It is unbelievably tragic and should never happen anywhere.
I have mentioned my nephew who argued with me so nastily on Facebook at election time. Of course he is pro gun…has many guns himself. Anyway, he and his friends posted their sympathy for the families, but instead of blaming the violence on the readily accessible guns in the hands of every nut who wants them, they blamed it on the fact that the elementary school wasn’t smart enough to have armed personnel to protect the kids! Now they’re worried that Obama may use this to push gun control. They went on in that vein. It seems nothing gets thru to those like-minded gun zealots, so I am not going to give them the satisfaction of a rebuttal. We are becoming so fearful of everything in this country that we can’t think straight.
I am so sad for those families and for all us.
No one should have to endure what the families of these kids and the teachers are going through right now! We, as a nation and that includes especially all the gun lovers, have to figure out a way to keep these weapons of mass destruction from the hands of people who think it is their duty to kill little kids. When will it ever end?? I grieve for all the people involved in this and all the past and especially the future incidents.
These things are preventable if we just gather up the guts to make it happen. And, no the answer is not to put an armed guard at the entrance to every door way…….
While I no longer post comments by those who identify themselves as “anonymous” I will briefly try to comment on your recent input.
Thank you for keeping your comment civil and downplaying the rhetoric. That is the only reason I am replying here. Yes, I realize that there are disturbed people out there who will find a different means of murder if we took away their guns. You cite an article about a person in China who cut 22 school children today as an example. But if you read the article you would have found that only 3 were seriously injured and none were killed. That is a far cry from what happened today in Connecticut with a mad man with four automatic weapons.
You gave all the standard arguments about not regulating your guns but when the number of guns in a country exceed the population something is very eschew. I am a pragmatist and I try to learn from other countries how to solve problems. Everyone in other countries know that the U.S. is the murder capital of the world and guns are the primary weapon of choice. Look at England, their murder rate is one tenth of our and so are the number of guns per population. When guns are properly regulated like they are there and in most of the rest of the world our murder rates would go down quickly. I am not trying to take your gun away from you; I am just pleading that you and those in the NRA who represent you to show some flexibility in keeping them out of the hands of the guys like today.
Enough for now. I am mentally drained on this topic. We just need to do something in this area before other parents lose their kids to such tragedy and I’m sure if we do nothing, like we always do, that time will come again soon….
Oh Anonymous, I knew you couldn’t hold back with your spiteful words. Yes, I am a LIBERAL as you scream and no I don’t know weapons as you do. All I know is that the killer managed to kill almost thirty people and we need to do something to prevent that from happening again. I know you love your guns sooooo much that anyone who even hints on taking them away is somehow evil in your mind.
I will take the high road here and not throw the spiteful words you sent toward me back at you. Instead I will say good luck with our life. I hope you find a fleeting moment of peace once in a while. You certainly need it.
Maybe, just maybe, these innocent children will not have died in vain and we will finally stand up strong and say “enough is enough”. I am almost 60 years old and was a career educator, including several years as an assistant principal and elementary principal. All of these ignorant nuts who are saying that all we need now are armed teachers and/or principals are just plain stupid. It makes my blood boil! That will be the LAST straw. As much as I was dedicated to the field of education, if that happens I would strongly advise smart young people to stay away from that career. They already are expected to feed hungry kids, counsel disturbed kids, discipline disruptive kids, babysit abandoned kids–all while teaching (imagine that!) and not making the parent upset. NOW, some want them to get gun training, carry a weapon and shoot intruders who show up packing assault rifles or who knows what. I have never owned a gun, wanted a gun or needed a gun. I will never understand this gun fetish. But I think one thing is clear. Many people are perfectly okay with innocent people being killed in shootings just so they can have guns. But without fail they claim to be “PRO LIFE”.
Thanks for the heartfelt words Don. They are good to hear especially after my rounds with “anonymous”. Yes, those who let the NRA speak for them seem to say the only thing wrong is that we don’t have armed guards on every doorway. Since I am getting quite a lesson from my readers on how difficult it is to be a teacher I have a different understanding of that chosen occupation now.
