VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter
Yeesh…. come back from my joyful, gabby, Tuesday “Slacker Ride” awash with endorphins and 14 young kids are dead in Uvalde, TX . Just passing on the Steve Kerr’s commendable rant—he is in Texas tonight for basketball—Warriors coach. Death count of 2nd and 3rd graders was 14… now at 18. ….21.
Kerr, coached by Zen master Phil Jackson—has a mind, conscience, and the courage to speak up on his own. The NBA is a pretty good platform as it’s demographic is not solely WASP. He calls out Mitch (twice) and the other 50 senators and the 90% approval for background checks. Did a better job than Biden tonight who simply said he is fed up…asked when is it gonna end? Sorry Joe, not the time for rhetoricals. Carpe diem! Kerr had substance to back his anger.
Would be a tribute to those kiddos if Uvalde goes down in history the same as Roe, Wade, Plessy, Ferguson, Brown, Board of Education………………………………………………………..and Buffalo…and….
–D.
Turned my stomach to see the gridlock fire up again. Schumer has scheduled votes on gun bills for show. Bills that will not pass. Senator Chris Murphy doesn’t want that — wants instead a bipartisan bill.
Yah right, on what planet?
Ye gods, what will it take?
–Mark M.
Thanks for sending that ESPN interview link, Dave. That was great. We need people with that kind of passion and heart leading our country. Those human qualities are too valuable to be expended on a sports team, frankly.
MarkO
Hey Bots,
What’s it going to take to keep kids from getting slaughtered in their own schools? Or shoppers from getting mowed down in malls? To hear the same mealy-mouthed excuses and rationalizations from the mercenary Republican fucks in Congress makes me sick.
It is refreshing—and inspirational—to hear Steve Kerr and Beto O’Rourke call out those in charge, the people who really could (because H.R. 127 has been sitting on their desks for the past year) stop the torrent of guns and ammo flowing into the hands of—well, anybody.
But in my cynical heart of hearts, I don’t think these heartfelt pleas will do any good. I even doubt that O’Rourke—who is running for governor of Texas against Greg Abbott—will be able to win there. I don’t know what it’ll take.
I speculated in my last blog post that it may take graphic images of dead children to sway the American voters. Wasn’t it the images of the dead and victimized at the Nazi concentration camps that convinced the world that the Holocaust really happened? Maybe seeing will be believing.
Fuck. I’m moving to Mexico.
–Geoff
Moving to Mexico, Geoff? I think that’s perhaps just a baby step in the flight from mass violence. However, I concur with that analysis of the situation. What will it take for the U.S. to rein in what has honestly become a domestic reign-of-terror? My opinion is that nothing is going to break the cultural and political paralysis that has us trapped in this cycle of perpetual violence. After all the horrific events we’ve seen in our lifetimes, with no significant response, what could it possibly take? Maybe I don’t have sufficient imagination, but to me it’s unimaginable.
Is it time to “pack up and go”? That’s difficult for older specimens like us who have roots sunk deep. I think it’s excellent advice for young people who have, or are considering having, young children. What peace of mind can one have if everything you live for is sent off to a U.S. public school, every day. One part of me is appalled by the overprotective (helicopter) parenting in vogue currently, but on the other hand, can you blame young parents for that reaction?
BTW, I’m going to Canada. We’ll meet some day somewhere in the middle.
MarkO
….Yeah….not sure you’re going to find less bullets south….
I keep hoping that some portion of the right—say Paul Ryan, Liz C., and Marco R. recognize that they could go down in history and they finally say, look everyone….we need to change this. If insiders pushed, it could happen
-D.
There is a problem with the Republicans in Congress. No question.
But, if each of us were to poll ten of our neighbors on the gun violence issue, specifically the possibility of enacting stricter laws and background checks, how do you think they would respond?
My guess is that, at least here in red-leaning Oak Creek, a solid majority would oppose anything “drastic”, such as banning assault weapons. This IS a guess since I don’t make a habit of revealing my own commie Radiclib snowflake tendencies to these stolid burghers.
What’s ironic is that my immediate neighbor, who couldn’t pull a lever for the Dems if he had to do it to save his own son’s life, has already been vocal to me with an anti-gun opinion. So maybe I’m wrong. But I think the Republican tribalism is strong enough that most GOP voters will stick with their party’s line.
If I am right, then we really cannot expect action. To quote pundit Josh Marshall, we are currently in the Republican “cooling off” period. For a period of 2-3 weeks, they will be emitting noises sympathetic to real action on guns. But after that, the window will close, and all gun bets will be off.
–Mark M.
We used to be able to blame the NRA for politicians’ inability to support gun regulations. Now, the NRA is weaker than it has probably ever been in our lifetime with corruption lawsuits and bankruptcy at its doorstep. Alas, it seems its work is done. The Repubs have adopted unfettered gun rights as part of its brand, and nobody is willing to disrupt that branding in fear they will get primaried by some more radical yahoo in the next election cycle.
Not that gun regulation alone will fix this mass violence epidemic. Nor will mental health intervention alone solve the problem. Nor will reorienting from our popular culture of violence and toxic masculinity alone solve the problem. All these things must be addressed simultaneously, which seems like an impossible ask.
Woe is us.
MarkO