"This doesn't happen in small towns, and all of a sudden you begin to understand that you really do have the same problems in some of these small towns you have in other parts of the country."
Why do people always say "this doesn't happen in places like this" or some other conveyance of surprise at violence occurring in their quaint little town? When is it going to sink into people's skulls that there are crazy, evil, sick fucks living in every nook and cranny of the world? I mean do people really and truly honestly believe in the deepest crevices of their hearts that their hometown is somehow exempt from tragedy just on the merits of its rural quaintness and tranquility?
This past week has been disheartening to say the least. Two days in a row, a disgusting, vile, pathetic excuse for a human being woke up, got out of bed, and thought, "You know what? Today would be a good day to shoot a bunch of people for no good reason." I don't care what anybody says. Evil does exist. Nobody can defend the acts of the Alabama gunman. Nobody can defend the acts of the German gunman. And yet, what I find instead of outright disgust and fury over heinous and reprehensible behavior, is a bunch of people whining about guns. Yeah, because guns are the problem. Let's blame guns - inanimate objects. Is it somehow easier for us to condemn objects than people? For once, just once, I would love to read this in the paper:
Today an abhorrent, detestable, piece of shit person who is reported to have a tiny dick murdered 10 people in cold blood. We aren't even going to mention this piece of shit's name because he doesn't deserve the notoriety or even the speck of interest or deference the reporting of his name would be showing him.
Sometimes when people commit these horrendous acts, I hear this, "Why didn't he just kill himself? Why did he have to kill all those innocent people?" Well, my guess is this: Infamy. Think about it. If you're a loser in life, no money, no friends, no respect and you're a sociopathic monster, why not kill a bunch of people? You get the attention in death that you never got in life. I think some of these sick fucks watch the news and see how much attention these other wastes of space get in the media, and think, "I want that. I want that to be me." I once read, and I'm not sure where or if it's true, that years ago some news reporters felt it was actually irresponsible to report the names of people who committed terrible acts. I tend to agree with this. Who cares who they were? Who cares what music they listened to? Who cares about their insane rambling manifestos? These shitbags deserve nothing short of obscurity.
I'm not completely heartless. I feel bad for the families of these horrendous people. But the truth is, if I had a family member who went on a fucking shooting spree I would prefer that their name not be released either. And I can't help but think that granting a modicum of attention to these fuckers only serves to give incentive to other crazies out there. In a weird way, our media glamorizes murder. They use it as entertainment. But this isn't a horror movie we're watching. This is real life, real blood, real tears, real people lost forever.
I'm not going to get into some serious treatise about gun control. I don't own a gun. I don't want one. And I certainly can see why some people have a problem with the fact that people can buy these tools of destruction at K-Mart after a 3 day "waiting" period. I certainly don't believe that an average citizen has any need for a semi-automatic weapon. My issue with "gun control" is that people are delusional enough to actually believe that if we made guns illegal then that would mean that it would be impossible to get one. Heroin is illegal. And guess what? It's not that hard to come by. Illegalizing guns would simply mean that only the military, law enforcement, and criminals could have one. That would suck for average Joe Citizen standing all alone behind the counter at the mini-mart on a Saturday night.
2 days ago
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In the song "Vicarious" by Tool, Maynard sings, "Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men." No truer words have been written . . .
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm...you covered a lot of ground on this one. I know that if a mass murder happened here, you'd hear all those same comments about how "things like that don't happen around here." And by and large, that's true--but it's also true in New York and Los Angeles and Chicago--they don't happen every day in those cities either.
ReplyDeleteI think some people are just wired differently and you never know what'll make them snap. A lot of them probably do crave the attention, as you say. It all just proves that you never know what's around the corner. One minute you're visiting with neighbors on the front porch, the next you're blown to bits by a living nightmare.
This is so sad. I agree completely on the gun thing. I grew up in a hunting family and there were always guns around and I still want nothing to do with them. I hate that there are ways around the checks and waiting periods. I hate that Joe Asshole can get an assault weapon like its a freaking ipod. I hate that negligence when it comes to owning guns causes so much accidental heartache. But I still can't blame the guns.
