Trump stands behind bulletproof glass to give speeches now & yet cannot get behind gun control. The general public has no need for military weapons- period
It's clear you are passionate about this issue, Kert; but it was unnecessary for you to become vulgar and to suggest that someone should rape me simply because I want to protect myself, my family, and my home.
Yes, the repeated multiple murders have a political aspect to them: after all, they are nearly all done in public schools. And, as your graphs clearly show, the Biden administration holds the record for the most killings in a single year.
Was it done because Sniffy Joe was in office or was it done because civility and morality are no longer taught in American homes and public schools? The example you gave of Uvalde is the best reason I can imagine for teachers and parents to all carry handguns. After all, it was not a "good guy with a gun" that allowed all of those killings. It was a cowardly and poorly trained law enforcement community. Every officer that went to Uvalde on that day should be fired and every man or woman or psycho that was in a position of authority should be tried as accessories to murder.
America is a violent and reactive society. It was among the first (maybe the first) to outlaw opium and cannabis - two things known to create sleepiness and non-violence. The public schools, as well as the drunk and drug addicted, self-centered and stupid parents are as much to fault as the news media that crams fear and hatred 24/7 down our throats.
Since public schools have proven themselves incapable of educating children, they should either be disbanded or re-imagined as places where morals and right-living are taught. I have written frequently about a college class I took called Mental Hygeine. It taught me more than most of my other classes. The professor, a black man, needed to take a hiatus from school to represent his wife who was being tried for murder. When he returned to classes, shaken and humble, he made the statement that all prejudices have a basis in fact. We are, after all, still humans.
America is facing the imminent destruction of its society and institutions. Everyone can feel it. It is in the air. People are frightened and arming themselves against the inevitable. Children pick up on the unease and anger in their parents (or, as often as not, the resentment of the grandparents forced to raise them) and some go nuts. When they do, they need to be put down as the feral animals they have become.
What example does our government give with its eternal wars and its multiple murders in Waco and Ruby Ridge? How about the fact that it sacrifices our best young men to defend fascism in Ukraine and to spread the One World Government (that now seems inevitable).
Personally, I would sacrifice any amount of money I had to keep my children out of public school. It is the training ground for the packs of vicious and soulless scum that now control the USSA.
It doesn't matter who we vote for for president. Things will not change.
But I appreciate that you have the freedom to spout off.
I will agree with you on many things here, Charles, but I will fight you to the ends of the earth when you state: “public schools have proven themselves incapable of educating children, they should either be disbanded or re-imagined as places where morals and right-living are taught.” THAT is an asinine comment—I devoted my life’s career to public education. Spouting that kind of toxic, ill-informed rhetoric is beyond the pale my friend. It is the epitome of CRAZY to create schools as war zones by arming school staffs. THAT is not the solution—THAT will only cause more sorrow, pain, and death—and as I said, it would only be a matter of time before an armed teacher, in trying to end the life of an active shooter, kills one of her own students—imagine that dystopian world: teachers having loaded concealed weapons in their desks (and of course, not student would ever find that weapon during the teacher’s busy day of teaching!). You and I have agreed to not engage in politics with each other. There are too many other parts of you I thoroughly enjoy. We both have the right and freedom to speak our opinions and beliefs—but no one gets to fabricate their own truth. You take all vile commentary away about public schools and we come closer together here. For 52 years I lived in public schools (counting my student days); I chose to be a teacher. Vile rhetoric like that is harmful and dangerous. Please take it back. I wish you could go into any kindergarten or third grade (or whatever grade) classroom to personally witness the miracles that a teacher performs, with kids, on a daily basis. Our teachers need to be thanked for their service—not thrown under the bus by ill-informed politicos who want to blame them and put a target on them by spewing such filth. That’s a page directly out of the MAGA playbook.
