Monday, August 5, 2019

Not Helping







No, Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Tragedy" did not strike El Paso Walmart. Tragedy striking Walmart is Walmart being hit by a tornado. Or Walmart's roof caving in and crushing a bunch of people. Something for which no one is to blame. Tragedy did not strike the El Paso Walmart, a homicidal racist asshole struck the El Paso Walmart.

This kind of framing is not helpful. Treating gun massacres like natural disasters, as just one of the hazards of life like earthquakes in California or hurricanes in Florida is not helpful. It's whatever the opposite of helpful is.

This is what the NRA ghouls want. They want everyone to accept that mass slaughters are inescapable, that nothing can be done to prevent them, and that  your best bet is to arm yourself to the teeth so that you'll be ready to defend yourself when the unavoidable massacre inevitably comes to your mall or school or church.

So stop referring to these massacres as "tragedies." They are murders. Mass murders. And we absolutely CAN take steps to minimize them. If we have the collective will. And framing them as unfortunate catastrophes is not helping.