Mass shootings and gun violence are happening way too often

[onekidanddone]

40 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Party at @fraurosena's!

Welcome aboard FJ Airlines. where snark flows and Rufus Glows.

[GreyhoundFan]

I am watching the CNN town hall which includes folks from Douglas HS and some members of congress. Rubio is parroting NRA talking points. I started throwing things at the TV. One of the girls who just asked a question was heartbreaking -- she was shot twice. I think I will have to read the transcript because just looking at Rubio's faux sympathy.

[Rachel333]

This town hall is incredibly intense. It's amazing. These kids are not backing down. One kid asked Rubio if he could promise to never take any more NRA money. Rubio tried hard to worm out of answering the question, but the kid kept pushing.

Edit: videos

A father confronts Rubio:

Rubio avoids talking about NRA money:

 

 

[AuntK]

I know this is a lot of photos, but I was blown away by what I saw today! I know a lot of these photos did not make it on the national media, so. . .This is Tallahassee, Florida, the top photo is in front of the state Capitol building, (the main street in front of the Capitol had to be closed for safety). The second photo is the administration building at Florida State University, about 2 miles away where FSU students gathered and marched to the Capitol to join the Stoneham Douglas students and the local high school students gathered to protest! 

Third photo, marching from FSU to the Capitol. Fourth photo, still on campus, student in Trump head.  Fifth and sixth photos are at the Capitol. Several hundred Florida A&M (HBU), students and the university president also marched from their campus to the Capitol, seventh photo. 

The eighth photo is the former president of FSU, Sandy T'alenberte. Ninth photo is some of the students who traveled 400 miles to Tallahassee on a bus from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. The last photo - the people INSIDE the old Capitol building looking out at the demonstration.

I am just so impressed by all of these young people, these high school students who went through this tragedy and are showing such maturity and resolve, the university students that joined them, the local high school students that welcomed them and joined them at the Capitol, and ALL of the teachers and others down there today. Folks, this was AWESOME! I hope, come November, Florida turns BLUE! These young people are on fire! I was proud of my city today - for the first time in a LONG time.

Spoiler

 

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

From the WaPo: "This woman at a N.Y. airport was sobbing after her family friend was killed in the Parkland shooting. Two police officers bought her plane ticket home."

Spoiler

Jordana Judson heard the news that a family friend was killed in the Parkland school shooting near her childhood home. She jumped in a Lyft and raced over to New York’s LaGuardia Airport thinking it might be easier to buy a ticket and get on a flight home if she was there in person.

When her ride dropped her off at the airport early Thursday morning, Judson, 23, stood on the curb sobbing for a moment thinking about her family friend, Meadow Pollack, 18, and her former high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the site of the deadly rampage.

“She was hysterically crying. We approached her and asked if she was all right,” said New York State Trooper Thomas Karasinski, 26. “She wasn’t able to get a lot of words out, but she was talking about the shooting in Florida.”

Karasinski and his partner, Trooper Robert Troy, who were on duty patrolling the curbside area of the airport, pointed the distraught Judson toward the ticket counter.

Judson made her way inside, and a ticket agent told her a one-way flight that would get her to Meadow’s vigil later that day would cost $700, an expense she couldn’t afford. She called her mother and cried into the phone.

With the phone pressed against her cheek, she looked up and saw the two troopers who had helped her outside by the curb. They were handing the ticket agent their credit cards to pay for her flight.

“I said, ‘You don’t need to do that,’ ” Judson said. “ ‘I can’t let this happen.’ ”

They said: “It’s done. Go be with your family.”

Judson, who works in public relations in New York, said she could barely fathom their generosity and didn’t know what to say. She gave them both a hug.

Karasinski said it was the first day he’d ever worked with Troy, 27, and the two didn’t discuss paying for Judson’s ticket. They just assessed the situation, and each reached for his wallet to pay for the ticket, which had been lowered to $600.

Actually, Karasinski said, Troy, who has been on the force for two years, reached in his pocket about a second ahead of Karasinski.

“He went first for his wallet, and I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed my credit card as well,” Karasinski said. “The ticket agent was shocked for a second. Jordana looked up and was in shock.”

She then thanked them profusely, Karasinski said, while still crying. “She was in a terrible state,” he said.

Karasinski, who has been with the force for three years, said he’d never paid for someone’s plane ticket before. But helping people is not new for him.

“Going above and beyond is what we do,” said Karasinski, who is from New York. “It might sound cliche, but that’s what we do. Every day we try to find someone to help.”

Judson made it home just in time to get to the vigil for Meadow, who was a senior.