ReplyDeleteI am showing my age here, but your post reminded me of a Saturday Night skit shortly after Reagan was shot. Dan Ackroyd was playing Ted Koppel and they had a "psychiatrist" on explaining that these types or people are looking for attention and the press feeds that. "Ted Koppel" kept saying, "Let's go to the videotape" and constantly showed the shooting. It was very funny, but it made a statement.
ReplyDeleteForget showing your age Sandi, you're showing your MEMORY. I don't remember anything past 1993. I'm amazed that you remember that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think I'm older than you, anyway.
I think you're right about one very important thing: they all suffer from small dicks. If only they would open those e-mails - the ones that promise to improve their love tools - the world would be a safer place.
ReplyDeleteNow, if I also write the word FUCK would I not have to say yes to reading this site with the dirty words every time?
Ty's Daddy - That's a fabulous quote. And very, very true.
ReplyDeleteHere in Franklin - I know what you mean. All over the place with this post (ADD blog) - I have a lot on my mind sometimes and I need to learn how to focus.
Gina - I think we're of the same mind on this. As much as I may WANT to blame the guns, I just can't do it. People kill people.
Sandi - I don't remember that. I don't think I was allowed to stay up that late to watch Saturday Night Live in the 80's! You were a lucky girl :) That skit sounds so funny.
WRH - Word, Divine Hostess Woman. I envy a good memory. I seem to remember the stupid shit and nothing at all important or relevant.
Nutmeg - I took the adult content thing off just for you :) I know it was annoying but for some reason I got paranoid about my content. I worried that my talk of boozing and drugging and whoring will corrupt young minds that might stumble upon this little blog. But I'm over it now.
The difference is most of the time people who do heroin are only hurting themselves. People who use guns are hurting others. If access is more difficult it may keep tragedies and accidents from happening. Not entirely mind you but even a slight reduction would be worth it wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - first of all, why anonymous? I'm just curious is all. You make a very valid point in regards to heroin vs. guns. Just a side note: You say people people who use heroin are only hurting themselves. True. But that matters. People hurting themselves does matter. But, honestly, I wasn't trying to compare guns and heroin or say that they were similar in any way. The are not. My exclusive point is that making guns illegal (as heroin currently is) will not solve the problem of availability. Making guns illegal would probably mean that criminals would have an easy time getting a gun, while an average citizen who wants protection would have a very difficult time and be severely penalized. If someone were stalking me and I know I'm in danger, I would consider getting a gun to protect myself. I should be allowed to do that. Of course, in a perfect world there would be no guns and there would be no deaths. We don't live in a perfect world and never will. Unfortunately, human beings need to protect ourselves from other human beings, at times. But I definitely appreciate your opinion and am glad you took the time to comment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI see what you are saying, I just pissed off when rational well meaning gun legislation gets the frickin' NRA all out of sorts with crap like this is the first step to them taking your guns away. Nooooooooo, you stupid morons it is only keeping you from strolling into Wal Mart where you deserve to shop forever in hell and getting more guns then anyone one person needs. There are more guns in this country then there are people, make sense? There are so many issues that make me want to bitch slap people in this country that I appreciate this forum to do so..... kind of. Sorry if I got caught up.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore on two of your points.... why would it be harder for a citizent to get a gun then a criminal. If you fill out a form prove your not insane and wait a fair amount of time you can buy your gun. Then you have to wait a year to get another. Why is that so difficult to get?
ReplyDeleteAs far as people hurting themselves, well what are you going to do about it? People eat too much, they drink too much they do drugs too much, but I don't think it is our place to stop them unless they get on the road and make it our business. There are many things we cant' control in life but to me guns are something we should have contol over. Alabama and Germany unfortunately just found out. If those individuals didn't have automatic weapons, how many lives would have been spared. You don't need automatic weapons to kill Bambi!
Again - I said in my blog that I don't think people should be allowed to own semi-automatic weapons. I think that a waiting period is a good thing. My point is that if hypothetically we were to illegalize guns for citizens, all guns, then that would mean more criminals would have guns than citizens. I don't like the sound of that, do you? I'm sure I just wasn't clear in my post about my position. I think we need controls, for sure. My problem is with criminalizing all gun ownership. I'm passionate about a lot of things so I can certainly understand your feelings and your need to express them. You make valid points and I appreciate that.
ReplyDelete