Poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote, “It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it’s one damn thing over and over.” Bloggers, columnists, and doodlers—professional or not, generally love language and the written word. Like most, I have a unique writing process that involves lots of reading, research, and talking to people. No matter how much I prepare or plan, paraphrasing Millay, one damn thing keeps happening over and over, mass shootings. The bodies of children and the elderly strewn across the acreage of an outlet mall in Texas this weekend was the latest. The horrific account of one eyewitness who found what he thought was a praying young woman only to turn her body and discover her face was blown away should send shivers down the spine of us all. “The first girl I walked up to was crouched down, covering her head in the bushes, so I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face,”said Steven Spainhouer, who was responding to a call from his son for help at the mall.
The tears of surviving families will fall with no response from those in a position to help. Republican politicians will asks for prayer and some will blame the victims for not pleading hard enough. When asked by a CNN reporter what about the people who think ‘prayers aren’t cutting it,’ Texas GOP Rep. Keith Self responded, “Well, those are people that don’t believe in an almighty god who is absolutely in control of our lives,”said Self, who concluded“I’m a Christian. I believe that he is.” Rep. Self seems to disregard having fail-safes in society although not perfect saves lives—speed limits, stop signs, and the little hole in the cap of your Bic pen. Governor Abbott of Texas talked about anger and mental health—as a cause, yet in 2021 he cut the state’s Health and Human Services Commission budget by 117 million dollars. The confusing mixed messages have created political stagnation.
The majority of Americans want limits on access the the deadly rifles that are killing are friends, neighbors and children but the conservative politicization of the issue is a literal killer. As of this writing eight innocent people are dead and three are in the hospital in critical condition. The one thing gun advocates will not talk about is the gun. People with mental health issues are more likely to be victims not offenders. It is easier to point fingers than acknowledge shortcomings. The latest shooter has a Hispanic surname so of course right wing activists and cranks will point to migration.
Georgia Republican rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also placed blame on mental illness, anti-depressant drugs (SSRIs) and “evil forces.” Like Abbott, Greene’s disingenuous position is highlighted by her voteagainst a bill to expand mental health services for youth and against a separate bill to address mental health and substance abuse. Introspection is needed from the American voter. I have never been a single issue voter and have criticized those who do. I am wrong on this issue. Going to a movie, a concert or buying a pair of shoes at a mall should not be a life threatening endeavor. I usually end my pieces with the words Continue to Vote for Change, maybe I need to say…
Vote Against Guns