Judson, who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2012, had a special connection to Meadow. Judson’s brother Ryan has been close friends with Meadow’s brother Hunter since they were small children. Judson’s father died of cancer when she was 8, and Meadow’s father stepped in and was like a father figure to her brother.

Jordana Judson and Meadow, while several years apart in age, were almost like family to each other.

Judson went to Meadow’s parents’ home for Shiva, a Jewish tradition of a solemn gathering at the mourner’s home, and said the rabbi ended his service by starting to tell Judson’s story from the airport in an attempt to end the evening on a positive note. Judson got up and told the crowd of about 200 people her story in her own words. She said she hoped it brought some relief, if fleeting, for the mourners.

“What the officers did provided comfort in the moment. It made my heart full,” Judson said. “It was just a selfless act of humanity. We need to see more of that to balance out all the bad in the world.”

She added that for years she has volunteered to help people less fortunate than her, something she learned from her mother. When she’s having a bad day, she said, she’ll buy coffee for someone who is in line behind her at Starbucks.

“People need to step up and do good things,” she said. “It makes the bad things a little less bad.”

Wow, how generous.

[Howl]

This excellent piece from the Salt Lake Tribune is offered without comment.

Paul Waldman: Why the Parkland students have made pro-gun conservatives so mad; The students take away the most critical tool conservatives use to win political arguments: the personal vilification of those who disagree with them

[louisa05]

How about one for this moment.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'
Going with a classic from the Nobel prize winner.

That’s the one that keeps coming to my mind.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Why is only one side in the gun culture war required to show respect?"

Spoiler

You have perhaps heard the joke about the liberal who is so open-minded that he can’t even take his own side in an argument.

What’s less funny is that on gun control, liberals (and their many allies who are moderate, conservative and nonideological) have been told for years that if they do take their own side in the argument, they will only hurt their cause.

Supporters of even modest restrictions on firearms are regularly instructed that their ardent advocacy turns off Americans in rural areas and small towns. Those in favor of reforming our firearms laws are scolded as horrific elitists who disrespect a valued way of life.

And as the mass killings continue, we are urged to be patient and to spend our time listening earnestly to the views of those who see even a smidgen of action to limit access to guns as the first step toward confiscation. Our task is not to fight for laws to protect innocents, but to demonstrate that we really, honestly, truly, cross-our-hearts, positively love gun owners and wouldn’t for an instant think anything ill of them.

What is odd is that those with extreme pro-gun views — those pushing for new laws to allow people to carry just about anytime, anywhere — are never called upon to model similar empathy toward children killed, the mourning parents left behind, people in urban neighborhoods suffering from violence, or the majority of Americans who don’t own guns.

Depending on the survey, somewhere between 58 percent and 68 percent of us live in households without guns. But no one who belongs to the National Rifle Association is ever told to prove their respect for our way of life. Rarely is it pointed out that the logic of the gun lobby’s position is to create a world in which everyone will need a gun, whether we want one or not. (“Arm the teachers!” “Arm the students!”) I reported on Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s, and I can assure you that a heavily armed country is not an ideal (or safe) place to live.

The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, an institution that suffered the worst effects of our inaction on guns, have not gotten the memo that they are supposed to shut up, and may they be blessed for this. You can tell their angry outspokenness is having an impact, and not only because President Trump has taken modest steps to suggest he hears the message. More telling is that some of the same right-wingers who demand deep respect for gun culture have shown no scruples about trashing the kids.

Bill O’Reilly was so upset at the attention their protests are drawing that he accused the media of “promoting opinions by teenagers who are in an emotional state and facing extreme peer pressure in some cases.” The condescension is revolting, and never mind that without emotionalism and peer pressure to conform, O’Reilly’s former employer, Fox News, would go out of business.

Former representative Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) doubted the capacity of these students to think or act for themselves. “Their sorrow can very easily be hijacked by left-wing groups who have an agenda,” he said on CNN. Young people who disagree with him can’t possibly have minds of their own.

No wonder the foes of gun sanity are worried. On Wednesday, the students and supporters gathered at the state Capitol in Florida shouting “vote them out!” — a day after the state’s Republican-led legislature voted down a ban on many semiautomatic guns and large-capacity magazines.

How come only one side of the supposed culture war on guns is required to exude respect for the other? Because the culture-war argument is largely a gimmick pushed by the gun lobby as a way of demonizing its opponents. None of us who endorse stronger gun laws wants to disrupt anybody else’s way of life. And none of the measures we are proposing would do that.

