It's time to have a somber national discussion about the [insert shooting tragedy here] tragedy.In his post at the link above, Chris Andoe at Americablog lists the rest of rules for discussion here in the United States of the most recent mass shooting and those that may follow. People in other countries are not bound by our rules for discussion, so you may read or hear words that you find offensive and politically incorrect, such as, "America's gun laws are insane."
Before we get started, let's go over a few basic ground rules.
1. In the wake of the __________ tragedy it's time for us all to come together as a nation and not assign blame. This is not the time, for example, to talk about how it's easier to purchase a gun in America than it is to vote (or buy French cheese).
2. And we won't tolerate any second guessing of the Second Amendment right to carry assault weapons, or questions about how the Framers could have possibly envisaged an assault rifle over 200 years ago, or why a "hunter" needs six thousand rounds of ammunition, or kevlar, or smoke grenades to kill a pheasant.
At the time of the Colorado shootings, I'd forgotten that the previous mass shooting was only two months before in Seattle, Washington. The time lapse between the two most recent mass shootings was two weeks. With the grief over the Colorado shootings still fresh, it's a wonder that most of us go on as if nothing unusual has happened. Two mass killings within two weeks... I am stunned. One of my Facebook friends commented on a thread on my page which included gallows humor. I responded that gallows humor is one way of coping for me, because the horror is too much to take in.
And now, on to the discussions, as we remember to follow the rules as laid out by Chris at Americablog.
The Brady Campaign has a pdf list of mass shootings in the United States since 2005 that runs 62 pages through July 23 (Aurora, Colorado).
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Paul (A.). My responses are still a little slow, as I'm still stunned.
DeleteI don't think we can come together as a nation to discuss this issue without a recognition on the part of a majority of the population that:
ReplyDelete1. We are a multcultural nation.
2. We encompass many faiths.
Working on these issues are my personal favorites.
Bonnie, yours are good points. We've got to address the hate speech, too. Words count. And we have to have a serious conversation about guns.
DeleteAgreed. This whole new situation made me think of Fr. James Groppi who was living and working in Milwaukee at the time my first husband and I were living in Racine (1960's). Long story but to make it short we had to drive back and forth to Plymouth, WI serveral times a year and through the part of Milwaukee where Fr. Groppi, a champion of civil rights, was working. Probably been having conversations about hate speech at least since that time. I think we have made some strides, maybe just baby steps, but we can't stop having that conversation.
DeleteMimi, you left out the mass shootings in Toronto and Tuscaloosa a few days before the Colorado killings:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/17/156895479/mass-casualties-after-shootings-in-toronto-and-tuscaloosa
Russ, I left out a lot. Check out Paul (A.)'s link in the comment above.
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