The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Vol. 7

[xiaotien]

amarie, exactly.

justine l author has tweeted about
it because she's from australia.

we cannot stop all the crazies and
we cannot stop all criminals, but why
not make it harder to get a gun and other
more dangerous weapons than it is to get
a driver's license in most states?

(a friend on fb said it was easier for him to
get a gun than get his license, truth and fact.)

these laws have been proven to work.
statistics don't lie.

not asking for a ban.
asking for better laws to keep us
safer.

 

[xiaotien]

inkie, i've thought mental health issue
so important for a long long time now.

but yes, how do you get support for that
when you can't even get support for regular
health care?

 

[Red-Green]

KT, it is a societal problem.

but damage lessened in these situations
when the weapon is NOT a gun.

i don't want to be forced to carry a weapon
in order to feel "safer". yes, there is a right
to bear arms.

what about my right not to bear it? and still
feel like my kids are safe in school? at least *safer*
with tighter gun control laws?

As evidenced by a very similar school attack in China today. Guy wounded 22 kids. No one dead.

 

[SteveCordero]

I have a hard time understanding the pro gun rationale against regulation that society can't stop every criminal or crazies.

Condoms can't stop every STD, but that doesn't mean men should stop using them.

Mass shootings aren't acts of God, or forces of nature like the gun lobby tries to argue. With reasonable gun regulation they can become rarer.

 

[Red-Green]

And I got the willies. A cop said that the shooter had used a .223 rifle. My pop just bought one at Cabelas two weeks ago. They were on sale. You can buy supplemental clips for them that hold 30 rounds. Perfect for the zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, also perfect for shooting a lot of little kids quickly.

 

[SteveCordero]

As evidenced by a very similar school attack in China today. Guy wounded 22 kids. No one dead.

Wow, talk about crazy timing.

 

[JoNightshade]

While I am in favor of stricter gun control laws, the fact is that if we want to truly solve this issue we need to be looking at deeper cultural issues. Not because people kill people or criminals will always have weapons, but because within a decade it will not only be possible but incredibly easy to print your own gun at home. Out of plastic pieces that are undetectable to regular metal scanners. So what then? All of our gun laws, all over the world, are about to become completely irrelevant.

(BTW sorry if this post is late/irrelevant... started composing on the train and am now finishing in airport!)

 

[JoNightshade]

Ah, just saw someone's comment about mental health. Living in an urban area, I cannot get behind this enough. Sooo many homeless here are just not in their right minds, but they have the "freedom" to be what, out of their minds and living on the street? I hope to god that if I ever go nuts someone will put me in a place where I'm watched and cared for and made to take my medication.

 

[JennW]

I can't even process anything. Can't stop crying. Just want my kids to get home so I can hug them.

 

[SteveCordero]

The shooter was on a killing spree. He lives in Hoboken, NJ and killed his brother there. Then drove to Connecticut where he killed his mother and her schoolchildren. Awful.

 

[MrsBrommers]

My heart is so heavy. In addition to Little B, I have a a five-year-old and a seven-year-old--the same ages as some of the little babes killed today.

Earlier this year, I was a parent-helper at my son's preschool on a day they did safety drills. Earthquake. Tornado. Fire. And School Intruder. There is something very sick and wrong that schools even have to do that last type of drill.

 

[Maryn]

Ah, just saw someone's comment about mental health. Living in an urban area, I cannot get behind this enough. Sooo many homeless here are just not in their right minds, but they have the "freedom" to be what, out of their minds and living on the street? I hope to god that if I ever go nuts someone will put me in a place where I'm watched and cared for and made to take my medication.

You may thank the Reagan administration for that. People who were clearly unable to fend for themselves were released from institutions in astonishing quantities, given business cards for mental health outpatient facilities and a small amount of money. Within 60 days or so the population of homeless, especially urban homeless, swelled, and all the problems associated with the mentally ill who have no place to go grew many times worse.

It was, of course, cheaper than housing them and trying to address their problems. Yeah, bottom line wins.

Maryn, disgusted

 

[Amarie]

I hope to god that if I ever go nuts someone will put me in a place where I'm watched and cared for and made to take my medication.