What truly alarms the gun lobby is that many steps to curb the scourge of gun violence enjoy broad support, from those who own guns as well as those who don’t. A Quinnipiac poll released on Tuesday, for example, found that 97 percent of Americans favor background checks for all gun buyers. While the survey showed the highest level of approval for background checks in some time, it is not an outlier. Background checks have long been embraced by 85 to 95 percent of us. Quinnipiac, by the way, also showed that 66 percent of voters support stricter gun laws, up from 47 percent in December 2015.

I am all for Americans reaching out across our cultural divides. But if we wait to act until our cross-cultural understanding is complete, many more who might have been saved will die.

 

[VelociRapture]

Question: I live in Connecticut, where my politicians are reasonable and decent humans. They support gun control. They don’t accept NRA money. They work hard to keep the people here and across the nation safe.

How am I supposed to help? I can’t donate money to state politicians due to my husband’s job (conflict of interest because they do work on behalf of certain state entities.) I have anxiety, so participating in marches or rallies could very well cause a panic attack (that happened after I attended a local rally to show support for Charlottesville with my infant.) I also have a 14 month old who is with me all day, every day and who’s safety I genuinely worry about a great deal. She’s also a bundle of energy, so volunteering my time could be tough to juggle with her needs. 

I want to help. I really truly do. I just don’t know what I can personally do other than possibly toss money towards politicians in other states or towards gun control advocacy groups. 

[GreyhoundFan]

@VelociRapture -- that's a good question. None of my congressional reps have accepted NRA money either. They are also outspoken. I'm also looking for ways I can help. I will look around and if I find anything, I will certainly post it.

[louisa05]

32 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

Question: I live in Connecticut, where my politicians are reasonable and decent humans. They support gun control. They don’t accept NRA money. They work hard to keep the people here and across the nation safe.

How am I supposed to help? I can’t donate money to state politicians due to my husband’s job (conflict of interest because they do work on behalf of certain state entities.) I have anxiety, so participating in marches or rallies could very well cause a panic attack (that happened after I attended a local rally to show support for Charlottesville with my infant.) I also have a 14 month old who is with me all day, every day and who’s safety I genuinely worry about a great deal. She’s also a bundle of energy, so volunteering my time could be tough to juggle with her needs. 

I want to help. I really truly do. I just don’t know what I can personally do other than possibly toss money towards politicians in other states or towards gun control advocacy groups. 

1-Support organizations like Every Town USA that advocate common sense gun control. 

2--Speak out to friends, family, etc...

3--Continue to make sure that your governmental representatives on all levels are not affiliated with the NRA on any level

4--Support your local schools, your daughter will be there sooner than you think

4A--Advocate in your community for common sense school security--not turning schools into prison like fortresses or arming teachers (the district where my mother lives--and worked--still does not lock all the doors of their buildings during the day. 

4b--Advocate for staffing in your schools that include an adequate number of counselors and school psychologists. Most school districts are far under the recommended ratios. 

4c--Advocate that all schools have the above professionals trained in threat assessment which will help determine the validity of threats (copy cat threats have exploded in schools around the country in the last week) and which students need intervention. 

*In regard to the last two points, I had a conversation with a school psychologist about this very thing. She was very clear that she is not of the "it's all mental illness and never guns" side and believes that gun control is a priority, but that her profession is responsible for intervention and is not being equipped to do that in so many cases. 

[VelociRapture]

2 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

1-Support organizations like Every Town USA that advocate common sense gun control. 

2--Speak out to friends, family, etc...

3--Continue to make sure that your governmental representatives on all levels are not affiliated with the NRA on any level

4--Support your local schools, your daughter will be there sooner than you think

4A--Advocate in your community for common sense school security--not turning schools into prison like fortresses or arming teachers (the district where my mother lives--and worked--still does not lock all the doors of their buildings during the day. 

4b--Advocate for staffing in your schools that include an adequate number of counselors and school psychologists. Most school districts are far under the recommended ratios. 

4c--Advocate that all schools have the above professionals trained in threat assessment which will help determine the validity of threats (copy cat threats have exploded in schools around the country in the last week) and which students need intervention. 

*In regard to the last two points, I had a conversation with a school psychologist about this very thing. She was very clear that she is not of the "it's all mental illness and never guns" side and believes that gun control is a priority, but that her profession is responsible for intervention and is not being equipped to do that in so many cases. 

Thanks! I do a fair bit on the list already, but there are a few I could try and help with.

