Ballots Then Bullets

     I am so sickened right now.
     It's a noteworthy day even in this bullet-riddled republic of ours when two mass shootings take place within hours of each other. The first was in Alexandria, VA when a practice was being held for the annual Congressional baseball game that's held for charity. A random and lone gunman from Michigan showed up with an AR15 and began spraying fire, eventually hitting four people. One of them was House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who's in critical but stable condition. Another victim was a lobbyist who's also in critical condition. The shooter, James Hodgkinson, later died at the hospital.
     The next incident happened in San Francisco at a UPS sorting facility. Six UPS workers were shot and three were killed before the gunman turned the gun on himself. Two mass shootings in one day, Flag Day. And we will soon forget these and await the next ones. Nothing will change.
     Of course, the right wing nut jobs who accuse the left of politicizing everything because heaven forbid they would ever stoop to such levels will be short-stroking the fact the VA shooter was a Democrat and a Bernie Sanders backer without ever once touching on two crucial points: That their own are far more often responsible for mass shootings and terrorist attacks than the left and the need for strict gun control laws. One of their own Congressmen is now in critical condition after getting his hip shattered by a 5.56 slug. But, hey. Freedom!
     And I can perfectly imagine Trump saying this on Twitter:

     But the plain fact is Congressmen are getting shot while playing baseball. You have to wonder what went through Scalise's mind as he fell from second base, his hip shattered, and began crawling away from the gun fire toward the outfield. Was he thinking of every single vote he ever cast against gun control measures? If he was, who could blame him?
     But today's shootings are all of a piece. The harsh, nasty tone struck by the Trump administration, when they deign to come out of their hidey holes, is inspiring a lot of hatred. Shooting Congressmen and others is obviously not going to fix what's wrong with this country. The gun nuts keep calling for more and more and more guns and ammo then everyone acts surprised when mass shootings escalate.
     We're living in enough fear as it is. We have to remove our shoes, submit to invasive body searches and having our naked bodies scanned. We have to consent to our bags being checked before walking into a ball park or a courthouse or a school. And still this sort of shit keeps happening, now at the rate of two a day.
     I wonder if Alex Jones will promote another conspiracy theory that Alexandria didn't happen and that Scalise was fooling us the whole time?
     And now right wingers are realizing for perhaps the first time (or maybe they're not, since they're inherently stupid) that the 2nd Amendment applies to those of both sides of the political spectrum. Yes, we should have a substantive debate about gun control. The problem is, we're not yet mature enough to have that discussion.