San Bernadino Among Too Many Shootings

San Bernadino Among Too Many Shootings
Dane La Born

Dane La Born

There’s been another mass shooting. What can I even say anymore that I haven’t already said multiple times? Well, this time there is actually quite a bit to say, because this was different than the 354 other mass shootings that have happened this year. This was terrorism. As in brown people terrorism.

Does that make you uncomfortable to read? It made me feel gross writing it. However, that’s the thing that I’m seeing.

There have been more mass shootings than there have been days in the year in 2015. This one, though? This one got a presidential address from the Oval Office. Obama talked for 15 minutes about keeping Americans safe. Did he mention guns? Eh, in the last five minutes of the address. Mostly, he stuck to terrorism, ISIS/ISIL, countering said terrorism, and not being racist to U.S. Muslims because of the extremists. He actually touched on that more than I’ve heard him do in the past, though unfortunately, the people that need to hear it the most won’t listen to anything that man says.

Another bit of fallout from the San Bernardino killings has been the right wing vs. left wing response. Because there have been so many shootings this year, and because politicians are mostly slimy and gross, the presidential candidates across the board offered comment on the killings in California. For the Republicans, they stuck to their refrain that has been so used this year; “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.” The left has also had the same response every time, always tying it back to gun control and how readily available so many weapons are to Americans. It’s just all so pointless now.

Thoughts and prayers don’t help anyone, especially when it’s coming from the people who could actually affect change in the nation’s capitol. No one needs your thoughts and prayers, they need you to change policies and do something to make this shit stop. As for the left? At least you’re aiming in the right direction, but the tweets and comments are becoming repetitive and inane. Of course, Fox News coined the term ‘prayer shaming’ because of all this, completely missing the point.

When it’s you or your Grandma offering their thoughts and prayers, that’s great. If any given senator or congressman or president wants to offer their thoughts and prayers, but then does nothing to change the root cause of all this, that is what I take issue with.

So here I sit for the umpteenth time trying to find something constructive to say about all of this, and you know what? I’ve got nothing. I feel so disillusioned at this point with all of this. The next few weeks are totally predictable, because I’ve seen it unfold so many times. The fact that these two had ties to ISIS/ISIL means that there will be a bit of difference with this one, because it’s a terrorism case (and for some reason, it’s still not been called terrorism with any of the white people who’ve done this), but essentially everything will be the same.

The internet will pointlessly argue about gun control and Islamophobia, they’ll create hashtag movements and have conversations that ultimately go nowhere and accomplish nothing. Republican candidates will use this to further their anti-immigration platforms and Democrats will do the same with their gun control platforms. In the end, nothing will change at all, because how can it? Half the country doesn’t want anything to change with guns, and actually want to add more guns in some misguided attempt to say this stuff happens because others aren’t armed. So, essentially, their answer is “Make it the wild west again!” So basically, get used to it, America. This is the way things are and the way things are going to stay. Enjoy your movies in theaters, but always have an exit strategy. Enjoy going to college, but be vigilant! Constant vigilance! That is the only thing that can counter this.

One more thing to consider; Are we going to talk about the shooter’s mental health? If they were white people, that would already be a thing. Shouldn’t there be one here, as well? One of the shooters, whose names I am intentionally avoiding using, was American, born and raised. He still fell for the whole bit of ISIS ridiculousness. So shouldn’t we be wondering why? Why do American kids fall for that? How does anyone in the Western World fall for that? The answer is simple, because it happens all the time; people are stupid and hateful creatures.

However, to take a human life, much less many lives, you have to have something off in your brain. I can’t even bring myself to play the bad guy in an RPG, so senselessly slaughtering people in the physical world is a concept completely lost to me.

Categories: Commentary