

The shooter was transgender. 

And we're off! 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.):  "How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking? Everyone can stop blaming guns now! The female Nashville shooter identified as a man. So shouldn’t we just blame white men again?”

Donald Trump Jr.:  "Rather than talking about guns we should be talking about lunatics pushing their gender affirming bullshit on our kids?”

Sen. J.D. Vance:  "If early reports are accurate that a trans shooter targeted a Christian school, there needs to be a lot of soul searching on the extreme left. Giving in to these ideas isn’t compassion, it’s dangerous."   

I posted several times about the all out war right wing nut cases and the Republican Party have declared on transgender people, targeting American citizens with fear, hatred and vitriol in a blatant grab for political power.  

Transgender people are just that, people. People have great potential for good, compassion, kindness. 

Unfortunately, people also can have a terrible capacity for rage, cruelty, even evil. 

Those innocent victims at that school on Monday didn't die because their attacker was transgender. 

Those innocent victims at that school on Monday died because their attacker was fucking ARMED with guns they didn't fucking need. 

The victims of gun violence don't die because their attacker was racist, anti-Semitic, Muslim, Islamophobic, homophobic..   the list goes on who the shooter might be. 

We're all in danger, living a nation that is war zone while too  many fucking people have too god damn many guns they don't damn well need. 

The fire this time was Nashville TN. Who knows when the fire will fall again. But as long as too many damn fucking morons would rather look to any excuse other than the actual guns, trust me, the fire will come again. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

My First Sushi

Last week, I had my first sushi. While Andrea and I were out of town for our son's graduation from college, we took him and two of his f...