shooting « Robin Writes

I just wanted to add a few things to my last two posts:

Regarding “mass shootings” which, in case you didn’t know, include those in which at least three people have been shot. I happen to disagree that this would be “mass” in any sense of the actual meaning of that word, but that’s a moot point. No one has asked me.

I read today that the US, of course, leads the world in “mass shootings,” some number around 78 in the last several decades. Or so. Really depends on what you read. During this same period, Germany has had 41. The “rest of the countries,” which aren’t specified, had a combined total of 41.

Please don’t say, “Yes, but any death is wrong!” Of course it is. No one would disagree. So it’s a pointless argument. And please don’t say “one death is NOT pointless.” You’re just digging a hole.

What I’m getting at is this:

The US population is four times that of Germany; five times that of the UK and France; nine times that of Canada; and 13 times that of Australia.

Right there, that says that many more unstable people in the US than almost anywhere else. Remember the bell curve, kids . . . it applies to batshit crazy just like it does any other characteristic.

I’m quite sure there are many reasons the US has more gun violence—but also quite sure that more legislation isn’t the answer.

The Feds investigated Mateen THREE times; at least one time, they closed the investigation because he said his coworkers were picking on him because of his religion.

Ahem. Think about that for a moment. Kind of like asking a bank robber if he stole the safe and, when he says no, letting him out of the cell.

PC run amok. Very amok.

Regarding ol’ Brock the rapist and his dear mum:

Carleen Turner did write a letter to the judge; it was released, with other documents, earlier this week. She basically sobbed about her little boy and how sweet he was and how this whole debacle had simply just RUINED their lives! Not a single mention of his culpability. Not one word about his victim.

Poor, poor Brock.

Asshole.

And asshole parents.

Really, I get that it might be hard to believe your child could do something so truly awful, but this—grow up, lady. Be a freakin’ parent. Be an adult.

I have zero sympathy for her. None. Parents who believe their little angels can do no wrong, regardless of evidence to the contrary, deserve what they get.

See, here’s the thing:

Carleen, you say Brock was never in trouble, ever. I call bullshit. Either you didn’t know or you chose to ignore it. And/or, you excused it.

The problem, of course, is that we all get it—we all get slammed with all the Brocks when they’re foisted on society.

I was out and about yesterday and happened to check Facebook mid-afternoon, when I saw a post about the Oregon college shooting. There wasn’t much online at that point, but stories trickled in over the rest of the day.

Horrific, yes. Very sad, yes. But the damn gun didn’t fire itself. The crazy dude did it. How did he get a gun? I don’t know. Could someone else, with a gun, have taken him out before he could kill people? I don’t know that either; sometimes, as we see on the news, that happens. I tend to think many who carry would be just as terrified as someone who didn’t, and that, of course, would limit their actions.

But it’s pretty obvious that having a “gun-free zone” doesn’t work very well. Bad guys work around the rules, that’s why they’re called “bad” guys. You go into a bank, you don’t try to rob the place because you’re not a “bad” guy; he’ll go in the bank and try to rob it anyway.

Not like he went to a gun store and bought a gun, although maybe he did. There are loopholes; mistakes are made. Many crimes here in STL, however, are committed with stolen firearms.

That’s ‘cause we have bad guys, everywhere.

I know all the arguments; we’ve all heard them, over and over. I’m okay with hearing a fresh take on an issue, but I’m not okay with skewing statistics to prove a point as in several articles I’ve read recently.

Fact: Killing innocent people is wrong.

I think we can all agree with that.

But for a country in which many citizens believe it’s okay to murder a baby in the womb, why are we surprised when someone thinks it’s okay to shoot people?

Those who believe in abortion don’t think that that a fetus is actually a human being—or, they think the baby’s rights are less than that of the mother, the mother who chose to have sex (please, spare me the stats on rape victims and pregnancy or even failed birth control; the old saying “there’s an exception for every rule” applies across the board).

Look, most people think that sex is great—people think a lot of things are great, but that doesn’t mean we have a “right” to do those things. Even if we do, for every action, in any situation, there’s a consequence:

Get drunk, risk having an accident;

Steal something, risk arrest;

Have sex, you could get pregnant.

All of these things are your choice. THAT is your choice, and your choice extends to fixing the “problem,” but only if it doesn’t infringe on another’s rights.

If you get drunk and have an accident, you pay fines, repairs, living with guilt, possibly prison time. You might be able to alleviate those consequences, but the point is that YOU are paying for your choice. Steal and face arrest, same things apply.

For those who believe abortion is wrong, that it’s killing another human being, the consequence you may face for having sex is pregnancy and parenthood.

For those who think abortion is a good solution, you have a “procedure” and that’s it, one and done. In effect, you have no consequence. But that’s not how things should work, right?

I mean, if you believe it’s okay to kill an innocent child, why are you so adamant that we do away with guns because sometimes someone opens fire on innocent students or bystanders or anyone else?