So, Blogger has a radically new look and way of doing things huh? I hate change so it'll take me awhile to get used to this...
I just wanted to pop in and say a quick hello to everyone (anyone?) still on the blogs. As is always the case, life is kind of ho-hum right now since it is the middle of summer. Unbelievably, though, I only have a month to go before the fall semester starts at my new university. I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time, nothing new there.
Right now, I'm planning two vacations. One vacation will be to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The other will be to New York City to see, among other things, The Phantom of the Opera.
Actually, the main reason I wanted to make a [long overdue] blogpost was to express my reaction to the shooting at the movie theater in Aura, Colorado, only a few days ago.
How many of these mass shootings have taken place in my lifetime that I remember or have heard about? Columbine in 1999, Red Lake High School in 2005, the shooting of 5 Amish girls right here in Pennsylvania in 2006, Virginia Tech in 2008, Fort Hood in 2009, the shooting at Congresswoman Gabby Giffords' event in 2011, the shooting at the Toronto Eaton Centre last month, and now this senseless shooting in Colorado.
My first reaction was not sympathy or compassion for the victims and their families. No, it was anger and frustration. I don't really know why. I just don't understand it I guess. Of course, it is unrealistic to expect any kind of real reform when it comes to gun control since the Second Amendment pretty much makes that impossible. But on thing is for sure, it is needed.
After the tragedy occurred, President Obama issued a proclamation ordering flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on July 25. I took the liberty of going up to Dad's church and lowering the flags there to honor the victims. Sadly, while driving around yesterday, I noticed the church was the only place in town that had the flags lowered. Not even the post office had them down. The post office is the one place that *should* have them down since it's a federal building.
So, on top of the anger at the shooting, this also makes me sad to see that people can't take two minutes out of their day to show some respect.
4 comments:
I hope you'll find both Myrtle Beach and "The Phantom of the Opera" enjoyable.
Somebody on another site pointed out that over the past ten or so years, the US has averaged 9,000-1,000 gun killings per year. That's 25-27 per day. So Aurora didn't even give us our daily quota. I'm not making light of the Aurora shootings, just saying how bad it is when that massacre is less than half the daily average. I don't know how that compares to other countries and regions, on proportion yo population. I think there's no way to completely prevent such tragedies without becoming a totalitarian police state, but better iidentification and treatment of the mentally ill would help.
Yea I'm always shocked by these things too. Its always so frustrating that it seems more frequent in america than other countries? (or perhaps thats just sampling bias and its not statistically any more than anywhere else).
Take care petey-
Steve
A young gay guy's life shouldn't be ho-hum in the middle of summer! I'd be at the beach checking out the guys in bathing trunks.
-Yeah not much can be done to prevent some mentally unbalanced nut from spraying innocent people with bullets. When you hear the first shot then be the first one out the door or window IMO. Statistics speak for themselves though; in countries with strict gun possession laws the murder rate is far lower than in the gun-crazy USA, even allowing for population size. FFS at least get rid of military style assault weapons; a 12 guage shot gun will work just fine for home defense lol. - Wayne :)
France: average of 2 killings per week (60 millions people), Germany quite the same rate for 80 millions. Don't know for the other countries. In both countries weapons are not allowed for under 21 and only if you're licenced (ie hunters). Terrible all this.
Olivier
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