BTW: I agree it, to a point, that it doesn’t matter who is in the White House—school shootings have occurred under both R and D admins. But I know you cannot argue which brand of politician is beholding to the influence of the NRA. The full power of a united (on this topic) federal government CAN stem the tide of mass shootings. It IS a matter of political will. Things can change—and the change has to happen with the gun owners themselves to understand the lives of our kids are more important than fighting sane and rational gun legislation. God bless America, right? Only in America. Note: I came with receipts—you came with empty and vile, ill-informed rhetorical on public schools. I could block this comment from my thread—but it’s too important we model this dialogue as our little part in the national discourse on gun violence. Months ago, I was going to block you from anything I wrote—but then we got to know each other more and shared more from our hearts. Sharings that were not political in nature. We glimpsed each other’s humanity and so I made a commitment, understanding your staunch political beliefs, to continue engaging with you. I like you, a lot. And would enjoy meeting and having lazy Tennessee afternoon conversations with you with never-ending glasses of sweet tea.
Let’s you and I go back to talking iChing, Zen, and how we had been opening our hearts to each other in compassionate ways.
I have never really understood the average American's attachment to their gun.
These school shootings are as preventable as the are predictable.
My question is, apart from the availability of guns, what could be the other factors that makes a young child comfortable about killing his classmates/school mates?
Yes, these are essential questions. And I believe there are multiple parts to answer that, when combined, add up to the reason many youth find themselves at-risk to violence. 1. Lack of skillful parental engagement—too many parents have checked out of their children’s lives. 2. Digital devices especially hard-core, violence-oriented games that desentize young, growing brains to moral and ethical problems. Video game answers are to annihilate and kill those causing the problem. Many of those games are nauseatingly graphic. Parents are not fully aware of what their children are playing. 3. Social media—provides adolescents with an “unreal”, disembodied community of friends who value looks and things above people, feelings, and other core values like dignity, respect, compassion, and love. 4. Societal models—focusing here on the political discourse and the gross example Donald Trump provides for what it means to be a strong leader. Trump has successfully normalized grotesque, inhumane, and dangerous rhetoric and behavior. Our kids are watching and listening to this—Trump was the “sexy” and loud and dramatic new thing to idolize. He’s since become a cult-leader. One that has proven to be very intoxicating to those who bought into his rhetoric of hatred and anger and ad-hominem attack. Again, our kids are learning from the examples of the adults who proclaim to be leaders. 5. And I’ll stop here though there are more: there is no longer the feeling that a community/village raises our kids together. Families and especially kids are more and more isolated from being in active and interpersonal relationship with other humans. If my relationship with you is only through a device, it is easy for me to not think of you as a human being—I can talk at you at my leisure and even ridicule and spew hatred at you without fear of being held accountable to those behaviors. Despite their lure, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Xwitter, and even TikTok are NOT our friends—they are poison to our children and are among THE greatest threats to our children’s mental health. Our kids are no longer connected to personal relationships with other human beings—they are addicted to devices that provide a false sense of community.
Phew, that was a lot. But you ignited a passion of mine. What do you think May?
I'm back as I promised, to add my voice to some of the points you raised in your response here.
The socio-economic realities of our time have kept many parents too busy and overwhelmed, for them to be present enough to truly parent.
Most parents have outsourced this responsibility; to the kids themselves, technology, school, paid staff etc.
And instead of our presence, which these kids sorely need, we give them presents (latest gadgets. Seven year olds are now flaunting the latest iPhones). And parents are losing control.
How many parents can truly say that they know their kids these days?
While you had the Apalachee High School shooting to deal with in the US, here in Nigeria about the same time, we are trying to make sense of the case of a 24 year old student, who kidnapped and killed a girl who was his friend. In unraveling the case, more shocking revelations were discovered.
So security agents on the case found out that between 2018 and 2024, this boy had killed 3 girls, and buried all in his parents' compound!
3 girls, and his parents didn't know??
Now these girls includes; an Ex girlfriend, his friend (the latest) , and wait for it-his younger sister!!
Please tell me how as a parent, such an evil taking place under your nose, escaped your knowledge??
How?
And like you pointed out, we have handed over our kids to social media and digital devices. These are now influencing our kids in the most dangerous ways!
And guess who is going to pay? The society!
Many of us have no idea how powerfully, the content children consume, impact their behavior.
I have witnessed this first hand with my kids. Over the years, I have had to ban them from watching some tv shows and even books ( these were content created for kids by the way). When my kids were younger, anytime my son became more violent or meaner to his sister, I will check what they have be watching or reading. And I would almost, always find a content influencing that behavior.
Lemme not even go into how the messaging of these contents and the unrealistic standards they set, are driving kids into depression and mental chaos these days.
How many parents understand the potential damage, these can have on their wards?
What matters is that, Phones and these other devices are keeping them busy and out of the way, so it's okay.
Well, until it isn't!
And I couldn't agree more on the
impact of societal models. These kids are essentially what they are being modelled to by the adults around them. If we are a society that models kindness (not talk about kindness, but actually live it), we will see less of these tragedies involving kids.
I refuse to feel helpless in the face of all these. There must be something we can do, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Let's all commit to doing our little bits.
You’re so wrong on that Rosemary. You are listening to propaganda. No facts support that. And to say “they have identity problems claiming they are either non-binary or some [sic] gender conflicts” exposes your prejudicial bigotry. But, there will be no convincing you otherwise, is there. If you’re not willing to have a sense of curiosity and open-minded wonder about a wider range of possibility, let alone compassion for your fellow humans who are different from you, then we can end this so you can continue on what feels to me like a sad and disgruntled path. And I can stop wasting my time.
I could not watch the video. My grandson is four months old and I already worry. I tell myself that my activism and voting are what I can do about it, but I know it’s not enough.
We need to do better.
Trump stands behind bulletproof glass to give speeches now & yet cannot get behind gun control. The general public has no need for military weapons- period
Period!
It's clear you are passionate about this issue, Kert; but it was unnecessary for you to become vulgar and to suggest that someone should rape me simply because I want to protect myself, my family, and my home.
Yes, the repeated multiple murders have a political aspect to them: after all, they are nearly all done in public schools. And, as your graphs clearly show, the Biden administration holds the record for the most killings in a single year.
Was it done because Sniffy Joe was in office or was it done because civility and morality are no longer taught in American homes and public schools? The example you gave of Uvalde is the best reason I can imagine for teachers and parents to all carry handguns. After all, it was not a "good guy with a gun" that allowed all of those killings. It was a cowardly and poorly trained law enforcement community. Every officer that went to Uvalde on that day should be fired and every man or woman or psycho that was in a position of authority should be tried as accessories to murder.
America is a violent and reactive society. It was among the first (maybe the first) to outlaw opium and cannabis - two things known to create sleepiness and non-violence. The public schools, as well as the drunk and drug addicted, self-centered and stupid parents are as much to fault as the news media that crams fear and hatred 24/7 down our throats.
Since public schools have proven themselves incapable of educating children, they should either be disbanded or re-imagined as places where morals and right-living are taught. I have written frequently about a college class I took called Mental Hygeine. It taught me more than most of my other classes. The professor, a black man, needed to take a hiatus from school to represent his wife who was being tried for murder. When he returned to classes, shaken and humble, he made the statement that all prejudices have a basis in fact. We are, after all, still humans.
America is facing the imminent destruction of its society and institutions. Everyone can feel it. It is in the air. People are frightened and arming themselves against the inevitable. Children pick up on the unease and anger in their parents (or, as often as not, the resentment of the grandparents forced to raise them) and some go nuts. When they do, they need to be put down as the feral animals they have become.
What example does our government give with its eternal wars and its multiple murders in Waco and Ruby Ridge? How about the fact that it sacrifices our best young men to defend fascism in Ukraine and to spread the One World Government (that now seems inevitable).
Personally, I would sacrifice any amount of money I had to keep my children out of public school. It is the training ground for the packs of vicious and soulless scum that now control the USSA.
It doesn't matter who we vote for for president. Things will not change.
But I appreciate that you have the freedom to spout off.
I will agree with you on many things here, Charles, but I will fight you to the ends of the earth when you state: “public schools have proven themselves incapable of educating children, they should either be disbanded or re-imagined as places where morals and right-living are taught.” THAT is an asinine comment—I devoted my life’s career to public education. Spouting that kind of toxic, ill-informed rhetoric is beyond the pale my friend. It is the epitome of CRAZY to create schools as war zones by arming school staffs. THAT is not the solution—THAT will only cause more sorrow, pain, and death—and as I said, it would only be a matter of time before an armed teacher, in trying to end the life of an active shooter, kills one of her own students—imagine that dystopian world: teachers having loaded concealed weapons in their desks (and of course, not student would ever find that weapon during the teacher’s busy day of teaching!). You and I have agreed to not engage in politics with each other. There are too many other parts of you I thoroughly enjoy. We both have the right and freedom to speak our opinions and beliefs—but no one gets to fabricate their own truth. You take all vile commentary away about public schools and we come closer together here. For 52 years I lived in public schools (counting my student days); I chose to be a teacher. Vile rhetoric like that is harmful and dangerous. Please take it back. I wish you could go into any kindergarten or third grade (or whatever grade) classroom to personally witness the miracles that a teacher performs, with kids, on a daily basis. Our teachers need to be thanked for their service—not thrown under the bus by ill-informed politicos who want to blame them and put a target on them by spewing such filth. That’s a page directly out of the MAGA playbook.
BTW: I agree it, to a point, that it doesn’t matter who is in the White House—school shootings have occurred under both R and D admins. But I know you cannot argue which brand of politician is beholding to the influence of the NRA. The full power of a united (on this topic) federal government CAN stem the tide of mass shootings. It IS a matter of political will. Things can change—and the change has to happen with the gun owners themselves to understand the lives of our kids are more important than fighting sane and rational gun legislation. God bless America, right? Only in America. Note: I came with receipts—you came with empty and vile, ill-informed rhetorical on public schools. I could block this comment from my thread—but it’s too important we model this dialogue as our little part in the national discourse on gun violence. Months ago, I was going to block you from anything I wrote—but then we got to know each other more and shared more from our hearts. Sharings that were not political in nature. We glimpsed each other’s humanity and so I made a commitment, understanding your staunch political beliefs, to continue engaging with you. I like you, a lot. And would enjoy meeting and having lazy Tennessee afternoon conversations with you with never-ending glasses of sweet tea.
Let’s you and I go back to talking iChing, Zen, and how we had been opening our hearts to each other in compassionate ways.
I have never really understood the average American's attachment to their gun.
These school shootings are as preventable as the are predictable.
My question is, apart from the availability of guns, what could be the other factors that makes a young child comfortable about killing his classmates/school mates?
What could be the societal influence?
Yes, these are essential questions. And I believe there are multiple parts to answer that, when combined, add up to the reason many youth find themselves at-risk to violence. 1. Lack of skillful parental engagement—too many parents have checked out of their children’s lives. 2. Digital devices especially hard-core, violence-oriented games that desentize young, growing brains to moral and ethical problems. Video game answers are to annihilate and kill those causing the problem. Many of those games are nauseatingly graphic. Parents are not fully aware of what their children are playing. 3. Social media—provides adolescents with an “unreal”, disembodied community of friends who value looks and things above people, feelings, and other core values like dignity, respect, compassion, and love. 4. Societal models—focusing here on the political discourse and the gross example Donald Trump provides for what it means to be a strong leader. Trump has successfully normalized grotesque, inhumane, and dangerous rhetoric and behavior. Our kids are watching and listening to this—Trump was the “sexy” and loud and dramatic new thing to idolize. He’s since become a cult-leader. One that has proven to be very intoxicating to those who bought into his rhetoric of hatred and anger and ad-hominem attack. Again, our kids are learning from the examples of the adults who proclaim to be leaders. 5. And I’ll stop here though there are more: there is no longer the feeling that a community/village raises our kids together. Families and especially kids are more and more isolated from being in active and interpersonal relationship with other humans. If my relationship with you is only through a device, it is easy for me to not think of you as a human being—I can talk at you at my leisure and even ridicule and spew hatred at you without fear of being held accountable to those behaviors. Despite their lure, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Xwitter, and even TikTok are NOT our friends—they are poison to our children and are among THE greatest threats to our children’s mental health. Our kids are no longer connected to personal relationships with other human beings—they are addicted to devices that provide a false sense of community.
Phew, that was a lot. But you ignited a passion of mine. What do you think May?
Oh Kert! I think you have touched on the root of it all with some of your points here.
I will come back later today when I am free, to speak on them point by point.
But I feel your passion and commitment towards this course, and it inspires hope.
I'm back as I promised, to add my voice to some of the points you raised in your response here.
The socio-economic realities of our time have kept many parents too busy and overwhelmed, for them to be present enough to truly parent.
Most parents have outsourced this responsibility; to the kids themselves, technology, school, paid staff etc.
And instead of our presence, which these kids sorely need, we give them presents (latest gadgets. Seven year olds are now flaunting the latest iPhones). And parents are losing control.
How many parents can truly say that they know their kids these days?
While you had the Apalachee High School shooting to deal with in the US, here in Nigeria about the same time, we are trying to make sense of the case of a 24 year old student, who kidnapped and killed a girl who was his friend. In unraveling the case, more shocking revelations were discovered.
So security agents on the case found out that between 2018 and 2024, this boy had killed 3 girls, and buried all in his parents' compound!
3 girls, and his parents didn't know??
Now these girls includes; an Ex girlfriend, his friend (the latest) , and wait for it-his younger sister!!
Please tell me how as a parent, such an evil taking place under your nose, escaped your knowledge??
How?
And like you pointed out, we have handed over our kids to social media and digital devices. These are now influencing our kids in the most dangerous ways!
And guess who is going to pay? The society!
Many of us have no idea how powerfully, the content children consume, impact their behavior.
I have witnessed this first hand with my kids. Over the years, I have had to ban them from watching some tv shows and even books ( these were content created for kids by the way). When my kids were younger, anytime my son became more violent or meaner to his sister, I will check what they have be watching or reading. And I would almost, always find a content influencing that behavior.
Lemme not even go into how the messaging of these contents and the unrealistic standards they set, are driving kids into depression and mental chaos these days.
How many parents understand the potential damage, these can have on their wards?
What matters is that, Phones and these other devices are keeping them busy and out of the way, so it's okay.
Well, until it isn't!
And I couldn't agree more on the
impact of societal models. These kids are essentially what they are being modelled to by the adults around them. If we are a society that models kindness (not talk about kindness, but actually live it), we will see less of these tragedies involving kids.
I refuse to feel helpless in the face of all these. There must be something we can do, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Let's all commit to doing our little bits.
over the past 20 years, the mass shootings are mainly due to individuals on SSRI antidepressants.
They also have identity problems, claiming they are either non-binary or some gender conflicts.
Those "ideas" are usually a result of taking the SSRI antidepressants.
You’re so wrong on that Rosemary. You are listening to propaganda. No facts support that. And to say “they have identity problems claiming they are either non-binary or some [sic] gender conflicts” exposes your prejudicial bigotry. But, there will be no convincing you otherwise, is there. If you’re not willing to have a sense of curiosity and open-minded wonder about a wider range of possibility, let alone compassion for your fellow humans who are different from you, then we can end this so you can continue on what feels to me like a sad and disgruntled path. And I can stop wasting my time.
you are making an awful lot of assumptions about me. wow.
never mind.
Ah…okay then. As I suspected.
I could not watch the video. My grandson is four months old and I already worry. I tell myself that my activism and voting are what I can do about it, but I know it’s not enough.
If it’s what you can do, it’s enough.