Save The Cheap Shots, Find Solutions
Last weekend, America was the scene of two horrific mass shootings, with 22 killed in El Paso, Texas, (alleged extreme right-wing imbecile) and 10 killed (including the gunman) in Dayton, Ohio (alleged extreme left-wing imbecile), plus a great many injured. In the face of unspeakable tragedies, the Democrat Progressives were quick to pounce. The cause of the killings was, of course, not guns, and not deranged young males. The cause, and the reason why all bad things happen, now and forever, was President Trump.
He’s a “racist,” exclaimed our gilded angel, Representative Ocasio-Cortez. Other progressive candidates were, of course, quick to echo the “racist” drumbeat. Including the progressive-socialist who, for eight very long years, got his mail at the White House, in his continuing quest to woo back the beloved media spotlight, just had to chime in. Reportedly said he: “We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.” Well, let’s see. “Any of our leaders.” Oh, who, oh, who, could that possibly be? Wild guess: President Trump. My how we do wish that the former “leader,” whose reign seemed all about driving Americans, not together, but into separate “identity groups” then fanning the flames of victimhood and resentment, might just quietly (fat chance) drift away, like all former presidents are expected to do. The maneuver used, as you know by now, was the same divide-and-conquer take-over scheme espoused by the domestic communists’ favorite upheaval apostle: Saul Alinsky.
Even the Mexican-born/naturalized American citizen, the San Antonio Archbishop, apparently couldn’t resist chiming-in with the finger of shame pointed at the President, demanding, via Twitter last Monday, that President Trump “stop racism, starting with yourself.” Perhaps not surprising, his message was said to have been deleted the following morning. Assuming he may have stepped onto some hot coals, it would probably be a really good idea for this man of God to stay in the saving-souls lane, rather than the political one. Just a thought.
Then there was that continuing pro-“white supremacy” thing supposedly embraced by the President. And on that note, perhaps the most outlandish and insulting claim of all came from morning cable commentator, Mrs. Joe Scarborough. First the set-up: “He is inciting hatred, inciting violence, (and) inciting racism…,” she said. And now the grenade toss: “I mean this is a president who seems to want these things to happen.” Translation: President Trump actually wants “white nationalists” to carry out mass killings. Lunacy, courtesy of the all-progressive-all-the-time, embrace the ridiculous, cable network.
Some progressives even chose to tie-in Mr. Trump’s supposed dislike for “immigrants” as part of their hatred harangue. Well, you’ve all seen how the left plays that game. The President, along with most Americans, is in favor of the orderly immigration that comes in by way of our nation’s front door. What he is adamantly against, along with most Americans, is the seemingly non-stop invasion of ILLEGAL immigrants rampaging in through our back door.
Of course, the President does NOT desire mass shootings, racial hatred, or violence of any kind. Common sense Americans, all those who’ve failed to drink the progressive kool-aid, fully understand, neither the President nor any one of us wants any of that, and fervently hopes that solutions can be developed to prevent these unthinkable, hurtful, life-altering & life-ending events, whether from guns, bombs, fires, or knives, that tear families apart and instill fear in communities, often for the first time. Following the back-to-back tragedies, the President was quick to denounce “white supremacy,” along with hateful acts in any form, as well as proposing legislation aimed at those who might commit mass murders, that they should “face the death penalty, and that this capital punishment be delivered quickly, decisively, and without years of needless delay.”
Thankfully, there were those who spoke up in defense of the President. Even more thankfully, five that will be cited here are Black Americans. First, Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., who said emphatically, on Fox & Friends, that “I’ve had the experience of going head to head with genuine racists. President Trump is not a racist! He has said that ‘we all bleed the same…and he has done so much for all Americans, including African-Americans.”
Then, former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman, Donna Brazile, speaking of the accusation that the President was the cause of those two tragic mass shootings, stated clearly that “President Trump had nothing to do with the maniac who shot up a Wal-Mat store…or that bar in Dayton. The President of the United States should not be blamed for those individual killers.” Next, Kentucky Attorney-General candidate, Daniel Cameron, a Black Republican, made his stand on the matter(s) crystal clear. “The Black community is told day in and day out that they have to speak with one voice and that’s the voice of the Democrat Party. I’m a Republican and proud of it, and I stand with our President day in and day out.” Regarding the charge of racism against the President, he replied: “Well, I’m here to push back on that. The President is fighting (every day) against socialism, against illegal immigration, (and against racism). He’s fighting for the sanctity of life.”
Chicago native and Fox News contributor, Gianno Caldwell, felt strongly that it was time to “speak up” on the subject of gun violence, following the extreme outburst of the same, on the streets of Chicago (7 killed / 46+ wounded) during the very same weekend as the mayhem in El Paso & Dayton. Said Caldwell: “Things (in Chicago) are becoming progressively worse, considering the fact that you’ve had a (city) and state run by Democrats who’ve really run them into the ground.” And the final Black gentleman to comment, and direct his remarks to the subject of gun laws. Maj Toure is the founder of Black Guns Matter, and he feels strongly that Americans living in our inner-cities must be allowed legal access to guns for protection. Said Mr. Toure: “Free men and women own guns. Slaves do not.” He went on to speak to the move for gun-free zones: “Since 1991,” he said, “over 90 percent of the mass shootings have been in gun-free zones. They do not work!”
