Another mass shooting, this time in a Sikh gurdwara near Milwaukee. Another round of hand-wringing and dancing around the blued-steel elephant in the room. At least this shooting is being treated as an incident of domestic terrorism. One possibility is that the shooter opened fire in the gurdwara in the belief that he was killing Moslems- it would not be the first such attack here in the States.
A few days back, Johnny Pez put up a dire post about the possibility of a coming civil war. Living in my safe Northeastern home, I posted a comment "talking him down", but I'm not so optimistic today. The gun violence statistics are appalling, there's a low-grade civil war being waged on U.S. soil as we speak, it's just that there are no battle lines drawn, and no "sides". Deranged loners, racist wingnuts, gangbangers of all types, rage-filled family members... the common denominator is that they have access to guns, and there are powerful forces which seek to ensure that they never lose access to guns. How many more mass killings do there have to be before the violent gun culture in our society is addressed? It's getting so insane that the authorities in Houston released a video on dealing with a mass shooting event- it's almost like these occurrences are being treated like natural disasters. Floods... Wildfires... Mass shootings... one of these things is not like the others.
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and there are powerful forces which seek to ensure that they never lose access to guns.
Powerful forces that encourage all the kulturkampf that goes on, so the common clay does not notice that they're being robbed.
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Come now be rational. Even if guns were outlawed a guy who can only tell the world how he feels with a massacre will find a gun. The Government has thrown its weight behind banning drugs and illegal firearms and yet any truly determined person with money can go out and get coke,meth,m14,ak47,etc. The NRA are right "Guns don't kill people," the sickness is in society. I guarantee you ban guns you will still have the same amount of massacres.
Deranged loners, racist wingnuts, gangbangers of all types, rage-filled family members... the common denominator is that they have access to gun
List does not include "police". Unless they are covered by other entries.
I guarantee you ban guns you will still have the same amount of massacres.
I guarantee you we won't.
The only way to settle these dueling guarantees is to give it a shot.
Killer's being reported as an Army vet, and White Supremacist.
Shocked, I am, to find racism involved. Shocked, I tell you.
FairlyFatGuy, don't forget lawn furniture.
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For all the times and ways the reactionaries in this country try to portray liberals as violent, you sure don't hear about many 20 something vegan yoga instructors going postal
What I want to know from the "all guns available all the time" crowd is what is the level of gun murders that is unacceptable.
We have about 9000 gun murders a year in this country. Let's not get into a discussion that that is a rate that every other civilized country finds appalling.
At what point is it too many? 10,000? 20,000? As it is, it's roughly twice as many people as American soldiers killed in Iraq. Let's establish a baseline for action here.
In any case, I suspect that if FFG has a relative that is killed in one of these sprees, THAT is the point at which SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. The families of the six killed in Oak Creek are someone else, so for now, FFG's access to guns takes precedence over their anguish.
TBogg has a LOVELY roundup of the best conspiracy theories:
http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2012/08/06/tales-from-the-grassy-knoll/
I particularly like the ones that claim there were four shooters. 4 shooters that only managed to kill 6 unarmed people. HAH.
Killer was being tracked by the SPLC, and had ties to Stormfront, including plying in a skinhead band that played at their rallies.
Just an all around lovely fellow. FWIW, does not seem to be a Wisconsin native, although the FBI thinks he bought his handgun here legally.
Powerful forces that encourage all the kulturkampf that goes on, so the common clay does not notice that they're being robbed.
Yeah, it's a two-fer. Fucking enraging, isn't it?
Come now be rational. Even if guns were outlawed a guy who can only tell the world how he feels with a massacre will find a gun. The Government has thrown its weight behind banning drugs and illegal firearms and yet any truly determined person with money can go out and get coke,meth,m14,ak47,etc. The NRA are right "Guns don't kill people," the sickness is in society. I guarantee you ban guns you will still have the same amount of massacres.
A guy will get a gun. The problem is that it's easy to get many guns. You are right, the sickness is in society, but the sickness is a fear and loathing that leads certain individuals to get a fuckton of guns and ammunition. I'm not talking about outlawing guns, and I never have. I'm talking about implementing the well regulated part of the Second Amendment. I live in a region with serious gun control, and the low baseline level of gun violence is primarily due to the goddamn river of steel which flows up from states with piss-poor gun control, making gun-running up the I-95 corridor easy. For the record, the one friend of mine who was murdered with a firearm was shot by a (probably legally purchased) long rifle by a guy he serving a warrant on for violating an order of protection. D00d didn't want to go to jail, so he ambushed my friend, killing him instantly. He injured another cop. The resultant siege went on for hours, with responding police from the entire region, including an armored vehicle from the NYPD. Turns out the guy shot his dog, his grandmother, and himself. If he had had an AK-47 and a stockpile of ammunition, he might have killed many, many people, going out in a blaze of gory (sic). If you're a Second Amendment supporter, don't cherry-pick, insist that the whole amendment is adhered to. Otherwise, you're not on "constitutionally sound" ground, papi.
List does not include "police". Unless they are covered by other entries.
I also neglected to include aristocrats.
The only way to settle these dueling guarantees is to give it a shot.
Right on target, as usual.
Shocked, I am, to find racism involved. Shocked, I tell you.
There's racism in this country?
FairlyFatGuy, don't forget lawn furniture.
I need an outdoor fainting couch.
For all the times and ways the reactionaries in this country try to portray liberals as violent, you sure don't hear about many 20 something vegan yoga instructors going postal
It's bound to happen, it's getting real in the Whole Foods parking lot.
In any case, I suspect that if FFG has a relative that is killed in one of these sprees, THAT is the point at which SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. The families of the six killed in Oak Creek are someone else, so for now, FFG's access to guns takes precedence over their anguish.
Well, this is a culture which invented the term "collateral damage".
TBogg has a LOVELY roundup of the best conspiracy theories:
Let me guess, the guy was an Obama plant, acting so the Kenyan Usurper can establish martial law and confiscate all the precious guns...
Killer was being tracked by the SPLC, and had ties to Stormfront, including plying in a skinhead band that played at their rallies.
Charming, real charming.
Right on target, as usual.
I am glad someone caught my subtle wordplay.
The Government has thrown its weight behind banning drugs and illegal firearms
"Illegal firearms"? Is that a thing?
yet any truly determined person with money can go out and get coke,meth,m14,ak47
FFG's argument would be more convincing if M14s and AK47s WERE ILLEGAL.
I am glad someone caught my subtle wordplay.
Blogging ain't beanbag!
"Illegal firearms"? Is that a thing?
Scalia wouldn't mind if possession of shoulder-fired rocket launchers were legal.
FFG's argument would be more convincing if M14s and AK47s WERE ILLEGAL.
His appeal to "rationality" was funny.
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