What the F happened?
Normally I don't include current events in my blog. But I will comment on what happened in Highland Park Illinois yesterday.
My parents rented a house in Northbrook while we were kids. While school was in session, I lived in the northern suburbs. Each summer my mom packed us kids up and we moved to NW WI and lived in a two room cottage with no heat or hot water.
As children we learned the importance of hunting and gathering. That was a way of life for my Grandparents.
That isn't quite relevant, except to understand that I grew up with one foot in the affluent neighborhoods which included friends from Highland Park and each of the towns surrounding the area.
So when I saw the news story of the mass shooting in Highland Park at the 4th of July parade, my very FIRST thought was.
No, it cannot happen there. NO, it wouldn't happen there. Really, why would it happen there? How could it happen there?
And then it hit me. It doesn't have to make sense. Assault weapons and some person with a grudge makes the NEW reality.
It will happen here
It will happen anywhere.
It will happen in
your town.
It is just a matter of
time.
I'm so sick of 'thoughts and prayers'. Time to ban weapons of this type.
I won't win an argument regarding the second amendment, I'm not that well versed in law. And I do own rifles and a .22 pistol. I am a hunter of varmints, but rarely find any opportunity to shoot anything. I've come to carrying pepper spray most of the time as it is easier to use and is not deadly.
I have a background in weapons as I trained with them for nearly 10 years as a part of my job. We were told over and over again the consequences of firing a weapon.
We did not have semi auto weapons.
There are no reason for anyone to own them.
Not unless you just want to kill humans.
When will our government representatives do the right thing?
When will our high courts do the right thing?
America used to be a pretty decent place to live.
I didn't celebrate the 4th of July.
We normally don't go to parades and fireworks. I'm married to a veteran who responds negatively to fireworks and crowds.
He had a grim view of yesterday's events, and he agrees that weapons of war should not be in the hands of the ordinary citizen no matter what.
This is my opinion and I feel rather strongly about it. How long must this go on?
I agree. Many of my AR toting neighbors are shocked to find out that at a meeting of crazy liberal women at my house, at which we wrote postcards to our legislatures promoting common sense gun laws, every woman but me had a concealed carry license. I did not make them show me their guns. The only reason to own those weapons of war is to be able to kill people in mass.
ReplyDeleteI let my CC lapse and I see no sense in trying to wear it into people's homes or businesses. I've trained enough with guns to know how badly a person can screw up under pressure and fear.
DeleteI would love to see a law enacted for anyone to carry a weapon in the open or not to serve two years in the military.
Something needs to change, no matter what side of the fence you are on. I hope the powers that be can figure out a compromise.
ReplyDelete:( You are right.
DeletePersonally, I don't see anything changing. I have never handled a gun. I don't want to. I feel more at risk out and about than I ever thought I would. It's the world we live in and I don't believe it will change. I know, I'm a downer.
ReplyDeleteYou are not a downer, you are pragmatic.
DeleteSo sad, the news yesterday was all sad, policemen in Pennsylvania too and a drowning in a suburb of Minneapolis and murder/suicide in Vadnais Heights..and a six year old getting run over during a parade in North Dakota.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what the answer is for anything anymore...people are angry.
We let our permit to carry lapse as we were not using it.
I read a report that said 4th of July brought in a surge of ER visits historically.
DeleteI will never understand the part of human nature that makes us so violent I guess.
I did not celebrate the 4th either as I am boycotting fireworks that make us feel like we are in a war zone. We need to do what Italy did...ban them and have fireworks that don't make noise. Our country has become so insensitive to all things living. There has to be a way to ban weapons that should only be used in wars and it needs to be sooner than later. Between the recent Supreme Court decisions and the lack of cooperation in our government....we are swiftly going down the toilet and look weak to the rest of the world. What is enough????
ReplyDeleteFireworks without noise would be such a nice thing. I live rurally and farmers each year have to retrieve herds of goats, cattle, horses, and other livestock after they've been startled and run through fences...
DeleteMy mules are pretty good with it, and only after about 30 minutes of booms, do they take off. Fortunately, they have never run through fences.
My husband doesn't care for the noise either.
Thank you for stopping in.