Weekly Mail Special

I wanted really badly to write something about the tragedy in Florida this week.

I didn't want to include it in my regular Weekly post, where I'd much rather discuss the Winter Olympics and the Rangers and other stuff that may make me grouchy, but not too serious.

Initially I wanted to write about how I felt that the only way we could end what has become an epidemic in this country is to band together. Whether or not you are a gun enthusiast or a gun control advocate, black or white, liberal or conservative, atheist or person of faith, we can all come together and figure out that our kids are being killed, and it needs to stop. I mean if we can't agree on that....

But as I was writing, and reading and watching all the news coverage, I began to have less and less faith that we as a nation could put those differences aside and work on what absolutely should bind us together. All I saw was a bunch of name calling, finger pointing and lots and lots of empty talk.

The most accurate meme I saw (and I saw many people post it) was a flow chart circle. At 12 o'clock it said School Shooting. At 2 o'clock it said thoughts and prayers. At 4 o'clock it said Facebook debates. At 6 o'clock it said Everyone Forgets. At 8 o'clock it said Congress does nothing, at 10 o'clock it said crickets chirping. And then of course it starts over again.

Yeah pretty much. And I feel like I'm writing the same thing again.

So I thought about scrapping it. But I also don't want anyone to think I'm living with my head in the sand, or that I don't care. Timmy's going into high school in a few years, well,forget that, he's in school now. Shit, Sandy Hook? Those kids were babies! I have to worry about this now!

We all do.

So I'm going to touch on some things that are on my mind. Put my $0.02 out there. Hopefully it doesn't turn you off.

1) Those three words, are said too much, they're not enough. from Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol


Thoughts and Prayers.... I saw a lot of people get repulsed by these three words this week.  And I get it I honestly do. The thought of some empty suit politician who says this or even worse, releases this in a statement while he or she takes money from the gun lobby like some two bit Las Vegas crack whore is aggravating beyond words. Anybody, especially those in power, that says these words and then does nothing about it deserves all the scorn they get.

But for those of us who believe in a higher power, who felt helpless this week because what can we do? For us to get mocked for praying for these families, for praying for OUR families, well I have a problem with that. I won't make fun of you for not believing, don't make fun of me because I do. That's not fair.


2) Blame the NRA/Gun Lobby but.......

I've said this many times before. I consider myself a social conservative. I don't want to mess too much with the bill of rights, but on the other hand, we need to use some common sense here. I don't believe the 2nd amendment was put in place so that everybody in America could own a semiautomatic rifle. I don't own a gun. Somebody once handed me an unloaded pistol and I still got nervous. If shooting at a range or hunting is your cup of tea, well good for you. I've never had any real desire to know how the meat got from the cow to my grill.

The NRA and the other gun advocate lobbyists deserve the blame they are getting for what happened. Their inability or inaction in keeping semiautomatic weapons out of the hands of anybody but the military or law enforcement is a huge reason why these mass shootings keep happening.

But it's not the only reason.

There is a mental health problem in the country that has long been neglected. When Donald Trump was running for President, his standard speech always included we're going to build a wall, we're going to take care of our vets.." he and Bernie Sanders were the only two candidates that consistently promised to tackle the issue of homeless vets. I realize that vets haven't been responsible for any of these shootings, but to me it cuts to the issue of a lack of care and treatment for people who obviously need help.

I have no problem kicking the shit out of the NRA, but that only solves part of the problem.


3) Come Together, RIGHT NOW! The Beatles

Look folks, I took my digs at those who mock people of faith and the NRA and those who have neglected the mentally ill, so maybe I'm being a bit of a hypocrite on this, but I still believe that the only way to stop this is to put politics aside and work this out together. I originally typed put our differences aside, but in some ways we need our differences to get the most out of our ideas. Find the common ground but listen to the other side. Again I have no idea in the world why someone feels the need to own a AK-15, but you have to hear them out before you list all the reasons why that's a bad idea. One of the lists that came out this week was a list of all the politicians who took money from the gun lobby. John McCain* was on that list, pretty close to the top on a couple that I saw. I always felt that he was a man of common sense, someone who would buck the system if he thought it was right. I'd ask him, point blank. "You gave 7 years of your life to defend this nation, so that your kids could live free. Why can't you support a gun law that would protect the kids you were willing to spend 7 years in hell to protect 50 years ago." I'd like to think he'd think twice if he saw it that way. Maybe not. But it's worth it to try.

It has to be bipartisan, it has to reach across all races and religions. It has to reach those who aren't religious.  This "If the shooter was Muslim, everyone would be upset" crap has to stop because we are all upset. Muslims need to be part of the discussion too. Hear them out, their fears and concerns.

It's possible. There was a point this week where I wasn't feeling it. Part of me just wanted to not write, let the heat die down and then go back to the superficial and the fun stuff. But then I saw that picture of the circle and I knew I had to say something. I'm nobody special, I know that. My word isn't any more important than anybody else. But together we can be huge.

Look at the #metoo movement, what these women have accomplished by banding together. Can't we all do that for our children?

What's more important than that?


* I singled out McCain, because folks know I've been a long time fan of his. I've been agreeing with him less and less since his loss to Obama in 2008, but I still feel like he has it in him to do the right thing.