This a.m the news of a new shooting hit the media. This time in a town near Roanoke Va. a young telejournalist, her photographer and a member of the local chamber of commerce were shot by a former employee of the TV channel. The shooter had been discharged by the TV station a little over a year ago.The telejournalist and her photographer were shot to death and the disgruntled former employee committed suicide after twittering his own recording of the shooting.This time the shooter was a (socially defined) black man and once again discourse and sensible resolution of the problem gave way to the sweep of anger and despair.
There are too many guns around to make any kind of recall feasible and despite occasional acts of heroism (as on the French train a day or so ago),the advantage goes to the perpetrator.A gun is an instrument but also a symbol.Discourse at all levels needs to be implemented.Belated reference to mental health experts is lame and insufficient.Even if the NRA experienced a change of heart the guns are out there and conducting their own dialogue.
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The Octogenarians 
Well, let’s just be thankful third world war does not erupt this weekend, with all the muslim terrorists, falling jets, black student riots, Europe shootings and socialist/fascist election debates. Let’s just quietly enjoy our turkeys tonight (if we can afford that) before we stomp on each other on black friday sales.
An interesting mixture: The power of “gun” (or the power of ANYTHING) combined with the power of laws that favor freedom generates many forms of evidence. The kinds of evidence that demonstrate the range (for good and for ill) of what it means to be human. It should not be surprising that when allowed freedom some among this complex species will misuse that freedom. An authoritarian state of control in order to curb the excesses of the few is likely to be a misuse of the available options. Perfect is not one of the options – best is. And consider this dimension: Power of “gun” expanded to the power of atomic explosives alters the freedom-discipline equation. Any misuse has an immense impact. “Best” quickly becomes that of authoritarian control. Then it is critical to ask about the quality of the authority. For instance, is it a good idea for our authorities to allow Mullahs (who are dedicated to the destruction of western concepts of freedom) the freedom to wield this level of power? A weak-minded equivocation here is likely to have disastrous results.
Related, posted 26Aug: “A group of nearly 200 retired generals and admirals sent an open letter to Congress urging U.S. lawmakers to reject the Iran nuclear deal. ‘The agreement will enable Iran to become far more dangerous, render the Mideast still more unstable and introduce new threats to American interests as well as our allies,’ states the letter, which was first reported by the Washington Post.”
Reblogged this on daedal2207's Blog and commented:
One of our “pariahs” gave up his gun in the mistaken belief that he could effect discourse with a declared enemy…it is not a simple problem.