Another angry white man with a gun strikes terror into the heart of our country. Photo: LA Times |
Before I had a chance to finish this unusual post made of tweets about the latest mass shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, it was no longer the latest mass shooting. A gunman in San Francisco shot up a UPS facility later in the same day. Was he also angry about Republican legislators trying to cut his health care? Was he also hyped up on alleged calls for violence emanating from faux leftists like Bernie Sanders? Or secretly working for antifa?
Violence with guns is a dead end game. Even if I thought it was morally justified to kill legislators poised to destroy the Affordable Health Care Act -- which I don't -- it is terrible strategy in an era when the powerful have weapons that can literally destroy life on the planet.
I've noticed the uptick in violent language and calls to action from the many fractured pieces of the body politic since the ascendance of the demagogue with bad hair. A horrifying sign of the times.
The Los Angeles Times quoted a member of Congress following a security briefing: “Everyone’s getting a bunch of death threats right now,” Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)
Fight back by remaining civil, respectful, and compassionate for all sentient beings even as you struggle for human rights like health care. Fight back by recognizing that if we live by the sword, we must die by the sword. Fight back by withdrawing your support from the system of capitalism masquerading as democracy, a system that is killing us all.
Alexandria Shooting May Signal Future Civil War in America https://t.co/UiVMXgUC5d pic.twitter.com/WVB8YFyvbg— The Christian Front (@TCFront) June 15, 2017
When you call Republicans "Nazis" & have nightly mock executions of Trump being murdered in Central Park, this was inevitable.#Alexandria— David 🦇 (@SantaCarlaDavid) June 14, 2017
Rhetoric obviously has an affect on perception. The Libs have been advocating "resistance" and violence. Now we see the result. #Alexandria— Frosty (@politicofaux) June 14, 2017
The left are violent, intolerant, and dangerous. Alexandria was a direct result of celebs and media glorify the assassination of Trump. Sad.— CJLango (@CJLango) June 14, 2017
Republicans calling for unity after #Alexandria attack. They still don't realize you can't unify w/traitors. Democrats seek to destroy.— William Paxton (@Truthseer1961) June 14, 2017
Was the shooter #Antifa in Alexandria?— EpicOverKill (@Epic_OverKill) June 14, 2017
Alexandria Steve Scalise Congressman— Randy (@__R_A_N_D_Y__) June 14, 2017
A strong supporter of the Second Amendment Earned a A+ rating from the NRA Congressman Scalise shot! pic.twitter.com/41xmujWZ8Q
Virginia:— TheUnsilentMAJORITY (@The_UnSilent_) June 14, 2017
No background checks
No registration
No permit req’d for concealed carry
Open carry state
Wanna debate now @GOP ?#Alexandria
Here's a poem entitled "America is a Gun". pic.twitter.com/RTwWbUtuc7— Brian Bilston (@brian_bilston) February 17, 2016
Less than 24 hours after it happened, news about the Alexandria shootings wasn't even trending anymore. In among the infotainment clutter was the latest "terrorist" threat, a bomb scare in the Port of Charleston with a plot straight out of a made for tv movie. And so we trudge on, into the fog of a polarized nation, heavily armed, and lashing out in pain.
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