Normally we begin each week with a smile but after the latest mass shootings over the weekend, it’s hard to share a silly cartoon. As a general rule I avoid expressing my political thoughts here, but with the most recent cities joining a less and less exclusive and heartbreaking club of victims and survivors dealing with the aftermath of gun violence in America, perhaps it’s time to make an exception.
Let me start by saying I have no simple solution but clearly the usual way of coping after this happens doesn’t seem to make a difference. And I don’t know how to eliminate assault weapons or high capacity magazines from the hands of those who would use them to wage their particular flavor of hatred. I can only hope we take a long, hard look at the ugly image of America staring back at all of us in the mirror and finally resolve to actually do something to change these nearly daily occurrences. With over 200 mass shootings tallied this year alone (the exact figure is difficult to precisely pinpoint with various agencies tracking these events using different metrics), no matter which number you settle on, by my way of thinking it’s still over 200 too many.
Yes, thoughts and prayers are the normal offering at times like this, but it seems they do little to resolve this seemingly never ending problem in America. We must to do more than just offer platitudes.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Agreed 💜nose nudges💜
The problem is that the bad guys will always find a way to get assault weapons and extended magazines. By passing laws to limit the rest of us, we’re setting ourselves up for more incidents like this one. I don’t know if studies have been done about how these incidents would have gone if there was a person with a gun to stand up for the victims or would-be victims. It’s an ugly world and I can’t even comprehend the ripples reaching so many lives.
One in six people now has a direct connection to someone who is related to a gun survivor or acquainted. Considering the US has more guns than people, I respectfully find it incomprehensible that more guns would be a viable solution to gun violence (and researchers have widely debunked is the idea that more guns have deterred crime — in fact, the opposite may be true, based on research compiled by the Harvard School of Public Health’s Injury Control Center).
It’s very sad to hear about the news and we don’t understand it either, Monika, we also don’t understand how such a young boy get into this kind of action. Then I ask myself, is there something to understand in these cases, isn’t it time for action right now? When does the Government open their eyes and see what’s really happening in the world, instead of concentrate themselves on money money money. Love is the answer, I totally agree. Healing Pawkisses for mankind and a big hug for you💗💞💗
So many questions, few answers on this increasing problem. But hope this becomes a watershed moment to change this culture of death.
It is hard to wrap my head around that much hate in one person. It is time for the NRA to stop running our elected officials.
There is a bill waiting on McConell in the Senate. It’s already gone through the House and is one step away from being voted on, and he’s dragging his feet. It’s an indictment on our elected officials that we’ve been having the same conversations for more than two decades. Shameful.
Yeah, it’s been sitting there since February. Not hopeful he’ll move on it though. He’s going to employ the ‘Dean Smith 4-corner defense’ strategy and run out the clock. Next month when they come back there’ll be a new crisis to deal with and by then it’ll be all about the election. The man is despicable.
It’s disgusting.
A very shameful chapter.
Another shameful chapter.
So sorry to see this on our news. Another tragedy 😟
Another day, another shooting. Three alone last week. This madness of hatred must be stopped.
I certainly agree there are no simple solutions, and while it seems for the moment that people are energized for change … I’m hoping it doesn’t fade away or get consumed by some newer crisis. The only thing I’m heartened by is that many of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are being pretty relentless about the Administration’s and the Senate’s failings; and even if there’s political opportunism behind that, maybe that will create enough discomfort to generate some action, any action.
You wrote: “it’s hard to share a silly cartoon” … I can relate to that. I have about a hundred new photos I was planning to start posting over the weekend, but can’t get the news out of my head long enough to do it. I’m just sort of stuck, for now….
Let’s hope this is a watershed moment that turns the tide. For El Paso, Dayton and all the other cities who ‘joined’ that club. And also for the soul of this country.
Totally agree, well said!
Thanks. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻
Amen to all you say. It is a very trying time for our country. Mom says it all weighs very heavily on her and makes her very sad. We hope peeps start to remember that we ARE the UNITED States of America, not the divided mess we have today.
Woos – Lightning, Misty, and Timber
Our hearts hurt. More love, less hate.
I agree 100%. It is so disheartening. I don’t have the answer either, that’s for sure, but it certainly seems like those in power should be sitting down and at least examining this issue to try to come up with some answers. It just seems to be getting worse and worse, and I think some of us have a good idea why. 🙁
I couldn’t agree with you more. I would say we all need to inundate our individual senators with demands to go back to Washington and pass those bipartisan gun control laws that have been sitting on Mitch McConnell’s desk. But in my own case, it wouldn’t do any good – Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott are two of the many enablers who absolutely refuse to grow a spine, despite several attempts on my and hubby’s part in the past. Now they completely ignore our letters and/or emails. I’m at the point where anger and frustration don’t affect anyone but myself, hubby, and Ducky, so I need to find a different way to express it.
