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anastaza

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    Mass shooting in Las Vegas

    in Politics and World Events

    Posted

    15 Years After Columbine, How “Never Again” Became “Oh, Well”

    Welcome to America, the land of blue jeans, rock and roll, and sporadic meaningless mass murder.

    On April 20, 1999, two teenagers walked into a suburban high school outside of Denver and shot 13 people to death. The massacre at Columbine was not the first mass shooting in America. It was not the first mass shooting at an American school. Indeed, Peter Jennings began the news that night, “The reaction of so many people today was ‘Oh no, not again.'” But Columbine was different. It became a national trauma in a way the others hadn’t. Yes, it was the deadliest American school shooting on record at the time—though it is no longer—but what really amplified its significance was the fact it was the first mass shooting that played out in real time on television. The shootings began at 11:19 a.m. By noon, local television stations had broken into regular programming with uninterrupted media coverage. Millions of people across the country turned on CNN and watched the story develop.

    Here’s how America watched the chaos of Columbine: There were reports of a shooting and it was at a school and the body count began going up and witnesses said they were two shooters with shotguns and rifles and pistols and there had been an explosion across town and it had been a diversion maybe and pipe bombs, something about pipe bombs, and the body count kept rising, and booby traps, and then Clinton gave a speech and then the shooters were in a mafia that wore trench coats and maybe there were more than two and then, no, there were only two and they were dead and the bomb squad finished the initial sweep of the building at 4:45 p.m. and it was over, but not really because then there was the CCTV footage, the witness interviews, the search for motive, they had been bowling, they had been bullied, they had said something about Hitler and they listened to Marilyn Manson and they wanted to one up Timothy McVeigh and What Does It All Mean?

    After Columbine there was a general sense that something had to be done. That kids getting killed at school was a thing we weren’t going to be okay with. “Never again,” as they say.

    It wasn’t some fanciful impossibility. The British did it after Dunblane. And so we did that. Everyone got together and passed sweeping gun control legislation and there was never another mass shooting in America.

    Except not really. Because the “never again” response—though shared by many—was not shared by all.

    We seem to have accepted that the occasional mass murder is the cost of America.

    On May 1, Charlton Heston came to Denver and made a much-discussed speech where he said, “We have work to do, hearts to heal, evil to defeat, and a country to unite. We may have differences, yes, and we will again suffer tragedy almost beyond description. But when the sun sets on Denver tonight, and forever more, let it always set on we the people, secure in our land of the free and the home of the brave.” Say what you will about that speech, but as far as predictions go it was spot on. It’s a fait accompli. There were more shootings. We mourned and then did nothing because we seem to have accepted that occasional mass murder is the cost of America.

    Both responses, “never again” and “don’t bother trying,” offer statements about the USA. The former says “America is the greatest country on Earth. We went to the moon. Surely, we can stop kids from getting shot to death at school! If the Brits can do it, so can we. ” The latter says, “No, we can’t. We’re America. The greatest country on Earth and the cost of the liberty that makes us so is that our kids may get shot to death at school.”

    Every time there is another mass shooting and nothing happens it becomes a little easier to believe that the “don’t bother” crowd is right.

    Nothing changed after 13 people were killed at Columbine, or 33 at Virginia Tech, or 26 at Sandy Hook. Each of those tragedies came with the same breaking-news urgency as Columbine, but none generated the same sense of expected action because fewer and fewer people actually believed things could change. The last 15 years have been a lesson in how “never again” can be cowed into “I need a drink.”

    And that’s insane.

    Fifteen years after Columbine rattled America to its core, people still get shot while they’re at school. People get shot while they’re at work. People get shot eating. People get shot drinking. People get shot watching movies, shopping, driving, swimming, skipping, and playing baseball. It’s 2014 and in America people get shot doing basically any goddamn thing you can think of.

    They don’t have to.

     

    (article  is from 3 years ago)

    http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/columbine-15-years-later/

    Mass shooting in Las Vegas

    in Politics and World Events

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Hector said:

    WORST mass shooting in America history. Awful on so many levels. We continue to have many mass shootings and any significant reform from Congress is almost impossible. With the deranged cheeto we have in charge now it's less likely anything can get done. There are so many mass shootings that the ones that have "just" a few casualties barely get any national press coverage because these shootings are so frequent.

    My friend that works at Caesars Palace is safe and fine thank goodness!

    glad your friend is okay <3

    Mass shooting in Las Vegas

    in Politics and World Events

    Posted

    1 minute ago, MeakMaker said:

    Disgusting. These people have blood in their hands. I hope Americans will come back to their senses and see the error - in this case the horror- of their thinking. 

    I know, it's stomach-turning.
    The majority of the government officials who receive money from the NRA are Republicans (shocker), because of course the Dems want gun control
    I'm at a loss as to what to do.  The only thing I can think of that would have an impact would be for Americans to NOT vote for those who are receiving this money. It's up to the people to take a stand with their votes (and of course I don't think that will happen either because I'm cynical like that).

    I don't think we will ever have a breaking point.  You would think that Sandy Hook would have been it with the massacre of 20 six and seven year olds.

    But no.  It's going to happen again.  I just hope and pray that myself/none of you or your families and friends are ever victims.

     

    Mass shooting in Las Vegas

    in Politics and World Events

    Posted

    Gun violence is so incredibly preventable, but as long as the NRA has the power (and the $$$$$$$$) it does, what needs to happen will never happen.

    For example, I live in Missouri and my state Senator accepted almost $12,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle. 
    And this man tweeted out a bullshit "thoughts and prayers" tweet and I almost threw my phone.

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