And then there’s the notion, following El Paso & Dayton, that “white men” are the biggest threat to America, bigger, in fact, than domestic jihad. Congresswoman Omar weighed in on this claim: “I would say that our country should be more fearful of white men…because they are actually causing most of the deaths within this country.” In addition to being wrong about that, she made that false white- males-should-be-feared statement on Al Jazeera! Here’s the truth about mass shooters among the races. It’s reported that, so far in 2019, 51% of mass shooters were Black, 29% were White, and 11% were Latino. However, whether coming from the extreme left or extreme right, that lesser figure doesn’t let white males off the violence hook, but it does add perspective. And one more important reported fact: “Much of the country’s gun violence is really gang violence.” Which is very likely the ultimate blame for the majority of shooting victims and deaths that continue to occur in Chicago.
So what’s to blame, and what’s to be done? The four prime casual factors that continue to emerge are violent video games, the internet (social media), isolation, and drug use, all of which, in varying degrees, may well be the collective contributors to a key core factor: aspects of mental illness. Parental control that’s either too casual or distant, or in partial absence altogether, due to the demands of a working single mom, could also be a fundamental contributing cause leading to young males acting out violently. Reportedly, of 113 mass shootings since 1982, data indicates that 110 were perpetrated by males, in particular, young, angry males. Concluded this writer, “We don’t have a gun crisis in America. We have a crisis of angry, young men.” The CDC in Atlanta says that “85 percent of children who display behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes,” meaning again that the full weight of parenting falls on the already burdened shoulders of a working single mother, as previously mentioned.
Adding to the gap in parental interaction and control, according to Pew Research, “teens now spend an average of nine-hours per day online (social media)!” And that may well be the reason, or at the very least a contributing factor, that 22% of millennials say they have no actual friends, while 30% of this group responded that they “always or often feel lonely.” Those are jarring figures and it all seems to go back to excessive social media use, where the only “friends” may be distant and/or imaginary ones.
Pulling these factors together: “Extremist movements depend on the anger of alienated young men, vulnerable to moral suasion, and often lacking strong community or social bonds as moderating influences in their lives.” And these extremist movements “depend on reaching and indoctrinating recruits via the internet.”
Again, then, excessive internet use, and dependence, for “friends” unavailable in real life, with few if any real social or parental connections and guidance, seems to be at least part of the formula for a young American male to eventually, potentially, become violent. Dare we mention removing any references to God, or religion in general, from our schools and all public places as a contributing factor. And that may well go hand-in-hand with, either caused by, or the result of, decreasing church or other house of worship attendance. We know that belief in God has been declining in America for a number of years. And that, historically, has been a key “community and social bond,” and source of real-world friends. Lack of relationships, along with grounding in spirituality and/or school, as we’ve seen, can, result in a broken moral compass. And from there, the potential for developing mental issues, perhaps then evolving into acting out violently.
Said one author, searching for cause and effect, and in line with our discussion here, feels that the bottom line, the key reason for these either planned or impulsive mass violence acts is that “we have become a country filled with numb, detached and desensitized people. Mass shootings are the ultimate manifestation of that detachment.”
Breaking this cycle is complex. At all levels of security and law enforcement, there must be increased surveillance of internet use on sites known to collect the disenchanted who look for encouragement to execute violence. And that will mean putting more money, at all levels, into increased personnel and technical expertise, in this search to stop future mass actions. And friends and family need to be more active in reporting written or verbal threats or strange behavior. After the fact, in these two most recent acts of terror, friends now recall things about the two individuals that might have prevented their actions had authorities been notified. And, then, with that, the authorities must follow up, and act where appropriate, rather than simply putting a complaint into a file. We now know that a grandmother, after last weekend’s violence, noted that her grandson was talking about shooting up some venue. Thankfully, she took action and had him admitted to an area hospital. Her pro-active response may well have saved more fatalities.
Significant, and active, response will be required by parents, neighbors, teachers, and mental health professionals, as well as law enforcement and security agencies at all levels (dependent on much more government funding), to try to get control over this very serious national problem. Too many innocent lives have been lost, with likely more to come, if both the professionals and the politicians fail to come up with effective measures. And still more gun laws and “gun free zones” aren’t the answer. It’s not the guns or knives themselves. It’s the people misusing them that causes the harm.
(“Racist” via dailymail.com, Katelyn Caralle, 8-6-19; Mrs. Scarborough via foxnews.com, Sam Dorman, 8-6-19; Death penalty via foxnews.com, Brooke Singman, 8-5-19; Obama via dailymail.com, Francesca Chambers, 8-6-19; Archbishop via dailymail.com, Chris Dyer, 8-7-19; Alveda King via foxnews.com, Staff, 8-8-19; Donna Brazile via dailycaller.com, Scott Morefield, 8-9-19; Daniel Cameron via dailycaller.com, Scott Morefield, 8-8-19; Gianno Caldwell via foxnews.com, Joshua Nelson, 8-5-19; Maj Toure via foxnews.com, Staff, 8-8-19; Mass shooters via frontpagemag.com, Daniel Greenfield, 8-6-19; Male Shooters/Angry Young Men/CDC/Pew via dailycaller.com, Jen Kerns, 8-5-19; No Friends/Loneliness via townhall.com, Timothy Mead, 8-6-19; “Our New Terrorism Problem” via The Wall Street Journal, Clint Watts, 8-10/11-19; Numb, Desensitized People via dailywire.com, Matt Walsh, 8-5-19).