jon_chaisson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jon_chaisson) wrote2012-12-14 01:46 pm
jon_chaisson) wrote2012-12-14 01:46 pm
j'accuse
Okay, I lied again.
One more political post.
Republicans, I hope you're fucking happy. I hope you're comfortable with all that blood on your hands.
Do I blame you for the shooting in Connecticut this morning? Yes, I do. Directly? No. Indirectly? Yes.
Sure, you weren't Adam Lanza, who walked into Sandy Hook Elementary, shot his mother who was a teacher there, and proceeded to kill others in the process, including children.
Let's put that as its own bolded and italicized paragraph so it sticks out, shall we?
He shot down children. In cold fucking blood.
Republicans, I hope you're fucking happy with all that blood on your hands.
Why do I blame you for this?
Christ, where do I fucking start?
Let's start with gun control, because between us crazy-ass liberals complaining about it and you pro-gun lobbyists who have such a goddamned hard-on for that piece of steel. It's so important it should be in the Bible, really: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Translation to us crazy-ass liberals? "Just in case we're really fucked and some country declares war on us, we're deeming it okay to let you civilians carry guns." Translation to you? "IMMA CARRY THIS PIECE LIKE IT'S AN EXTENSION OF MAH MANHOOD." Yes, I do see it that way. And in the process, we get Stand Your Ground laws and incompetent background checks and the ability to buy firearms at WalMart. We get the man who shoots into a van because someone else's music is too loud. We get the man who shoots a kid because he looks and acts differently. We get the supposedly pious believers who shoot doctors under the excuse of "an eye for an eye". We get kids killing kids because of colors and revenge. We get the addict who needs their next hit at all costs.
Because of guns, we forge boundaries around ourselves and shut everyone else out. And we shoot at them because we're afraid.
And yet...
And yet, God forbid we change gun laws, because all you hear is "Liberals are going to take our guns away!"
Or how about other things, such as The American Dream Deferred.
How does this fit in with today's event? Well, let's play a bit of conjecture here. This might not be the reason it happened, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Let's say you were brought up thinking there would be a job for you out there. You'd be sitting at a desk, pushing paper or creating products or shipping goods or maybe just ringing up a purchase. Doesn't matter what level, it was that you had some form of employment where you'd get paid every other week or so. Your employer would take a small percentage out for taxes and social security, but for the most part, you'd take that paycheck and deposit it in the bank. Maybe if you were lucky, you'd make enough to enroll in a 401k or an IRA, so you could save up for your retirement age. And perhaps your company was big enough where you could afford to have that little bit more taken out to put into an insurance policy, for those 'just in case' times in your life.
Let's say that the future turned out a bit different. You're working 25 hours a week, minimum wage, at the local drugstore working the register and sweeping up because that's all that store can afford to hire you for, because there are hardly any customers. You want to move out of your childhood bedroom and get an apartment, but you can't afford it. You want to get a loan so you can buy a newer and more dependable car for that long commute to that job fifty miles away, but your credit rating is shot because you've defaulted on your student loans because of lack of a decent paying job after you graduated. And on Tuesday, you got pulled into the office by your manager, who tells you that he's going to have to let you go at the end of the month--not because you're a bad worker, far from it, but because they just can't afford to pay you anymore, since their customer base is vanishing. A 401k or an IRA is the last thing on your mind. You try not to think about your lack of insurance, even though your shoulder's been hurting for a month now, and that tooth is slowly disintegrating and giving you a migraine, because you can't afford it. Sure, you could go to the emergency room if it gets real bad...hell, just fill out some paperwork and the state pays for it for you! Out of sight, out of mind!
Let's just say that, after all this, your car dies on you, and you haven't gotten a single response from a prospective employer for two years. Two fucking years. No one's hiring. And you can't find a job in town, because most of the storefronts are empty.
Let's just say that, after all this, you've finally hit bottom. You have nowhere to go, and no way of getting out.
Let's just say that, after all this, you finally think, fuck this shit, I'm done.
Let's just say that, in a final act of desperation, you borrow your dad's guns, and decide to end it all.
Let's just say that, instead of putting yourself out of your misery, you decide to bring others along with you who you think might be at fault.
