Maybe None Of Us Should Have Pizza

It's happening again.  Everyone in the country is having that same conversation again.  Everyone is going on about the most recent "deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history".  It's like these assholes keep trying to one-up each other by killing more people than the last guy did.  The conversation consists of the same 'ol same 'ol - "How do we make sense of what happened in Las Vegas?" and "How can we prevent something like this from happening again?"

Well, let's take a look at the reading material stationed at the door of one of the TA truck stops we recently stopped at:

Guns & Ammo

The Complete Book of Guns

Black Guns

American Survival Guide (ironic)

Concealed Carry

Ballistic

and, People Magazine.  I suppose that's for those lily-livered Hollywood liberal types who don't believe in The Constitution. 

Americans have an insane obsession with guns.  They look at owning one as some hallmark of freedom, of patriotism.  They claim they're needed for protection.  Protection from what?  Other nutjob gun owners, it seems.  They take the "right to bear arms" amendment psychotically far.  They refuse to believe an amendment written for muskets in 1791 should still be unilaterally applied to gun ownership today.  

Well, ICYMI (In Case You Missed It), yesterday 59 people were killed and over 500 more were injured in a mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

First, let me say - what the everloving fuck is going on in this country??  It makes me sick.  And pissed.

FIFTY-NINE people are dead.  People, who as Ed said, were "...innocent people doing what Americans do.  Pursuing happiness by going to a concert with their family and friends."

And why are they gone?  Gone.  Dead.  NEVER EVER COMING BACK.

Why?

Because some asshole was allowed to own a gun.  Well, several guns.  Lots of guns.  And then he transported them to a place where thousands of people congregate and hundreds more stream into the streets, twenty-four hours a day.  He used them to kill 59 innocent people and injure hundreds more.

After the shooting, like clockwork, the "thoughts and prayers" started coming.  As they always do.  They're useless.  Useless before.  Useless during.  Useless after.  The politicians sending out thoughts and prayers are the WORST.  Especially the Christian ones who espouse to be like Christ yet vote against families and children and those less fortunate.  Especially ones like Trump, who couldn't quote a scripture to save his own life, let alone anyone else's.  And especially the ones beholden to the NRA. 

The NRA spent more than $30 million dollars on last year's presidential campaign in an effort to help elect Trump.  They used $19.7 million to oppose Hillary Clinton and $10.6 million to support Donald Trump.

In fact, the NRA donates overwhelmingly to the Republican party. They have the balls of more politicians than one can count squeezed in their hot little gun-toting hands.  Last year alone, they spent $54.4 million, almost all of it going to Republicans.  People don't want to make any assumptions about what that means, but I'm pretty sure it means whoever is squeezing your balls, will be the one who gets what they want.  And in following the money, you'll discover that in the 2016 election, the NRA spent $52.6 million on the Republicans to get what they wanted.  The Democrats only got $265.  265 Dollars, not millions.  No, that's not a typo.  The NRA knows who their audience is.

But let's get back to the thoughts and prayers.  Surprisingly, the strategy of praying to God is not stopping the mass shootings.  Does anyone really believe it does?

If the killing of 20 children under the age of seven didn't change anything about the gun laws in this country, nothing will.  I guess some people in this country - politicians and others - are just okay with kids dying.  Being gunned down in their classroom ten days before Christmas.  Presents already bought, Christmas outfits ready for church or a trip to grandma's house, joy wafting through the December air.  They're okay with dead kids who missed all of that.  If that didn't change anything, this won't either.  And don't even get me started on how all the news anchors get all misty-eyed and put on their caring voices to interview survivors at the scene.  They have to fill airtime, you know.

I'm so disgusted by all of this.  Honestly, I believe all guns need to be banned.  You don't need a gun. Plenty of countries have productive, prosperous, happy citizens living mass-murder-free existences.  Because they don't allow citizens to own guns.  This article states, "In a typical year, over 13,000 Americans will be killed by guns. To put that into perspective, that is six times more than the total number of American troops killed in Afghanistan over the last 16 years. America’s gun homicide rate is 25 times the average of other developed countries. There is now, typically, one mass shooting per day in the United States. Over the course of the year, 45 of those will be school shootings."  A mass shooting is defined as a shooting where "four or more people are killed".

Dave King, a guy on Twitter, said,

i mean i fucking love pizza but if pizza violently killed 30,000 people a year i'd be like okay maybe none of us should have pizza

— Dave King (@DaveKingThing) October 3, 2017

It's that old school adage about how one kid ruins it for the whole class.  Well these fuckers killing people have ruined it for the whole class.  And I'm okay with giving up pizza.

Congress, and specifically the Republicans, need to take those balls out of the NRA's grip and ACT like they've actually got a pair.  Instead of signing bills into law that make it easier for people with mental illness to get guns, they should be signing bills into law that make it impossible for people to possess guns.  Of any kind.  Sorry, gun enthusiasts.  Your asshole friends ruined it for you.  Take your obsession to a gun range.  Play violent video games.  Rent The Deer Hunter if watching a stag die a violent death gives you a woodie.  You've really got to take one for the team on this.

This just cannot keep happening.  We cannot be worried about going to outdoor concerts, and movies, and grocery stores.  How is that freedom?

I long for the days when I could flip off the guy who cut me off in traffic without worrying about being shot for it.

That would make America great again.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2016: Ed Talks Meat With Elvis
2015: Slickrocks, Domes, Bowls, Fins, And Things
2014: Have Another Piece Of Cake
2013: I Was Searching For Leather Goods And Found Something To Dream About
2012: Tomatoes Under Glass
2011: The Best Seat In The House
2010: Countdown To Pisa
2009: Eddie Goes Waaaay South Friday
2008: Port Of Long Beach
2007: Layers Of History
2006: Would I Be Cheesy If I Said I Wanted To Drive THIS Rig??
2005: Paper Glow