Don't Look In The Mirror

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/20/705363744/new-zealand-banning-weapons-like-those-used-in-mosque-attacks-in-christchurch

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday that the government will ban "military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles," in an attempt to head-off "the kind of horror and attack that we saw on Friday." She said the outlawed weapons will be listed on a website and are the type that were used in the attack on two mosques in Christchurch last week.

We will not follow New Zealand’s lead because of our values. We won’t ban semi-automatic weapons because we value them.

We love military-style semi-automatic weapons. Adore, cherish, esteem...pick a verb.

Have you ever fired a military-style semi-automatic weapon? Oh my gawd the insane power...as fast as you can pull the trigger. Exhilarating! It’s like a roller coaster ride but with gunpowder. Fucking incredible. Better than sex.

Even in a climate controlled, sterile, shooting range, the wash of power from a military-style semi-automatic weapon pulsing through you is so powerful it’ll make you cum your underwear full.

It gets better. Have you ever defended your home or your loved ones with a military-style semi-automatic weapon? What a rush! I keep mine under the bed just in case someone tries to steal our gazing ball from the yard or makes a play for the minivan. Sakes alive, shooting another person in defense of property or loved ones is an immeasurable rush; you just haven’t lived until you’ve killed someone with a military-style semi-automatic weapon as they try to pilfer your lamps.

Is there a greater good argument to be made about banning military-style semi-automatic weapons?

What’s that? I can’t hear you over the awesome cacophony from my AR-15 as I help control the deer population.

BBBBRRR!BBBRrrrbbrbbrbRBBRBBBBBBBBBBB!RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRbRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[finger rest]

bbbb!bbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRR!RR!RRRRBBBBBBBBrrr!rBBBBBBBBBBRrbrr!

Don’t look in the mirror America. 
Don’t look at New Zealand. 
Don’t look at the dead bodies. 
Don’t look at your values and don’t mind the dissonance. 

It’ll go away, just like the soul of the country.

Are We Willing?

The long view and the hard work...the disease not the symptoms...are we willing...?

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/07/590877717/experts-say-here-s-how-to-prevent-the-next-school-shooting

https://curry.virginia.edu/prevent-gun-violence

CALL FOR ACTION TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Interdisciplinary Group on Preventing School and Community Violence

February 28, 2018

PDF Version

School shootings and widespread community gun violence are far greater in the United States than other nations. America cannot be great and realize its promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness if our children are not safe from gun violence.

Although security measures are important, a focus on simply preparing for shootings is insufficient. We need a change in mindset and policy from reaction to prevention. Prevention entails more than security measures    and begins long before a gunman comes to school. We need a comprehensive public health approach to gun violence that is informed by scientific evidence and free from partisan politics.

A public health approach to protecting children as well as adults from gun violence involves three levels of prevention: (1) universal approaches promoting safety and well-being for everyone; (2) practices for reducing risk and promoting protective factors for persons experiencing difficulties; and (3) interventions for individuals where violence is present or appears imminent.

On the first level we need:

1.    A national requirement for all schools to assess school climate and maintain physically and emotionally safe conditions and positive school environments that protect all students and adults from bullying, discrimination, harassment, and assault;

2.   A ban on assault-style weapons, high-capacity ammunition clips, and products that modify semi-automatic firearms to enable them to function like automatic firearms.

On the second level we need:

3.   Adequate staffing (such as counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers) of coordinated school- and community-based mental health services for individuals with risk factors for violence, recognizing that violence is not intrinsically a product of mental illness;

4.   Reform of school discipline to reduce exclusionary practices and foster positive social, behavioral, emotional, and academic success for students;

5.   Universal background checks to screen out violent offenders, persons who have been hospitalized for violence towards self or others, and persons on no-fly, terrorist watch lists.

On the third level we need:

6.     A national program to train and maintain school- and community-based threat assessment teams that include mental health and law enforcement partners. Threat assessment programs should include practical channels of communication for persons to report potential threats as well as interventions to resolve conflicts and assist troubled individuals;

7.     Removal of legal barriers to sharing safety-related information among educational, mental health, and law enforcement agencies in cases where a person has threatened violence;

8.     Laws establishing Gun Violence Protection Orders that allow courts to issue time-limited restraining orders requiring that firearms be recovered by law enforcement when there is evidence that an individual is planning to carry out acts against others or against themselves.

Congress and the executive branch must remove barriers to gun violence research and institute a program of scientific research on gun violence that encompasses all levels of prevention. We contend that well-executed laws can reduce gun violence while protecting all Constitutional rights.

It’s time for federal and state authorities to take immediate action to enact these proposals and provide adequate resources for effective implementation. We call on law enforcement, mental health, and educational agencies to begin actions supporting these prevention efforts. We ask all parents and youth to join efforts advocating for these changes, and we urge voters to elect representatives who will take effective action to prevent gun violence in our nation.

The Royal You

We asked, The Royal You answered.

President Trump has proposed arming teachers in response to the latest school shooting.

Are you ok with teachers packing heat?

No better way to teach US History than learning how to load a musket. - Ms Colcannon, teacher and uber and lyft driver.

My kids have been home schooled  in front of a shotgun and their test scores are just fine. - Tex Arkanna, stay-at-home barbarian.

G is for gun kids. - Mrs. Shubert, teacher and bartender and etsy shell casing jewelry designer and taco truck tire inflater.

Be A Dick

This is bigger than you think.

A lot bigger.

Make no mistake, profits will go down.

Someone has decided to put an ideal ahead of a profit.

Ideals are contagious.