Or maybe, just maybe...your life isn't all that bad. When things are good, you're happy and all is well. But that migraine...shit, that fucking migraine that won't go away! And the people you don't like...and that fear you get when you don't remember what you did yesterday...and your abusive stepdad...and those emotions of yours that you can't control. You react before you can stop yourself. You hurt others or yourself without meaning to. You might have a mental disorder, but you wouldn't know, you don't have the insurance to get tested for it.
Let's just say that, in one of these episodes, you find your dad's guns. Or have one of your own.
Why do I bring this up, you ask? Good question. It's because you obviously see this happening all around the country. People watching their last shred of hope and dignity get forcibly pulled away. People with mental issues who really should be helped and don't. Because they can't.
And yet.
And yet.
And yet, you, as a Republican, have been fomenting this aura, this toxic and despicable mantra of "this is their responsibility, not mine." You have been feeding this dangerous fire with such combustible fuel. You couldn't give a shit about this loser who obviously doesn't know how to live in capitalist America, doesn't know how to save money, doesn't understand the tax code, doesn't know how business works, doesn't plan ahead. Obviously these people are stupid and looking for a free handout because they're too goddamned lazy.
You, as a Republican, have been hearing these people crying out in pain and fear and desperation, watching these people kill themselves and others, drinking and drugging themselves into an early grave, who've been pleading for help, for a bit of assistance, for direction.
And all you can say is "screw you, you did this to yourself, you're on your own."
This is why I blame you, Republicans. You've opened up this dangerous and lethal spell, all for the sake of a few quick votes.
This is why I blame you, because you are not taking responsibility for your actions.
J'accuse.
One more political post.
Republicans, I hope you're fucking happy. I hope you're comfortable with all that blood on your hands.
Do I blame you for the shooting in Connecticut this morning? Yes, I do. Directly? No. Indirectly? Yes.
Sure, you weren't Adam Lanza, who walked into Sandy Hook Elementary, shot his mother who was a teacher there, and proceeded to kill others in the process, including children.
Let's put that as its own bolded and italicized paragraph so it sticks out, shall we?
He shot down children. In cold fucking blood.
Republicans, I hope you're fucking happy with all that blood on your hands.
Why do I blame you for this?
Christ, where do I fucking start?
Let's start with gun control, because between us crazy-ass liberals complaining about it and you pro-gun lobbyists who have such a goddamned hard-on for that piece of steel. It's so important it should be in the Bible, really: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Translation to us crazy-ass liberals? "Just in case we're really fucked and some country declares war on us, we're deeming it okay to let you civilians carry guns." Translation to you? "IMMA CARRY THIS PIECE LIKE IT'S AN EXTENSION OF MAH MANHOOD." Yes, I do see it that way. And in the process, we get Stand Your Ground laws and incompetent background checks and the ability to buy firearms at WalMart. We get the man who shoots into a van because someone else's music is too loud. We get the man who shoots a kid because he looks and acts differently. We get the supposedly pious believers who shoot doctors under the excuse of "an eye for an eye". We get kids killing kids because of colors and revenge. We get the addict who needs their next hit at all costs.
Because of guns, we forge boundaries around ourselves and shut everyone else out. And we shoot at them because we're afraid.
And yet...
And yet, God forbid we change gun laws, because all you hear is "Liberals are going to take our guns away!"
Or how about other things, such as The American Dream Deferred.
How does this fit in with today's event? Well, let's play a bit of conjecture here. This might not be the reason it happened, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Let's say you were brought up thinking there would be a job for you out there. You'd be sitting at a desk, pushing paper or creating products or shipping goods or maybe just ringing up a purchase. Doesn't matter what level, it was that you had some form of employment where you'd get paid every other week or so. Your employer would take a small percentage out for taxes and social security, but for the most part, you'd take that paycheck and deposit it in the bank. Maybe if you were lucky, you'd make enough to enroll in a 401k or an IRA, so you could save up for your retirement age. And perhaps your company was big enough where you could afford to have that little bit more taken out to put into an insurance policy, for those 'just in case' times in your life.