We need to divert our anger to a robust political groundswell in order to impress upon the enablers. Maybe when their poll numbers go down, they might come around. How pathetic is it we have to rely on poll numbers and partisanship to affect meaningful legislation?
You need to do something about the power of the NRA…but to do that we have to cut funding from all sorts of other bodies too…I can’t see politicians voting to close the taps to the trough.
It’s a small start, but would people not consider electing people who are genuinely independent and determined to do something about this spiral of hatred and death…though I suppose they could not afford to run for office given the current state of affairs.
Obscene amounts of money in our political system is making for a whole lot of insane policies. And heaven forbid anyone doesn’t fall lock step in line with the party mantra.
perfectly stated and I couldn’t agree more. Just tweeted this xoxoxo
Thanks. It’s just too much anymore and staying silent or only offering condolences doesn’t make it go away.
Freedom comes in many forms. Where we are today is as a result of trying to give everyone personal freedom while reducing the ability of local and national govenment agencies to infringe on that freedom. The time has come to eliminate the freedom to buy assult rifles, to be able to post hate messages without consequence, to gather together for the sole purpose of advancing racist and hate agendas. In short, the American population needs to give up certain rights in order to eliminate activities that take advantage of those rights and end up killing people. Is everyone willing to take a close look at civil liberies and let some go? Sadly, I doubt it.
I agree, John. We certainly gave up some of those freedoms following 9-11. We need to do it again or continue to expect to be afraid to send our children to school, go shopping or go to church.
The ACLU won’t like it.
I’m not real keen on it either but that ship sailed after 9-11. It would be a comfort knowing you can still go shopping, to church or school and not have to worry that you won’t be able to arrive back home safely.
I don’t know the answer either, but I do know that as long as the NRA is allowed to give more and more $ to political parties including bribes, nothing will change. And I am not anti gun. But no one except the military needs an assault or repeating rifle. Thanks for your post, Monika.
It’s insane to have those kinds of weapons available to civilians.
I’m a retired cop so I’m going to stay out of this fray. I could write a book on what’s been going on for many years and here we are. It’s a sad day indeed and it’s not going to get any better. 🙁
It’s a multi-faceted and long standing problem that seems to be getting worse, with no solution in sight. Thank you for your years of service to the public.
Hello Monika I too share your feelings. As a Canadian watching this horror continuing to unfold I wonder what can be done to stop such gun violence?
Did you know in the Dayton, Ohio shootings the shooter killed his Own Sister & his friend?? There are no words. That family is now destroyed along with all the other victims’ families.
I think the people in power need to take a long hard look at themselves & start making changes to make America safe & strong again.
Thank you for letting me have my say here.
With love & respect & {{hugs}} Sherri-Ellen
I welcome your thoughts. Yes, I knew about the Dayton shooter. Inconceivable there is that much hate in someone’s heart. I think every person in this country needs to take a long hard look, not just those in power. By allowing the status quo to continue, we are all complicit.
🐬🐬😞🐬🐬
The blatant politicization of these deranged acts by both sides and the exploitation of mass killings to maximize ratings by the media drives me crazy. Hmmm…maybe that last part could have been phrased better. Thing is, we all need to actually work together to get anything truly constructive done, no? In the current atmosphere, the popular attitude seems to be that it’s OK to demonize your opponent and marginalize their opinions whilst striving for the ultimate sound bite or tweet or social media signal. That would seem a recipe for failure. Having blathered all that, I sure don’t have a solution but as long as everything devolves to we/them, we’re doomed to a grisly business as usual.
We are definitely a shallow, short term attention focused country. Which doesn’t lend itself well for creating solutions for challenges like this. 😢
Many people defending the Second Amendment forget, or don’t mention, the part about well regulated militia. They were thinking about defending against those Indian varmints, or people of other religions, who could also be nasty, or hunting, which was necessary for survival. If modern multishot rifles had been available back then, they would have been just as unhappy with them–they are no good for hunting anything but humans
Only designed to kill.
Guns aren’t to blame. There are other ways to do mass killings (I’m not going to name them). They don’t look into the drug history of the perps (legal and illegal). If it weren’t guns, it would be something else. A lot of prescription drugs have warnings about inducing thoughts of suicide.
What gobsmacks me is that, by all accounts, the USA is home to over 390 million civilian-owned firearms! As we try to find solutions we have to keep in mind the staggering scale we are working with. I mean, if 75% of all civilian firearms magically disappeared, there would still be almost 100 million remaining. The problem of violence is more extensive than the well-publicized mass killing. Let’s not forget, on average,a person is shot in Chicago every 3 hours and 10 minutes and killed by gunshot every 17 hours. Just one city posts roughly 50 homicides a month. It’s clear we have to focus on the root causes of senseless violence whether that be drugs as you say, or wealth inequality, social media influences, a damaged educational system or whatever. Ai yai yai.