It's very, very hard to get even a clearly mentally ill adult committed these days, even for family members.

 

[ink wench]

You may thank the Reagan administration for that. People who were clearly unable to fend for themselves were released from institutions in astonishing quantities, given business cards for mental health outpatient facilities and a small amount of money. Within 60 days or so the population of homeless, especially urban homeless, swelled, and all the problems associated with the mentally ill who have no place to go grew many times worse.

Yup, running those hospitals was expensive, and there was an almost overnight explosion in the homeless population when the were closed.

It's very, very hard to get even a clearly mentally ill adult committed these days, even for family members.

This is true. Unfortunately, there's also good reason for it. It used to be so easy to get someone committed against their will. It was used to punish people, remove undesirables from families, you name it. And once people were committed, it became extremely hard for them to get out of the hospitals. If you're considered "crazy," then it's real easy to assign that label to anything you do and use it as further justification for locking you up. Get angry and yell at someone who won't let you leave? Obviously you're hysterical and maybe violent, and we should restrain you further. Laws came down hard in the opposite direction eventually, which naturally has ill effects too. But there's no simple test anyone can do to diagnose a problem. Someone has to take responsibility for a decision that's often based on little evidence.

But we still need better mental health resources. The people who want services frequently can't afford them.

 

[Kris]

Just wanted to be with you guys for a minute because the rest of the world is INSANE.

 

[raburrell]

Blonde, just wanted to say sorry for being an absolute bitch today on your FB page. Except I'm not. But sorry anyways.

 

[xiaotien]

kris, hugs.

i know.

 

[Dawn Schaefer]

When my husband had a breakdown this year, and tried to commit suicide on 3 occasions, his doctors would not talk to me. His psychiatrist would not talk to me. He was released to himself and no one gave me tools to help him. Because he's an adult. I had to fight to have him admitted.

The system fails & fails & fails.

 

[Kris]

RAB I didn't think you were a b1tch, for what that's worth.

That thread made me frustrated /massive understatement

 

[Blondchen]

Blonde, just wanted to say sorry for being an absolute bitch today on your FB page. Except I'm not. But sorry anyways.

Are you kidding me? I was OVER THE MOON proud of you for taking on those two pompous windbags.

I had to close my FB tab because I was getting too angry. I will unfriend or block those people in the coming days, but for now, I get too upset arguing with people who are not interested in an actual discussion of the topic, only in defending their own point of view.

 

[xiaotien]

TWO? i better not click.

emotionally battered enough as it is.

thank you for speaking up, rab. <3

i signed a petition via whitehouse.gov
to set a date and time to discuss gun policy:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pe...ation-about-gun-policy-united-states/gzWCnDSX

it is very easy to set up an account. takes
a few clicks, literally.

 

[JennW]

thanks cindy, great link, will click through and sign it.

blond - you got it exactly right. how can people spend today defending their own point of view instead of showing compassion/empathy. i just do not understand.

<3 you guys. on a day like today when my emotions feel beat to hell, it's good to be among friends. *GROUP HUG*

 

[Cricket18]

I'm sorry, but I see no reason whatsoever that ordinary citizens need to bear arms. This was put into effect 200+ years ago. Maybe it was prudent then, but not now.

Will there always be a way to find guns, make bombs, etc.? Yes. Do we really need to make it so damn easy? I think not.

 

[mayqueen]

All of this just breaks my heart. I agree that this goes so much deeper than gun control (which we desperately need -- why do regular citizens even need to own semi and fully automatic weapons??). Something about our culture is creating these situations. I think part of it is our appalling lack of mental health care and the stigma of receiving care. I can't help but notice that nearly all of these shooters are young men. This isn't just about guns. This is about masculinity, violence, mental illness, and so much more.

I just can't stop thinking about those families whose lives were gutted today.

 

[Trinza]

I'm glad that petition is happening and I'll definitely be signing it. I understand the sentiment that now isn't the time to be having the conversation, right in the midst of everything, but there absolutely must be a time to talk about it. Things just can't go on the way they are.

Such a sad day. I've kept Facebook and Twitter closed because I just can't stomach dealing with people during all of this. Much nicer (and saner) to just be here instead.