Let's say that the future turned out a bit different. You're working 25 hours a week, minimum wage, at the local drugstore working the register and sweeping up because that's all that store can afford to hire you for, because there are hardly any customers. You want to move out of your childhood bedroom and get an apartment, but you can't afford it. You want to get a loan so you can buy a newer and more dependable car for that long commute to that job fifty miles away, but your credit rating is shot because you've defaulted on your student loans because of lack of a decent paying job after you graduated. And on Tuesday, you got pulled into the office by your manager, who tells you that he's going to have to let you go at the end of the month--not because you're a bad worker, far from it, but because they just can't afford to pay you anymore, since their customer base is vanishing. A 401k or an IRA is the last thing on your mind. You try not to think about your lack of insurance, even though your shoulder's been hurting for a month now, and that tooth is slowly disintegrating and giving you a migraine, because you can't afford it. Sure, you could go to the emergency room if it gets real bad...hell, just fill out some paperwork and the state pays for it for you! Out of sight, out of mind!
Let's just say that, after all this, your car dies on you, and you haven't gotten a single response from a prospective employer for two years. Two fucking years. No one's hiring. And you can't find a job in town, because most of the storefronts are empty.
Let's just say that, after all this, you've finally hit bottom. You have nowhere to go, and no way of getting out.
Let's just say that, after all this, you finally think, fuck this shit, I'm done.
Let's just say that, in a final act of desperation, you borrow your dad's guns, and decide to end it all.
Let's just say that, instead of putting yourself out of your misery, you decide to bring others along with you who you think might be at fault.
Or maybe, just maybe...your life isn't all that bad. When things are good, you're happy and all is well. But that migraine...shit, that fucking migraine that won't go away! And the people you don't like...and that fear you get when you don't remember what you did yesterday...and your abusive stepdad...and those emotions of yours that you can't control. You react before you can stop yourself. You hurt others or yourself without meaning to. You might have a mental disorder, but you wouldn't know, you don't have the insurance to get tested for it.
Let's just say that, in one of these episodes, you find your dad's guns. Or have one of your own.
Why do I bring this up, you ask? Good question. It's because you obviously see this happening all around the country. People watching their last shred of hope and dignity get forcibly pulled away. People with mental issues who really should be helped and don't. Because they can't.
And yet.
And yet.
And yet, you, as a Republican, have been fomenting this aura, this toxic and despicable mantra of "this is their responsibility, not mine." You have been feeding this dangerous fire with such combustible fuel. You couldn't give a shit about this loser who obviously doesn't know how to live in capitalist America, doesn't know how to save money, doesn't understand the tax code, doesn't know how business works, doesn't plan ahead. Obviously these people are stupid and looking for a free handout because they're too goddamned lazy.
You, as a Republican, have been hearing these people crying out in pain and fear and desperation, watching these people kill themselves and others, drinking and drugging themselves into an early grave, who've been pleading for help, for a bit of assistance, for direction.
And all you can say is "screw you, you did this to yourself, you're on your own."
This is why I blame you, Republicans. You've opened up this dangerous and lethal spell, all for the sake of a few quick votes.
This is why I blame you, because you are not taking responsibility for your actions.
J'accuse.
no subject
no subject
VA has a course that is required for all prospective CCW licensees. You can't apply for the license without the original copy of the signed certificate from the course. This means that all CCW licensees in VA have received at least basic training in the handling and ethical consequences of carrying a weapon.
However, that only applies to the law-abiding. Nobody who slays a classroom full of kindergartners can claim to be abiding by any laws.
I have always believed the gun to be an inert piece of metal, its history given life by the intentions of its users. I shoot bottles. It's fun. My guns will go down in history as little more than noisy toys.
I guess my beef is with the breakdown of societal restraint -- "manners", really -- where people don't stuff base urges that don't make sense in the big picture. They used to, didn't they? I think? Am I looking at history through rose-colored glasses? I dunno. I do know that as a kid nobody worried if I was out wandering around after dark. That wasn't so long ago.
no subject
[EDIT: But that doesn't mean I want to take yours away--I just want them to be in the right hands, not the wrong ones.]
(And to add to that, I do have a few Republican friends, and I'd like to think this wasn't aimed at them either. I think at this time we all know who it is aimed at.)
I agree--the breakdown of societal restraint, as you say, is a large part of what bothers me as well. A lot of it ends up getting hidden by one of the Constitutional Amendments, and the "just because you can doesn't mean you should" gets ignored. The Republican party, especially over the last decade or so, has played that game much, much too often, and they have not taken responsibility for its outcome, especially now that more and more people are following in these dangerous footsteps.
Despite my vitriol, I still stand by what I've posted here, and I'm actually heartened to see that I'm not the only one saying it, either.