Thoughts and Prayers….

/ cigarman501

PESSIMISM WARNING! I hate to pee in your Cheerios, but nothing will change. Another mass shooting, another school shooting.  It is just who we are. We are a toxic brew of violent nature, toxic masculinity, with a gun and target rich environment.

We are first in mass shootings, first in gun deaths, nearly half in suicides, and domestic abuse. More than any county of the “civilized” world, not at war. But nothing will change. We make it about anything other than intelligent gun control or an in-depth study of our violent culture and how we perpetuate it.

We don’t want to spend money on education to lift up people, we would rather spend it on prisons or shift school money to private schools. We would rather erect a wall than take a serious look at our own culture and its motivations and the dangers from within.

It must be about mental illness, and it is, even though we’ve made it easier for the mentally ill to possess guns. We put the killer under a microscope, scrutinize and debate race, or religion or immigration. If we can’t hang the murderer on one of those excuses, we make it about politics or gun free zones or sanctuary cities or Mars ascending into Venus…when it should be about our culture…the culture of the gun. We offer our thoughts and prayers.

I consider myself a spiritual man, if not, a religious one, but our thoughts and prayers are wearing thin especially when it involves the same kind of kids and schools, I taught and coached in for forty-four years. The thinness is because I believe nothing will change. It is too much a part of our culture. We are a violent group, some with Bibles in one hand, rifles in the other. “Thou Shalt not Kill” should have an addendum. Thou Shalt not Kill unless it abridges my right to purchase and use an AR-15 or any other gun.

I probably shouldn’t be focused on the AR-15…although there is a good reason. From Aurora to Stoneman Douglas High and beyond, it seems to be the weapon of choice, whether due to popularity or ease of use, I don’t know. I don’t know what was used in our latest murder de jour, but I know we’ve weaponized ourselves with all sorts of arms. I have two handguns and a shotgun myself…and a rock, car, butter knife and a fork.

There seems to be something about our manhood that goes hand in hand with a handgun or rifle…and the violent tendencies we hold dear. Do they make a perfume “Ode de Gunpowder?” I’ll write about women just as soon as there is a female mass shooter. Why are our males more violent than females? They are not, women just like to inflict pain over a longer period…. Sorry.

Our country was forged on violence…from the very beginning and we glorify it. From an “Eye for an Eye,” to the cult of the warrior in the many wars we have fought, to the dubious history of the Western gunfighter. Our video games, television programs, and movies glorify violence, and they have an effect. It is still about the Alpha male with the gun in one hand and the adoring, scantily clad female secured with the other. At least we’ve added movies with scantily clad, female superheroes. Hum…sex, and gunpowder….

So, as pessimistic as it sounds, I don’t think we will ever change. I believe we will continue to lead in categories we say we don’t want to lead in and continue to offer our thoughts and prayers instead of taking a meaningful look at our culture and what our culture breeds. Because we won’t take a meaningful look, I expect the violence to increase…but I’m not sending any more thoughts and prayers.

14 thoughts on “Thoughts and Prayers….”

  1. I am Canadian but I am in Florida for the winter. The shooting hit me pretty hard as I cannot imagine losing a child in a mass shooting. sadly I think you are right nothing will be done. I’m sorry to say this but today I am grateful for being a Canadian.

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    • I don’t know when you read this but I add that a former student of mine lost her son in the attack. I cannot fathom her grief. My daughter is a nurse in a hospital and I have two pre-school grandchildren. I really worry about the world we are leaving them. Again, thanks for stopping in.

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  2. I’m so very sorry to hear about the son of your former student. I know the grief that comes with the death of a child is THE hardest grief to carry. 😦

    All of this is so sad, so terrifying.

    I remember years ago when someone said, “It’s sad that everyone has either had cancer or knows someone with cancer. The disease has just taken over.”
    I fear this related to mass shootings. I hope I’m wrong. But there might be a day in the future where we will all have a connection to someone who’s been shot. 😦

    (((HUGS)))

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  3. I can’t comprehend how anyone can still debate the need for this type of weaponry. I read a comment online the other day, where someone replied that the same damage could have been inflicted with a pair of handguns. True enough. Hell, steal a dump truck and plow through a crowd of teens exiting a concert, that works too.
    This is the mentality we’re facing.
    And you’re right, it’s not changing anytime soon.
    I say ‘we’ because although Canadian, I consider central Florida my home away from home, we’re down often.
    I’m sorry to hear about the loss from your former student.
    Powerfully written piece, thank you for sharing Don.

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  4. Thanks Mr/Mrs   for accepting and following my blog.
    I’m available to read your post at my convenient time.
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    Peace and Love

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  6. You’re right Mike. Since this last mass shooting in Florida I can’t even get on social media. It makes me sick to read all the comments about arming teachers with firearms. People think they can cure violence by adding more guns to the mix. Pretty soon we will be giving gun training to every child in the U.S.A. as soon as they are old enough to hold a weaon, and then every man for himself. The area I live in in northeast Ohio has also been plagued in recent weeks with teen suicides, and almost every school district has received threats of violence. One middle school student shot himself in the school restroom and later died. It seems our country has gone “gun crazy”, and I mean that litrrally. People want easy solutions but there are none. We need drastic change but there is too much resistance to any change that would make a difference.

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