You guys really deserve much more than we give you credit for. It is tough to shape young minds without worrying about the next nut coming with guns. I know it is usual for us to thank those in the military for their service but I think maybe it is more appropriate to thank the teachers for their service too. And I agree 100% that it is not the teachers place to carry a weapon to do their job. How vulgar is that idea!!
As you say maybe this time will be the one to say “enough is enough”. We can only pray that it is so.. Thanks for your comments; they moved me…..
Can we start looking at these video games which our children are addicted to…and see that they are completely changing a group of people? They are desensitized.
I agree with controlling guns—but I think the problem is much larger then that. Of course we see little of that on TV because that would limit “freedom of speech” and Hollywood profits.
Video games, drugs, mental health, poor parenting, poverty, broken homes, media….the list of contributors to violence is long. The bottom line is that when any of those factors come into play guns become the go-to weapon of choice because they are available, quick, efficient, and can be used from a distance. NO ONE outside of law enforcement or military needs assault weapons….NO ONE! There would still be violence without guns, but it wouldn’t be as deadly or on as massive a scale as it is now. We should “start” with gun control and also tackle the underlying issues. That of course would take guts and committment from our government and leaders. So that means there are only two chances of anything changing….fat and slim.
Thanks you two for your additional input. Yes, as Jane says there are a myriad of reasons why there is so much violence in our country. One thing that I think is critical is our abandonment of mental health issues. That action has come back to burn us as a society many many times. In the 80s we pretty much closed down all our mental institutions and as a country have stigmatized mental health such that we no longer have any support for those going through those type issues. That causes it to go underground and that is what is deadly. Almost all of these mass shooters are from untreated “angry depressives”. We need to identify them more easily and to get them into some treatment before their behavior becomes deadly. To me that is equally important to the gun control issues.
But the other issue is the NRA. They have come to think that they are God but they aren’t. They attack any and all things even remotely relevant to gun control and we as a citizenship just let it happen. Gun control has become a silent issue on the national scene because of it. President Obama made the quote yesterday that “it is time for meaningful action” but that has been said over and over again through each one of these tragedies and no meaningful action has ever taken place. The only gun related law he has passed during his presidency is to allow people to carry hidden weapons in our national parks. Maybe this time some real action will actually happen but I am very skeptical of that actually occurring.
I made the same argument as you, R.J., regarding yesterday’s assault in China. It is simply not possible to root out all mental illness before tragedy strikes. We can, however, seek to minimize the impact of these horrific situations by limiting what weapons are available for private ownership. There will still be loss of human life – I accept this as a by-product of living in a republic made up of unpredictable humans – but it will be minimized significantly by altering what weapons can be privately owned.
I am not afraid of restrictions on banned assault weapons causing some of them to therefore only into the hands of the “bad guys” – a common rebuttal from the NRA. I trust that these “bad” people are already on the radar of my government, and are being tracked. And, I’m sorry, but these “bad guys” are not the ones going into public places and shooting down innocent people. They are too busy doing whatever it is that criminals do in the underworld they exist in. No, these incidents are being carried out by “normal” mentally ill individuals – and they are the ones I’m afraid of.
I want to end this comment by focusing on the one incredibly positive thing that is coming out of this tragedy, at least for me. I am moved beyond words by the brave, loving actions taken by the adults inside of the school at the time of the incident. The teacher that read to her children once they had reached a place of relative safety, because she wanted her voice, not gunfire, to be the last sound her students heard, should it come to that. The teacher that was focused on hiding her students and keeping them safe, rather than herself, and who lost her life in the process. These actions, and many more I am confident we will hear about going forward, are the very, very best that humanity has to offer. It’s my hope that I can move forward trying in my own limited way to live up to the shining acts of love and selflessness that have been demonstrated during this horrific tragedy.
Thanks Tamara for your last story. I purposely have not been keeping track of the event of today. I thought I would let them settle a little before watching again. My respect for the teachers in this country has grown enormously in the last few months and this story is definitely on top the list. I’m not at all sure I could be as brave in the same situation….
RJ's Corner 
It is unbelievably tragic and should never happen anywhere.
I have mentioned my nephew who argued with me so nastily on Facebook at election time. Of course he is pro gun…has many guns himself. Anyway, he and his friends posted their sympathy for the families, but instead of blaming the violence on the readily accessible guns in the hands of every nut who wants them, they blamed it on the fact that the elementary school wasn’t smart enough to have armed personnel to protect the kids! Now they’re worried that Obama may use this to push gun control. They went on in that vein. It seems nothing gets thru to those like-minded gun zealots, so I am not going to give them the satisfaction of a rebuttal. We are becoming so fearful of everything in this country that we can’t think straight.
I am so sad for those families and for all us.
LikeLike
No one should have to endure what the families of these kids and the teachers are going through right now! We, as a nation and that includes especially all the gun lovers, have to figure out a way to keep these weapons of mass destruction from the hands of people who think it is their duty to kill little kids. When will it ever end?? I grieve for all the people involved in this and all the past and especially the future incidents.
These things are preventable if we just gather up the guts to make it happen. And, no the answer is not to put an armed guard at the entrance to every door way…….
LikeLike
While I no longer post comments by those who identify themselves as “anonymous” I will briefly try to comment on your recent input.
Thank you for keeping your comment civil and downplaying the rhetoric. That is the only reason I am replying here. Yes, I realize that there are disturbed people out there who will find a different means of murder if we took away their guns. You cite an article about a person in China who cut 22 school children today as an example. But if you read the article you would have found that only 3 were seriously injured and none were killed. That is a far cry from what happened today in Connecticut with a mad man with four automatic weapons.
You gave all the standard arguments about not regulating your guns but when the number of guns in a country exceed the population something is very eschew. I am a pragmatist and I try to learn from other countries how to solve problems. Everyone in other countries know that the U.S. is the murder capital of the world and guns are the primary weapon of choice. Look at England, their murder rate is one tenth of our and so are the number of guns per population. When guns are properly regulated like they are there and in most of the rest of the world our murder rates would go down quickly. I am not trying to take your gun away from you; I am just pleading that you and those in the NRA who represent you to show some flexibility in keeping them out of the hands of the guys like today.
Enough for now. I am mentally drained on this topic. We just need to do something in this area before other parents lose their kids to such tragedy and I’m sure if we do nothing, like we always do, that time will come again soon….
Enough is enough…….
LikeLike
Oh Anonymous, I knew you couldn’t hold back with your spiteful words. Yes, I am a LIBERAL as you scream and no I don’t know weapons as you do. All I know is that the killer managed to kill almost thirty people and we need to do something to prevent that from happening again. I know you love your guns sooooo much that anyone who even hints on taking them away is somehow evil in your mind.
I will take the high road here and not throw the spiteful words you sent toward me back at you. Instead I will say good luck with our life. I hope you find a fleeting moment of peace once in a while. You certainly need it.
LikeLike
Maybe, just maybe, these innocent children will not have died in vain and we will finally stand up strong and say “enough is enough”. I am almost 60 years old and was a career educator, including several years as an assistant principal and elementary principal. All of these ignorant nuts who are saying that all we need now are armed teachers and/or principals are just plain stupid. It makes my blood boil! That will be the LAST straw. As much as I was dedicated to the field of education, if that happens I would strongly advise smart young people to stay away from that career. They already are expected to feed hungry kids, counsel disturbed kids, discipline disruptive kids, babysit abandoned kids–all while teaching (imagine that!) and not making the parent upset. NOW, some want them to get gun training, carry a weapon and shoot intruders who show up packing assault rifles or who knows what. I have never owned a gun, wanted a gun or needed a gun. I will never understand this gun fetish. But I think one thing is clear. Many people are perfectly okay with innocent people being killed in shootings just so they can have guns. But without fail they claim to be “PRO LIFE”.
LikeLike
Thanks for the heartfelt words Don. They are good to hear especially after my rounds with “anonymous”. Yes, those who let the NRA speak for them seem to say the only thing wrong is that we don’t have armed guards on every doorway. Since I am getting quite a lesson from my readers on how difficult it is to be a teacher I have a different understanding of that chosen occupation now.
You guys really deserve much more than we give you credit for. It is tough to shape young minds without worrying about the next nut coming with guns. I know it is usual for us to thank those in the military for their service but I think maybe it is more appropriate to thank the teachers for their service too. And I agree 100% that it is not the teachers place to carry a weapon to do their job. How vulgar is that idea!!
As you say maybe this time will be the one to say “enough is enough”. We can only pray that it is so.. Thanks for your comments; they moved me…..
LikeLike
Can we start looking at these video games which our children are addicted to…and see that they are completely changing a group of people? They are desensitized.
I agree with controlling guns—but I think the problem is much larger then that. Of course we see little of that on TV because that would limit “freedom of speech” and Hollywood profits.
LikeLike
Video games, drugs, mental health, poor parenting, poverty, broken homes, media….the list of contributors to violence is long. The bottom line is that when any of those factors come into play guns become the go-to weapon of choice because they are available, quick, efficient, and can be used from a distance. NO ONE outside of law enforcement or military needs assault weapons….NO ONE! There would still be violence without guns, but it wouldn’t be as deadly or on as massive a scale as it is now. We should “start” with gun control and also tackle the underlying issues. That of course would take guts and committment from our government and leaders. So that means there are only two chances of anything changing….fat and slim.
LikeLike
Thanks you two for your additional input. Yes, as Jane says there are a myriad of reasons why there is so much violence in our country. One thing that I think is critical is our abandonment of mental health issues. That action has come back to burn us as a society many many times. In the 80s we pretty much closed down all our mental institutions and as a country have stigmatized mental health such that we no longer have any support for those going through those type issues. That causes it to go underground and that is what is deadly. Almost all of these mass shooters are from untreated “angry depressives”. We need to identify them more easily and to get them into some treatment before their behavior becomes deadly. To me that is equally important to the gun control issues.
But the other issue is the NRA. They have come to think that they are God but they aren’t. They attack any and all things even remotely relevant to gun control and we as a citizenship just let it happen. Gun control has become a silent issue on the national scene because of it. President Obama made the quote yesterday that “it is time for meaningful action” but that has been said over and over again through each one of these tragedies and no meaningful action has ever taken place. The only gun related law he has passed during his presidency is to allow people to carry hidden weapons in our national parks. Maybe this time some real action will actually happen but I am very skeptical of that actually occurring.
LikeLike
I made the same argument as you, R.J., regarding yesterday’s assault in China. It is simply not possible to root out all mental illness before tragedy strikes. We can, however, seek to minimize the impact of these horrific situations by limiting what weapons are available for private ownership. There will still be loss of human life – I accept this as a by-product of living in a republic made up of unpredictable humans – but it will be minimized significantly by altering what weapons can be privately owned.
I am not afraid of restrictions on banned assault weapons causing some of them to therefore only into the hands of the “bad guys” – a common rebuttal from the NRA. I trust that these “bad” people are already on the radar of my government, and are being tracked. And, I’m sorry, but these “bad guys” are not the ones going into public places and shooting down innocent people. They are too busy doing whatever it is that criminals do in the underworld they exist in. No, these incidents are being carried out by “normal” mentally ill individuals – and they are the ones I’m afraid of.
I want to end this comment by focusing on the one incredibly positive thing that is coming out of this tragedy, at least for me. I am moved beyond words by the brave, loving actions taken by the adults inside of the school at the time of the incident. The teacher that read to her children once they had reached a place of relative safety, because she wanted her voice, not gunfire, to be the last sound her students heard, should it come to that. The teacher that was focused on hiding her students and keeping them safe, rather than herself, and who lost her life in the process. These actions, and many more I am confident we will hear about going forward, are the very, very best that humanity has to offer. It’s my hope that I can move forward trying in my own limited way to live up to the shining acts of love and selflessness that have been demonstrated during this horrific tragedy.
LikeLike
Thanks Tamara for your last story. I purposely have not been keeping track of the event of today. I thought I would let them settle a little before watching again. My respect for the teachers in this country has grown enormously in the last few months and this story is definitely on top the list. I’m not at all sure I could be as brave in the same situation….
LikeLike