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Published on October 7, 2017
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REBLOG: ‘An Open Letter to Victims and Family Members of Future US Mass Shootings’

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I’ve been sitting comfortably here in Australia, devastated by yet another US fuck up, wondering how the hell to write about the shooting? This blogger who just turned 70, and who I’ve followed for at least 5 years, did it way better than I ever could. And through my cynical fears, I also ask ‘What about the folks still suffering in Puerto Rico?? What a terribly distracting coincidence…’

I also saw a great comment: ‘How come gun ownership is a right, yet medical care to save your life after being shot is considered a privilege you must pay for?’ Good question America. And probably the first and best answer I have is to get rid of your goddamn President!

Life in the Boomer Lane

Dear Future Victims and Family Members, 

I realize that, while I am grieving for the people who died in Las Vegas, as well as for those who loved them, I must also reserve room for all of you who will have been the victims and loved ones of victims of mass shootings to come. After all, we have a pretty strong track record of this kind of thing. We average one mass killing per day in the US. The same day that the massacre in Las Vegas occurred, three people were shot and killed at the University of Kansas. Another two were injured.

It’s a given that you, the future victims and family of victims of mass shootings, will someday, sooner or later, be impacted.  It’s also a given that, when that occurs, people will grieve. They will grieve for you, or you will greive for others. CNN may…

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11 Comments

  1. Widdershins says

    What a wonderful blog … I’m all signed up now. 🙂

    When I lived in OZ the goings-ons of those mad Americans, had very little impact on my every-day life. Even 9/11 was a distant tragedy, but now, living right next door to them, I occasionally feel a twinge of fear that the madness will spill over. It’s not a comfortable feeling.

    I do have hope though. In our last federal election we had a choice between our version of ‘Hilary and the Orange Cheeto’. Thankfully sanity prevailed and we elected ‘Hilary’ – Justin Trudeau … but if it had gone the other way, I shudder to think of the impact the Orange Cheeto would be having in Canada right now.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • bone&silver says

      I’m glad you’re following her, she’s awesome.
      I know what you mean about the distance here in Oz, but we all breathe the same [polluted] air etc etc. My beloved Dad retired to Vancouver Island, but he was always a bit concerned about the crazy Yanks next door…
      You’re SO lucky to have Justin, and a proud Feminist to boot

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  2. Matt Berger says

    Getting rid of Trump, while tantalizing, is only one small part of the solution.

    To wit, I call for repeal of the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. Too many rational conversations about guns end before they begin because someone shrugs and says, “gun ownership is a Constitutional right, nothing we can do about it.” (But not all…https://justbearwithme.blog/2017/06/17/two-distinct-restaurants-two-different-conversations-one-unanswered-question/)

    But then Republican elected officials (I am looking at you, Ron Johnson, and you, Raul Labrador) say that health care (and food and shelter) are NOT rights. This is madness, and it is a perversion of basic human decency.

    I understand (sort of…I guess) that guns are part of the myth of America: the autonomous pioneer taming the wilderness through sheer force of will (and superior firepower). But that myth is, well, a myth.

    Guns do not make you more free or more powerful or more safe. They simply amplify your own fear and increase the risk of serious injury or death to you or a loved one.

    And that is before going into their blatantly phallic nature.

    Which, I believe, is what guns are REALLY all about.

    Liked by 2 people

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  3. yogini.sharon says

    I was thinking of the phallic nature of guns myself today. When I moved to Louisiana, a friend of mine let me shoot his asault rifle. I didn’t think much of it, but when he shot it he literally went on and on about how it was like an orgasm shooting that gun. I’ve heard a few other comments like that lately. Is that all we care about here is men getting off on guns, opioids, sexual harrassment and power? Our society is so embarrassing.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • bone&silver says

      Wow, that just made my stomach turn. Our society is dangerously embarrassing, humiliating, and so lacking in empathy it scares me. Thank you for being one of the good ones Sharon

      Liked by 1 person

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  4. DFMGhost says

    That healthcare point is spot on. My friend who lives in Ohio has just had a baby with a chronic kidney problem. They had a lot of plans – her, husband and two more kids – including moving closer to family, which they are to scared to pursue because they can’t possibly lose their healthcare now, which is linked to his job.
    Baby will need care for the rest of her life and a transplant is highly likely. What if they go back to putting caps on how much can be spent to save a life? What if they lift the pre-existing conditions protection? I hear her plight and, especially as a mother, it frustrates and upsets me that they have to go through that. The so called ‘pro-life’ people who don’t care how many innocents die from the gun industry they get so much money from. Rant over.

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  5. Phill says

    And then there’s that horrible ogre, International Capitalism, and its insatiable appetite for profit. Hence, a proliferation of armaments (lots o’nice money to be made there, ay Donald?), and private health facilities for those who can afford to pay for the sort of care that, actually, just about everybody deserves.

    Thanks for an especially pertinent contribution, GG.

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