What is a Canadian?
Jul. 23rd, 2012 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osodecanelaComedian Norm McDonald (a man who I believe is Canadian) once queried on nighttime television, "what's a Canadian? An unarmed American with health care!"
I wish I could truly appreciate the levity of that remark at the moment, but I am too spitting angry after the events of this weekend in Colorado. I went to turn on the morning news today, and every last channel is broadcasting from in front of the theater in Aurora Colorado, as if there is nothing else going on in the world. WTF!?! There is nothing of any national importance happening at that theater today. It's over. There is no reason to have news people standing in front of it.
Do not get me wrong. I'm appalled by what happened, but I'm more appalled that absolutely nothing will be done about this. Oh, the 24-year-old who committed this heinous act will likely be either in prison or some sort of mental institution for the remainder of his existence, but will we do anything about the situation in this country that permits someone to acquire the kind of assault weaponry that this man acquired legally ? Not just no, but Hell, no. Neither party has the political will to stand up to groups like the NRA.
The people who were victims were political nobodies. That's not to denigrate or devalue them, not that we really, truly value life in this country, but we did nothing after Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford was shot while meeting with constituents in a Safeway parking lot just two years ago. We as a nation were horrified by what happened to her. I believe 18 people were shot and six died, but did we do anything substantive about gun control in its aftermath? Nope, not a thing.
Instead, we still have right-wingers in this country who talk about second amendment remedies to things they dislike, as well as others who fan flames that might get someone who is "not quite right", to pick up a weapon and take matters into their own hands. (Example? Think anti-abortion groups who've put up "wanted" posters featuring photos, phone numbers, office, as well as home addresses of medical providers who provide those services, all the time denying that they have any culpability. Dr. George Tiller, who had been labeled "Tiller, the baby killer" on his wanted posters, was victim to that type of tactic. Dr. Tiller survived the first attempt on his life in 1993, only to be murdered by another loose cannon in 2009.)
Wake up, people! There is something incredibly broken in our social system when any single individual is able to obtain the kind of assault weaponry and ammunition that this latest deranged gunman was able to obtain, legally. We license drivers in this country, but anyone can buy an assault rifle? Because of our own unwillingness to address this is as a society, one more location has been put on the list of locations that spark a memory of senseless mass murders.
Tucson
Virginia Tech
The Long Island Railroad
San Ysidro, California
101 California St, San Francisco
Aurora, Colorado
Columbine
I wish I could truly appreciate the levity of that remark at the moment, but I am too spitting angry after the events of this weekend in Colorado. I went to turn on the morning news today, and every last channel is broadcasting from in front of the theater in Aurora Colorado, as if there is nothing else going on in the world. WTF!?! There is nothing of any national importance happening at that theater today. It's over. There is no reason to have news people standing in front of it.
Do not get me wrong. I'm appalled by what happened, but I'm more appalled that absolutely nothing will be done about this. Oh, the 24-year-old who committed this heinous act will likely be either in prison or some sort of mental institution for the remainder of his existence, but will we do anything about the situation in this country that permits someone to acquire the kind of assault weaponry that this man acquired legally ? Not just no, but Hell, no. Neither party has the political will to stand up to groups like the NRA.
The people who were victims were political nobodies. That's not to denigrate or devalue them, not that we really, truly value life in this country, but we did nothing after Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford was shot while meeting with constituents in a Safeway parking lot just two years ago. We as a nation were horrified by what happened to her. I believe 18 people were shot and six died, but did we do anything substantive about gun control in its aftermath? Nope, not a thing.
Instead, we still have right-wingers in this country who talk about second amendment remedies to things they dislike, as well as others who fan flames that might get someone who is "not quite right", to pick up a weapon and take matters into their own hands. (Example? Think anti-abortion groups who've put up "wanted" posters featuring photos, phone numbers, office, as well as home addresses of medical providers who provide those services, all the time denying that they have any culpability. Dr. George Tiller, who had been labeled "Tiller, the baby killer" on his wanted posters, was victim to that type of tactic. Dr. Tiller survived the first attempt on his life in 1993, only to be murdered by another loose cannon in 2009.)
Wake up, people! There is something incredibly broken in our social system when any single individual is able to obtain the kind of assault weaponry and ammunition that this latest deranged gunman was able to obtain, legally. We license drivers in this country, but anyone can buy an assault rifle? Because of our own unwillingness to address this is as a society, one more location has been put on the list of locations that spark a memory of senseless mass murders.
Tucson
Virginia Tech
The Long Island Railroad
San Ysidro, California
101 California St, San Francisco
Aurora, Colorado
Columbine
