I wrote this pithy piece yesterday morning after Leroy posting something else. Then, so much was written yesterday that I thought that I shouldn’t bother adding my tiny voice a day late. But we all say things a bit differently, so I decided go ahead and post.
What about Charlie? Of course, he shouldn't have been murdered, and I deplore the conditions in my second favourite country that led to his shooting. Of course, I do.
However, there are shootings that I feel much worse about. On the same day, three teens were critically wounded in a shooting at a suburban Denver high school. I feel worse about that. I also feel worse about the recent shooting at Annunciation. I feel worse about so many more murders.
I don't feel quite as badly as maybe I should about Charlie who, apparently, found shootings to be acceptable on some level. He said it after all: "It's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.
So, no! I don’t feel the same amount of regret. Not even close.
I agree. It's out of control.
ReplyDeleteThe disease of hatemongering is underlying so much of the violence in America. If that’s the right word. I used to get angry when there were school shootings, and push for better Gun Laws – but now I’m just feeling really sad about it all.
ReplyDeleteAs I have been saying for years now, these sorts of things are going to keep happening in greater frequency if we can't have respectful debates about issues we disagree upon, especially online. The name calling and divisiveness need to stop. We need to find common ground and expand upon it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. The british press is all over this story yet very few in Britain had even heard of him before yesterday! And from what i've read he didn't seem to be a very nice man - not that he should have been murdered for that - but as you say, plenty more victims that don't even get a mention.
ReplyDelete'You Reap What You Sow'
ReplyDeleteThe man was doing a lot of damage to a lot of people. I can't be sorry he's gone, no matter how.
ReplyDeleteIt's the way we would feel if you know who got it. A terrible way to die but someone thought the best way to silence Charlie and his hate was to shoot him. I can't condone that violence. One gun death is one too many. Guns are the deadly scourge of our country.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely out of control. And boy, the rhetoric strikes me as so hypocritical. Yes, it is tragic, I agree. I also agree that the death of three youth is more so if you're going on a continuum. And the death of a Minnesota representative, attack of Paul Pilosi and other judges and many others that were never acknowledged by "the other side" with any sense of empathy. It's pretty frightening, what is happening and the rhetoric is ramping up. I hate living in this country and emigrating isn't as easy as we wish.
ReplyDeleteWe need the good people to stay where they are and be there to help bring the nation back to sanity.
DeleteYou know AC, we are so far of course that I honestly don't see it swinging back during my lifetime. It makes me sad.
DeleteAt this point, isn't it just another tragic (and predictable) day in the US?
ReplyDeleteIt's bizarre and sad. Worse that the prez can't say the right things. I miss the old days. I think like MLK suspected, Kirk knew this could happen to him. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI echo Sandra's comment.
ReplyDeleteI didn't agree with what Charlie said or thought at all but no one should be assassinated for what they say or think.
ReplyDeleteGood grief. I hope you are not implying that I write anything remotely close to that. I don't think that actually has to be said. It's a given.
DeleteWell said. I feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteWe really see things in a very different light. Comparing things make a world of difference. It's just sad all the way around,
ReplyDeleteYou know I agree with you 100%. I can’t believe he’s being compared to MLK, hailed as a martyr by some and even given the Medal of Freedom….and Trump putting flags at half mast? Seriously?
ReplyDeleteI fear for my country, when assassinations become more common. I fear for my country as we become so used to school shootings that they barely merit any conversation at all. I fear for my country when the rhetoric is so angry and cruel and divisive. As Ed said, we need to find our common ground and expand upon it.
ReplyDeleteAnd it’s ridiculous that flags are at half mast for this guy, but not for the children killed all too often. I guess our flags should always be at half mast. I’m horrified that this murder happened. He was not a good man, but he did not deserve to die. (Not suggesting that you said he did, but I have seen that sentiment elsewhere.)
You bet. Right with you.
ReplyDeleteCharlie did all the things Democrats claim the people they call Nazis (national socialists) and idiots should do to make the world better. He preached non-violence, especially against the unborn, he urged that people who disagree talk to each other, and he lived what he taught. The problem with U.S. leftists is that if one disagrees with them, then that's their definition of violence and hate--they flee to their "safe space" or they riot, as in the summer of 2020. I didn't listen to his podcasts or speeches (i.e. not on my podcast list), but I did support Turning Point and will continue. He had a strong influence on young people, and especially young men. He taught facts, he loved his country, and urged men to be good fathers. For that he was killed. That's not leftist ideology. Most of your commenters knew nothing of Charlie except what has been filtered through CNN and MSNBC, haters of all that's good in this country. Charlie began as a teen-ager believing we can be better people and he started an organization built on people being able to discuss issues without agreeing. I don't know if Canada has a First Amendment, but we do. That's freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Charlie lived it. And unfortunately, he died for it.
ReplyDeleteWe now have the identity of the person who shot him. And it is not a 'leftist'.
DeleteNope. No empathy for Charlie. Just a regret that our lawmakers are in thrall to the gun lobby.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, John. There have been so many children killed in schools and only "thoughts and prayers" offered--no action to try to curb the gun violence.
ReplyDeleteIt's the worst country in the world for these shootings. It's the attitudes towards guns.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDelete