He sounded fed up and angry at the latest episode of the kind of senseless killings that happened yesterday at a community college in Oregon. These things have become routine, including the responses of those who oppose any kinds of restrictions on gun ownership.
He appealed to the media to publicize the numbers of people who have been killed by terrorist attacks compared with those killed by gun violence and asks why we are so obsessed with preventing the low numbers of the former but do nothing to prevent the high numbers of the latter. He pointed out that in every tragic situation where multiple people die, we take steps to prevent recurrences except in the case of gun-enabled murders.
It is indeed crazy that Congress has even denied funding to the Centers for Disease Control for even just researching and publishing data on firearms violence.
Bernie Sanders backs Obama’s call for action and sensible gun control legislation.
All too common, but I didn’t realise just how insane this all is:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/cuttlefish/2015/10/01/45th-school-shooting-this-year-this-on-will-be-different/
It is only crazy if you look at it rationally. From a tribal point of view it makes complete sense.
The tribe can’t admit that one or more of theirs is the same as the other.
That is also why these are lone wolves (effectively excommunicating a tribes member) which are mentally ill (since a mentally healthy tribal member wouldn’t do such a thing) or anything else that isn’t what the tribe has singled out as a defining behavior of the other (in this case terrorism).
It also explains the absolute resistance to looking into what is going on because that has a good chance of partially de-othering the other by having to admit that tribes members do not behave as different as the other.
Not to say someone cannot be (de)othered but that takes almost ritualistic set of behavior. For a member of the tribe that starts with excommunication. For people outside the tribe see what the U.S. did to Saddam (as proxy for Iraq) when the people in power realized they could score serious brownie points by kicking him out of Kuwait.
Already, idiots are repeating the NRA’s mantra: “This is no time to talk about gun control!!!”
http://www.wmur.com/politics/oregon-governor-not-the-time-to-talk-gun-control/35615352
It makes me wonder how large the NRA’s donation was to the Oregon governor. Or if she is that lacking in decency without any money being given to her.
It’s statements like the body of the comments that reinforce my respect for Obama.
However, the need to put the “god boilerplate” around them continues to piss me off. He even explicitly said that prayers don’t work!, but then finishes with a prayer at the end.
I can only presume that he is aware of the contradiction, but feels the need to do it because that is “what presidents say”. Because if he didn’t say it, then the news would be about Obama not saying it and the coverage missing the f@#%ing point of the substantive remarks.
Obama’s speech was indeed awesome.
Saw part of it at the time and was impressed.
Just hope it changes something. Things here do need to change.
They died for our freedoms, Mano.