Thoughts on the Arizona shooting
Why do I have to go to humor sources to find the messages I wish the news and politicians were spreading?
Some people will try to make it about guns. It isn’t about guns. Making guns illegal doesn’t stop crazy terrorists from getting them. And everybody having guns doesn’t prevent an event like this from happening. Hell professorial shooters miss all the time at close range in combat. Imagine what a group of scared amateurs are going to be like.
Some people want to make it about free speech, or the abridgment thereof. It’s really not, or at least it shouldn’t be. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to say disagreeable things during political contests, and it should. The alternative to our society tolerating speech we disagree with is far more horrifying to me than the results of Saturday’s shooting.
Maybe this should be about being seeing what political violence looks like. Maybe this should be about saying “Oh….that’s not something I want to see more of.” Maybe this should be about realizing that the media and political figures are in the business of telling people what they want to hear, and that perhaps we as a society should make it plain that we want to hear better from them.
Maybe it could be about learning to not act like you think murder or violence is a valid political strategy, so that when something happens you don’t make the cause you are dedicating your life to look like a bunch of assholes.
Maybe it should be about figuring out that there is a difference between an opponent and an enemy.
And maybe it could be about getting through one week of news without being hate-fucked in the ear by someone with with an axe to grind. Maybe this could be about political discourse being elevated above the level of a fourteen year old virgin who had a bad night of World of Warcraft.
Thank you, Skippy; I agree 100%. You may "just write a humor blog", but your head is screwed on the right way.
EDIT:
Thanks to @grayhawkfh for the Skippy's List link.
Thanks to fabricdragon for pointing me at Jon Stewart: Arizona Shootings Reaction.
Crossposted from http://montuos.dreamwidth.org/684182.html ;
comments on original post. If you do not have a Dreamwidth ID, you can log in with OpenID using your LJ ID to read comments on protected posts.
Some people will try to make it about guns. It isn’t about guns. Making guns illegal doesn’t stop crazy terrorists from getting them. And everybody having guns doesn’t prevent an event like this from happening. Hell professorial shooters miss all the time at close range in combat. Imagine what a group of scared amateurs are going to be like.
Some people want to make it about free speech, or the abridgment thereof. It’s really not, or at least it shouldn’t be. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to say disagreeable things during political contests, and it should. The alternative to our society tolerating speech we disagree with is far more horrifying to me than the results of Saturday’s shooting.
Maybe this should be about being seeing what political violence looks like. Maybe this should be about saying “Oh….that’s not something I want to see more of.” Maybe this should be about realizing that the media and political figures are in the business of telling people what they want to hear, and that perhaps we as a society should make it plain that we want to hear better from them.
Maybe it could be about learning to not act like you think murder or violence is a valid political strategy, so that when something happens you don’t make the cause you are dedicating your life to look like a bunch of assholes.
Maybe it should be about figuring out that there is a difference between an opponent and an enemy.
And maybe it could be about getting through one week of news without being hate-fucked in the ear by someone with with an axe to grind. Maybe this could be about political discourse being elevated above the level of a fourteen year old virgin who had a bad night of World of Warcraft.
Thank you, Skippy; I agree 100%. You may "just write a humor blog", but your head is screwed on the right way.
EDIT:
Thanks to @grayhawkfh for the Skippy's List link.
Thanks to fabricdragon for pointing me at Jon Stewart: Arizona Shootings Reaction.
Crossposted from http://montuos.dreamwidth.org/684182.html ;
comments on original post. If you do not have a Dreamwidth ID, you can log in with OpenID using your LJ ID to read comments on protected posts.