It’s a difficult and complex issue. Personally I just don’t get the need for guns in general, but that’s just me. The bigger issue seem to continue to allow assault weapons in the hands of civilians (which seem to be cheaper and easier to acquire than a hunting rifle) and that is just crazy.
Not sure what you define as an assault rifle. Automatic weapons are already banned in the US. The AR-15s and mock AK47s used in these mass events are mean-looking semi-automatic rifles, the same as your basic hunting rifle. High capacity magazines are more problematic as are the type of rounds that can be used in the rifles but I think one of the problems we have is a failure to find a common vocabulary about “guns.” Anyway, this is getting too far in the weeds for your delightful doggie blog.
AR 15s and the mock AK47s. Colorado previously passed a high capacity magazine limit bill and 5 legislators were recalled. You’re right on the issue of ‘gun vocabulary.’ And fouling up a pet blog with something so divisive and unquantifiable. *sigh*
Well stated, it was such a heartbreaking weekend and by now we know there are no easy answers.
It is heartbreaking. In a country that is so blessed with such vast resources, why then are we experiencing these emotions on such a regular basis?
I ask myself daily, why so many people are so angry.
And if angry, why kill others. Do they believe it will make their lives better?
None of it makes sense.
What can a citizen do to change the underlying anger of others? Daily we can use actions and words that are calming to others, on our little patch I suppose. I see people crazy angry all the time. Angry in line at the store or angry in traffic, angry on tv, angry in music.
People who agree with the current administration still rant at me, angrily even though this is their hayday, so angry angry angry. I handle them by saying I disagree quietly and turning away but I could become angry too. I know that is not going to contribute to a world I want to be in though.
It is our way to be upbeat on our blogs, and it is necessary, but some days it seems wrong to not address the issue as we see it.
Thank you for discussing it
LeeAnna
Sorry, I just couldn’t stay silent about this topic any more. We need to take a long, hard unvarnished look at ourselves and ask, is that what the so-called greatest country on earth should look and act like?
Agree, well said. Truly a heartbreaking weekend for us. The hatred and violence is overwhelming.
It is overwhelming and a nearly daily facet of life in America.
I hope it’s not too late to turn it around. So ugly and shameful for our country.
It certainly is. I don’t know whether we have reached the saturation point yet or not. The future awaits us; I can only hope it takes a turn for the better.
<3
I’m beginning to think that it isn’t a bunch of copycat loose nuts and may be a connected effort. That’s even scarier.
Alas, it seems as only white shooters are mentally deranged. If the shooter is a person of color, the reason seems to be differently judged.
I’m sad and totally despondent because I have no hope at all that theere will be a solution. Sorry to be so negative, but I can’t help it.
I’m afraid you’re spot on. It’s practically a daily event this senseless gun violence. Whatever anyone thinks about the Second Amendment, assault weapons should not be a component of it. Period.
I don’t know the answer but I do know a certain association has way too much power, right now. There is a twisted logic to this whole right to bear arms thing. Fine, keep your damn guns – the ones used for hunting. The assault rifles should not ever be available to the general public. These machines were made for war. They have no business in Joe-Blow’s hands. There is nothing wrong with having to make an application and go through rigorous testing before being allowed to purchase one. Look outside of your country. Can the peeps in charge not learn from how other countries deal with these issues?
Sorry. I lose my mind every time we have a shooting in Canada and we have a mere fraction of what you have.
Way more love. Promote love, stop playing horror on a loop on the news, creating a blanket of fear all around…
K. I stop now. Sending love to you and your furry pals and your family.
Thanks for the love. We definitely need it. I agree with everything you said. Now if only lawmakers would take a look at those kinds of solutions and stop digging in deeper in their respective bunkers. *sigh*
Honestly. I just can’t wrap my head around the obtuseness surrounding the stupid second amendment which was created in a different time.
Me neither. Assault weapons seem to fall outside the purview of that amendment.
Trust me there are a lot of Americans that are losing their minds as well!
I don’t mean for this to sound glib, but it seems as though we are just insane when it comes to guns and the regulation of them.
I agree!!
I know. So frustrating, enraging and sad.
I don’t know the answer either. Someone should examine what exactly is different from 50 years ago when there were considerably less. We had mental illness then (which is something everyone seems to latch on). Perhaps it requires a lot of different actions.
You’re right, there is no single solution. But we just can’t continue on this same path.
No indeed! We have to start doing some of the things that make people uneasy.