The posters on the Facebook page for the town I live in have been debating and discussing what to do since the Parkland shooting last week and yesterday we found out there was a threat made at one of the high schools - Police were at the school today and the investigation was already concluded, but people are genuinely scared and looking for easy solutions when there really are none. I’ve been participating a bit there as well as discussing with family and friends too and I’ve recently started following several gun control advocacy groups on social media too. I’ll see what I can do about advocating for more school psychologists and threat assessment professionals.

(I just wrote another post on the town forum listing some of your suggestions. Hopefully it helps at least a little.)

[singsingsing]

Watching the CNN town hall last night was like glimpsing into a bizarre alternate universe. I heard suggestions to outfit schools with bullet proof glass and walls, have students wear bullet proof vests, put metal detectors in every school, armed guards, arm all the teachers - WHAT THE FUCK? I just wanted to sound a warning, or something... like, RED ALERT. The day you start building bullet proof schools and arming all the teachers is the day your country dies. I don't think you can come back from something like that. If that's your solution to gun violence, you're basically accepting that this is endemic in your society and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. That's not true, and it's sick! Is that really the kind of society you want to live in, like some kind of despotic third world country under a corrupt military regime?! How about just implementing better gun control?!

I was also disgusted and outraged to hear that psychopathic spokeswoman from the NRA suggest that young women should arm themselves with assault rifles to defend themselves against being violently raped. EXCUSE ME??? These people are so vile and evil they're practically caricatures! 

[Rachel333]

I was browsing twitter last night during the town hall and saw people complaining about the kids being "disrespectful" to the adults. It really angers me that people want to lecture teens who have just survived a massacre about being respectful to the adults who are doing nothing to stop the massacres from occurring.

[VelociRapture]

27 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

I was browsing twitter last night during the town hall and saw people complaining about the kids being "disrespectful" to the adults. It really angers me that people want to lecture teens who have just survived a massacre about being respectful to the adults who are doing nothing to stop the massacres from occurring.

It disgusts me too, but those Twitter responses are phenomenal. Here are a few more for anyone who needs it:

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[fraurosena]

I'd like to hear the 'arm the teachers' lobbyists try to talk their way out of this one.

 

[apple1]

Not a Rubio fan.

I do, however, have to give him one bit of credit: At least Rubio showed up. Trump did not (he couldn't "risk" going to a place where he would not be in control of the narrative). Rick Scott did not.

And I am appalled by Trump's "listening session" and his follow-up tweets.

 

Oh, BTW, Dana Loesch was the one who REALLY made me want to throw things at the TV.

[singsingsing]

I find the idea that teenagers should be expected to 'respect' elected officials to the point that they're not supposed to publicly question them extremely alarming. Politicians are elected to serve the public. That's what democracy is all about. They should be questioned at every opportunity. Teens questioning politicians should be encouraged and celebrated as they're showing critical thinking and civic engagement. It is not the job of a teenage victim of a mass shooting to make sure that a wealthy politician's feelings aren't hurt. It's that politician's job to make sure that this teenager gets answers and to work for his constituents to prevent this shit from happening again.

It's actually very important that politicians are allowed to be ridiculed. It means you're living in a democracy. Excuse my language, but they're fucking politicians. If they can't handle being questioned or ridiculed, they're in the wrong profession. If you can't handle people questioning or ridiculing politicians, perhaps you should move to North Korea.

These people quite literally want to turn the U.S. into a dictatorship and they must be stopped.

[fraurosena]

It's simple really. First, in order to get true respect, you must first earn it. Secondly, true respect is freely given, otherwise it's meaningless. True respect is irrespective of age or position. And lastly, respect is not a right, it's a privilege.

 

[onekidanddone]

46 minutes ago, singsingsing said:

I find the idea that teenagers should be expected to 'respect' elected officials to the point that they're not supposed to publicly question them extremely alarming.

Agreed. It feels more like the Hitler youth than respect. Kind of like a version of 'instantly obey' and never ask questions. 

[neurogirl]

https://nyti.ms/2CdyNWn

NYT article about the most heated exchanges yesterday. My favorite was a history teacher who asked, “with supported evidence, what about an 18 year old buying an assault rifle fits a well-regulated militia?” To loud applause

[onekidanddone]

Aaaaand here I thought I was done crying today.  Nope:

 

[LeftCoastLurker]

Fuck.the.NRA...."Many in legacy mainstream media love mass shootings..you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold"

Spoiler

 

 

[fraurosena]

Also in the ‘can’t talk your way out of this argument’ category. 

 

[Ali]

@VelociRapture Paying attention to and voting in school board elections can make a difference. There may be one this year for your school district. You can help out with the campaign or put up a sign in your yard if you have one.