September 11, 2001, for people of a certain age, will never be forgotten. It was horrific. Shocking. Devastating, even if you weren't in NY or DC. I still get twitchy if I hear an airplane flying too close overhead, and I was 3,000 miles away from any of the actual physical damage, nor did I lose anyone close to me, or even known to me.
But, I feel like the commemoration of this day has gone too far, off the rails, veering towards comedy at times. A special dedicated to cadaver dogs, and what they may have dealt with during this time? Really?
I also feel that calling people that died that day 'brave' is a ridiculous and unnecessary lie. Most of the people that died that morning were at work. In offices. Does that make them brave? No. It makes them average, relatable. By calling them brave it lifts them up and ends up detaching them from the rest of us, which is wrong. They weren't fighting that day, they weren't at war, they were at work. That is the true tragedy, that they didn't sign up for combat, and by calling them brave they are being stripped of their averageness and turned into soldiers.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Friday, December 21, 2012
Really, NRA? Really?
I guess what we need are more guns, not less, we need to ease up on violent video games and take a look at our care of mentally ill citizens. Okay, I can get behind taking a look at our mental health care system in this country and see how it could be improved, because although most people with mental health issues won't get access to guns and go on a shooting spree, they still need help. I am all for that dialogue being started, as long as they don't envision some kind of American Horror Story asylum scenario.
What I wish the NRA would have said, besides things that I know they will never say, is that as long as we live in a country that invades other countries and murders their citizens, that there is no reason to blame video games. Kids in this country get the message that it is okay to kill people and take over their property from an early age. As long as we have a military that murders innocent people, how can we even begin to blame kids for their violent tendencies coming to life? We send them the message that violence is the answer, you don't really need a reason for it, but first you have to put on some camouflage and then it's okay to kill random people. Not random people here, but other places, preferably where the people are darker skinned.
And this whole 2nd Amendment thing...it was designed to help citizens protect themselves from the government, our government, to fight tyranny. Unless I missed something, we aren't at war with the United States, so why does anyone need an assault rifle? I don't understand a lot of things, and this is one of them.
What I wish the NRA would have said, besides things that I know they will never say, is that as long as we live in a country that invades other countries and murders their citizens, that there is no reason to blame video games. Kids in this country get the message that it is okay to kill people and take over their property from an early age. As long as we have a military that murders innocent people, how can we even begin to blame kids for their violent tendencies coming to life? We send them the message that violence is the answer, you don't really need a reason for it, but first you have to put on some camouflage and then it's okay to kill random people. Not random people here, but other places, preferably where the people are darker skinned.
And this whole 2nd Amendment thing...it was designed to help citizens protect themselves from the government, our government, to fight tyranny. Unless I missed something, we aren't at war with the United States, so why does anyone need an assault rifle? I don't understand a lot of things, and this is one of them.
Friday, December 14, 2012
2012, what a great year!
I really have no words that can describe the grief and shock and anger I am feeling. I don't think it can ever be properly processed because I wasn't personally touched by it, not in a 'real' way, but still. There is pain and confusion.
I am confused by the fact that people keep saying guns don't get people, when clearly they do. A gun didn't levitate and start shooting all by itself, but someone used that gun to murder people, and there you go-guns kill people, with the help of people, I suppose, but yes, it was used in the murder of over 25 people today.
BUT, apparently what we need are more guns! More for everyone! Maybe if the children had guns they could have protected themselves? Is that an NRA argument that will be made soon, that from infancy until the grave you should be packing?
Or maybe the whole argument about guns is wrong. Maybe what we should do is outlaw the production of ammunition. You can have all the guns you want, but nothing will shoot out of them. That's a compromise that I could live with.
Do I think that people shouldn't be allowed to have guns for protection if they want them? Of course not. But if someone could explain to me why a person needs a machine gun, what possible purpose it could serve besides slaughtering people, I would be interested in hearing that. Actually that's not true. I don't care what anyone would have to say in regards to that.
Do I think if there were no guns that violence would end? Of course not. I do know that the amount of people killed would be less, and I think less people being murdered is actually a good thing. But I guess, in the end, the guns will win, people will celebrate that they can own weapons that are only designed to murder as many people as possible and as quickly as possible, and that will be that. It's too bad that all of these little children were shot to death today and so many people are so stupid that they don't think guns had anything to do with it.
I am confused by the fact that people keep saying guns don't get people, when clearly they do. A gun didn't levitate and start shooting all by itself, but someone used that gun to murder people, and there you go-guns kill people, with the help of people, I suppose, but yes, it was used in the murder of over 25 people today.
BUT, apparently what we need are more guns! More for everyone! Maybe if the children had guns they could have protected themselves? Is that an NRA argument that will be made soon, that from infancy until the grave you should be packing?
Or maybe the whole argument about guns is wrong. Maybe what we should do is outlaw the production of ammunition. You can have all the guns you want, but nothing will shoot out of them. That's a compromise that I could live with.
Do I think that people shouldn't be allowed to have guns for protection if they want them? Of course not. But if someone could explain to me why a person needs a machine gun, what possible purpose it could serve besides slaughtering people, I would be interested in hearing that. Actually that's not true. I don't care what anyone would have to say in regards to that.
Do I think if there were no guns that violence would end? Of course not. I do know that the amount of people killed would be less, and I think less people being murdered is actually a good thing. But I guess, in the end, the guns will win, people will celebrate that they can own weapons that are only designed to murder as many people as possible and as quickly as possible, and that will be that. It's too bad that all of these little children were shot to death today and so many people are so stupid that they don't think guns had anything to do with it.
December 14, 2012
Well, it looks like some people believe there is only one week left, and for some people that will be true, and for others there will be less, and for most of us there will be more. I don't buy into the fear when things like this come up, like when we hit the year 2000, or when anniversaries of horrific events happen, but there is always that little piece of me that thinks, "what if?", and I find it entertaining and annoying.
I try to think of the one thing I would like to do, if it was all ending, but I can never come up with anything grand or profound. I generally like the way things are going, I tend to think of ways to enhance my life, not escape it, so I would probably just do what I do, maybe be a little truer, which doesn't necessarily mean nicer, and try to get the point across to the people that I love that I love them and will miss their dumbasses.
I try to think of the one thing I would like to do, if it was all ending, but I can never come up with anything grand or profound. I generally like the way things are going, I tend to think of ways to enhance my life, not escape it, so I would probably just do what I do, maybe be a little truer, which doesn't necessarily mean nicer, and try to get the point across to the people that I love that I love them and will miss their dumbasses.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
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