Again?

My thoughts and prayers are with the heartbroken Oregonians today as we deal with yet another senseless shooting. The breathless coverage by the news media is at least partially responsible. Unless this moron had some sort of political agenda (and even if he did) he was just another in the long line of losers who see this as a way to become famous. Their lives are so inconsequential and contemptible they view this as an opportunity for fame and the news media is only too happy to oblige. I’d like future coverage of these type tragedies (and we know there’ll be more until we can turn the corner on civilized gun culture) to focus solely on the victims and the heroes that each of these situations inevitably produce.

I know there’s a human need to try and understand the motivation for the scumbags who perpetrate these crimes but let’s keep their names and images out of the news. The next slope shouldered, cave-chested loser whose demented path in life leads him to consider doing this might be less inclined if he knew there was no notoriety to be gained. I liked the way President Obama responded. I know I can be less than generous with my praise for our benighted leader (that would be the Cantankerous Friend nodding sagely) but yesterday I caught a fleeting glimpse of the president he could have been. He was genuinely angry and let it show. He was genuine. He didn’t try to meet some sort of politically neutral stance but tried to be a leader (oh what might have been).

He’s absolutely right about us becoming too accustomed to this phenomenon. The NRA should be willing to modify their stance to allow greater regulation of weapon ownership. The complete refusal to consider even sensible restrictions flies in the face of insurmountable evidence. Mentally ill people do not have a “right” to access mass murdering gear. One of the prime reasons human society exists is for the governing bodies to protect the masses from the outliers; the defectives who cannot function in that society and require excision. They shouldn’t be allowed access to the means to take good people with them when they are excised. The more they refuse the dialogue the more evidence will mount until the society stands up and says, enough, and votes for a constitutional amendment that would be far worse than their worst nightmare. Enough!