Horror

[bradygirl_12]

Unfortunately, mass shootings are now almost commonplace in the U.S. in recent years, but this one is exploding the Internet because it's the deadliest in American history: so far, 50 dead and 53 hospitalized. The shooting started at 2:00 this morning at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and the shooter has been identified as a Muslim, so the FBI is investigating whether this is a terrorist attack in addition to a hate crime. The deceased shooter's father says it's not terrorism. His son just hated gays. Nice. The shooter might have been set off after seeing two men kiss on the street in Orlando.

I am always sad for the victims and their loved ones. Just as sadly, nothing will change. The usual screeds and arguments will be trotted out about gun control and violence and nothing will be done. If the shooting of grade school kids a few years ago could get nothing done, nothing ever will.

It's Pride Week in the gay community. :(

 

Comments

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

If the shooting of grade school kids a few years ago could get nothing done, nothing ever will.

*nods* If our response to that horror was to demand teachers be armed (!) then this countries sickness goes way deep.

[bradygirl_12]

Yes! I couldn't believe that response. Well, actually, I could. It fits well with the NRA mentality: arm everybody!

Historians will look back at this era and shake their heads and wonder how people could live like this, with the ever-present threat of being shot in their homes, on the street, highway, in movie theaters, schools, airports, clubs, hospitals...

[northernwalker]

I agree. Sandy Hook did nothing. Arming the teachers? Yes, the elementary school teachers I know are just thrilled at the idea of having loaded weapons in their classrooms. /eyeroll Also, unless you train the way SWAT trains, you are going to be useless in an active shooter situation. Who's going to pay for the teachers to get that training? A gun alone, without the knowledge to back it up, is a great way to get yourself killed.

[bradygirl_12]

Yeah, loaded guns in elementary schools is SUCH a good idea! The other proposal was armed guards and metal detectors for grade schools. Wow. I can just imagine growing up like that. This society is inherently sick with its gun obsession and total inertia when it comes to guns.

And you're so right about training like SWAT. I laugh when I hear the NRA say that if everyone was armed, then these nutcases would be gunned down. Maybe, but how many people carrying would be good shooters? Or cool under pressure facing a guy with an AK-47? Or able to bring down the shooter without collateral damage? Maybe an ex-cop or military person could do it, but the average civilian? I don't care how much time at the shooting range you've had, it's still a whole different ballgame when someone's shooting back at you!

[northernwalker]

Exactly. How many people who aren't LEOs practice with their weapons on at least a weekly basis? How many undergo realistic combat training? And let's face it, most elementary teachers don't sit down and think, "Well, it's either an education degree or I'm going to be a Navy SEAL, but gosh darn it, I don't like the ocean. So, kids it is."

[bradygirl_12]

*laughs*

Yep, those were my choices years ago! :)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

It's beginning to sound like the shooting was a bit of both, hate crime and terrorist attack. Of course, the fact that guns are so readily available had nothing to do with it. The guy was obviously mentally unstable. You'd have to be to do something like that. I've often wondered, is being totally nuts something a person can hide? Because people who know the perpetrator never seem to have caught any signals. So they blithely go along, eventually purchasing guns and doing something like this.

[bradygirl_12]

It appears this guy was flashing warning signs. His co-workers were afraid of him (and they were security people!) and the FBI investigated him twice but found nothing, so they say. In this case he had easy access to guns because he was a licensed security guard, but if he hadn't been, he still would have been able to collect an arsenal. They caught a guy yesterday in California with a trunk full of weapons headed for the Gay Pride Parade in his city.

The attack served a two-fold purpose: gays are considered less-than-human among certain Muslims and are condemned to death among the more extremist groups. ISIS has killed gays in horrific ways.

The second purpose was to kill Americans, and in both cases this guy succeeded. >:(

The haters here in the U.S. must be torn: they probably approve of getting rid of the gays but can't bring themselves to cheer an Islamic terrorist.