They stood around watching the house burn. It was quite a spectacle, the crowd grew larger with each moment. Massive flames visible, engulfing the structure, smoke could be seen for miles. Onlookers speculated about the cause…
Man: Maybe she left the stove on?
Woman: Possible, that happened to a friend of a friend once….actually, they think the cat started that one, jumped on the stove and hit the nob just right. Insane!
Man: Could have been smoking in bed or in a recliner, fell asleep…wake up with your hair on fire, literally!
The fire continues to burn and spreads to the next house…
Mayor (grabs a megaphone): Y’all need to step back a bit, this fire is getting out of hand!
Woman: Indeed it is, I heard it started with a space heater.
Man: What? That’s nuts it was 60 degrees last night who uses a space heater when it’s 60 degrees!
Woman: My momma that’s who….she has circulation problems, always cold.
The fire has spread to several buildings now with no end in sight…
Kid: Instead of talking about how the fire may have started, why don’t we try to put it out?
And this my friends is how it seems to me when people discuss mass shootings in America. They want to blame mental illness, video games, the avocado shortage, Mercury in Retrograde, shitty parenting, a lack of Jesus, racism, politicians and big pharma. The common denominator in mass shootings is GUNS, 100% of the time. Let’s start there because we on fire.
Loved this, illustrating the point well.
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Thank you. It makes me nuts, the loopy conversations, fingers pointing in opposing directions searching for blame….people theorizing what could bring someone to the point of perpetrating a mass shooting…interesting thoughts and theories abound meanwhile, guns remain mindbogglingly accessible.
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I agree 100%. Living in WY, they are everywhere.
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Excellent points, all of them. I like your use of metaphor to describe this phenomenon too.
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Thanks. I guess I’m getting weary and frustrated by the usual discussions on this topic…we don’t seem to make much progress.
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I agree–I find the American worship of an inanimate piece of metal over the lives of thousands of people truly astounding.
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Most people are for sensible regulation….those that can’t bend in that direction baffle me. I think it’s based in fear. It is just inexcusable to watch all these innocent bystanders die and do nothing to stop it or at least slow it way the hell down.
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