A usually fun informal holiday was ruined today in Southern Florida. A local scumbag returned to the school from which he'd been expelled and killed 17 people in cold blood. An unknown number of others were critically wounded.
The suspect involved was such a complete loser that students actually guessed correctly who was responsible. But reading through the media, various blogs, and commentary, everyone except for the gunman was guilty of Florida's massacre.
There has been, for example, speculation about the suspect's politics. This may sound like a silly question; but what does that have to do with anything? Moonie-affiliated news streams like Newsweek and The Daily Beast have been stressing that there was a photo of the shooter wearing a 'MAGA' hat; other sites have pointed out that was a registered Democrat.
Does anyone happen to know who John Dillinger voted for? What party did Billy the Kid support? Or Bonnie & Clyde? Or Jesse James? Why is it any less ridiculous to know these things than to know (or care about) Nick Cruz' politics? It might make some difference if a crime of this magnitude was politically motivated; but there's no indication so far that this incident was. The media has mentioned that the suspect was outspokenly anti-Moslem; but Moslems weren't singled out for the attack.
People like this shooter are motivated by 'hate'; but their hatred is irrational. It's a neurotic type of hatred that projects hatred in general upon innocent people, things, or sometimes institutions and/or ethnic groups. There's little point in speculating about such people's motives---even if they were explained, they'd make no sense to anyone outside of investigators and psychologists.
The Corporate Media keeps these kinds of stories boiling for purely cynical reasons. Stories like these drive up ratings and high ratings translate to advertising dollars. And it's cheaper than producing crime dramas. In the past, the mass media used to promote religious institutions and other charitable organizations helping the victims. They would even give free advertising or hold interviews with people organizing such efforts. At an affiliated site, we profiled Sheriff Scott Israel, who has been leading the investigation. Sheriff Israel is himself a man of faith: in his case, the Jewish one. He takes the realistic approach that such incidents are inevitable as long as evil men have the means to carry out their evil designs; and that the challenge of modern law enforcement is to stop the perpetrators in action.
Though we disagree with Sheriff Israel on some of his gun-control positions, his theory of efficiency in coordinating first-responders and training for localized incidents is truly innovative; much like the way that the FBI stopped the wave of bank-robberies in the 1930s with the then-new technology of radio. While the police couldn't prevent hold-ups, radio enabled them to move from point to point rapidly---and as a team---thus making suspects' attempts to elude them difficult. The old saying, 'You can't outrun a radio' comes from that era. And Sheriff Israel's tactics have already stopped two mass-shootings from escalating from bad to worse.
This is what we need as a country in times like these. Faith that seeks solutions to what we can't control, and faith that reaches out to those who suffer from these events. Archbishop Wenski of the Miami Diocese said well that "we must come together as a community to support one another in this time of grief...with God's help, we can remain strong and resolute; and resist evil in all of its manifestations."
Ok let's see we eliminate prayer in schools as well as practicing The pledge of allegiance. Politics continues to eliminate youth corps programs in the neighborhoods. The youth have no avenue to turn but to the streets which is how they end up a part of statistics. Yes parents do play a huge role however parents have to spend their days at work to be able to sustain rising costs that keeps us from spending quality time at home with our families. Politicians go home to their mansions and houses and never visit the communities that really need the proper support and attention that can give back to the communities in a positive way. Like if citizens are given the proper tools and lessons they will end up being an asset to our society. But citizens are sadly segregated and we end up fighting each other in opposed to helping one another. I truly believe that law enforcement stereotype people in certain communities and treat them as such. The sad truth is that it goes on ignored and so that's why today there are so many mass shootings based on "HATE". It's all over the media, social media, and etc. So people follow "HATE" it is a given. Everybody is mad, angry, vengeful, and so on and so forth. Crime is almost a way of life just as much as it is in Politics the only difference is that politicians wear suits to cover up their crimes. Our tax dollars are so recklessly spent and handled it makes me sick however we have to pay! I thank GOD that my poor parents gave me a reason (priceless) to be morally conscious of first who I am and who I am to be and that is be loving, kind and supportive unconditionally. So then what is the true meaning of being successful? It's the man in the mirror who can make the right choice because we were given the liberty to choose by free will and that means to choose "GOOD" so that we can reap the benefits and consequences and somehow we can make this world a better place it's just a matter of starting and trying even if we fall but to be able to get back up and start again.
ReplyDeleteA lot of that is true, but a lot of it is also starting to change. In this case, though, Parkland is fairly affluent neighborhood. These shootings are taking place in areas regardless of status or income. Another example: the Isla Vista killing was committed by Eliot Roger---whose family was wealthy. James Holmes and Adam Lanza were also economically well-off. If I remember correctly, the Columbine shooters were at least middle-class.
DeleteThese things have happened in poor areas too; but I think that the problem is something other than economic. I think that our society is creating a Culture of Despair in many young men and some go off in this way. The other side of the coin is the suicide and drug-overdose rates. It's highest among men in the same age-range as most of these killers; and most of these crimes are committed by young men.
Single mom's don't care about the truth, like say...How bad single mom's are for children
ReplyDeleteThey only care about showing everybody their politics are "right".
I'm not sure that describes most single mothers. The ones who are single mothers to make a political statement are the ones on whom the media gives attention. I'd wager though that the majority didn't plan it that way.
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