On Saturday, there was another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. A white man, armed to the teeth, opened fire in an El Paso Walmart. As of this writing, the death toll is at 20, with dozens more injured. The injured count isn’t accurate, because some of the victims might be undocumented immigrants, and they are worried about seeking treatment because ICE might arrest them. Think about that. The mass murderer has already been identified and he was taken in custody… because police didn’t kill him when he surrendered. He’s a white supremacist terrorist and his goal was to shoot up Hispanic people. A four-month-old baby was one of the victims.
Then, hours later, at 1 am Sunday morning, another white man who was heavily armed and wearing body armor, turned his automatic weapon on dozens of people in Dayton, Ohio. The mass shooting took place in the nightclub area, where hundreds of people were out and enjoying their weekend. The mass murderer just started shooting, spraying bullets for one solid minute. Nine people were killed and more than two dozen injured. That mass murderer didn’t get a chance to surrender – there were already cops in the area and they shot him at the entrance of a bar.
These are terrorist attacks. This is white supremacy. The El Paso mass murderer was radicalized by Donald Trump and the neo-Nazis who support Trump. I’m sad and disgusted and this whole f–king country is a nightmare.
“How were you radicalized?” https://t.co/S8yfcbJyFf
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) August 3, 2019
White supremacists blew up a federal building 24 yrs ago killing 168 ppl. Now here we are in 2019 with a string of massacres carried out by white supremacists and an openly white nationalist president holding violent, racist rallies around the country. Y'all think this ends well?
— Bree Newsome Bass (@BreeNewsome) August 4, 2019
Just a reminder that this white terrorist in El Paso was taken alive after shooting dozens of people, and Tamir Rice was shot dead for playing with a toy gun and shooting nobody. Because America…
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) August 3, 2019
more Trump tweets
3/9/19–"I am stopping an invasion"
1/31–Sending troops to southern border "to stop the attempted invasion"
1/11–"an invasion!"
11/18–"the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion"
10/29–"This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!'— Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes) August 4, 2019
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
I was reading that he is using this to try and blackmail congress into backing his immigration plan – he wants to marry gun control and immigration, further fuelling the anti-immigration rhetoric thats his and GOPs brand. The gun/NRA nuts are losing their sh!t at any more gun control laws.
I wonder if he’ll volunteer to run into an active situation to ‘sort it out’ – am sure his big fat orange lard ass will protect many innocent people.
Yes he just tweeted this. If we want to stop white male terrorism we have to build a wall keeping Latinx out. Okay.
The blatant victim-blaming and refusal to accept any responsibility for the role he, the Tucker Carlsons, the Laura Ingrahams, etc. play in terrorism and hate crimes like this are sickening.
And I’m like hey dude- it’s not the Latino people shooting yo our country. It’s tge white people. In fact our country has a long just of white people mass murdering brown folk. Ahem*we were founded on the graves of my ancestors* Ahem.
I’ll never forget the bone chilling moment when Trump said “Who’s doing the raping Don?!”
The entire country is being gaslit.
So tired of the ammosexuals and the way they fetishize guns. Want to own a simple handgun for self-protection? Fine. But there is NO REASON why ANYONE should own a gun that can kill nine people in less than a minute.
I’m so tired of living in this dangerous country.
Kitten, so agree with you. Or a rifle for hunting. But you don’t need a semi automatic to take down a deer, goose, etc.
True. Many people on different blogs and internet forums are speaking about moving out of the USA and becoming expats in other countries. (P.S.: The “House Hunters International” TV series on the HGTV Channel is evidence of this. I started to notice this happening much more since Dump-Trump took office.)
I’m with you Kitten. All this daily trauma literally drove me to Michael’s this weekend to pick up some adult coloring books because I’m completely stressed out and feel helpless about all this.
I used to pray all the time and I literally don’t know what to pray for anymore.
@phaedra7 I think you’re right about “HHI” I watched that show all the time and there does seem to be more of that. I noticed that on “Mexico Life” and “Caribbean life” too
Totally agree. These assault weapons must be made illegal.
Instead of making assault weapons illegal, Barr is proposing making mass shootings a capital crime. If you hear screaming, that’s me.
@Kitten, I live in Dayton and woke up Sunday morning to the news when my parents called to check if we were OK. The Oregon District where the shooting occurred is a cool historic district with great local restaurants, bars, a few clubs, and a few shops. It’s where Daytonians go to celebrate milestones, go drinking, and have fun.
As you could imagine, the Dayton community was in shock and grieving our slain friends, co-workers, students, parents, and children. So, cue the people highjacking our Facebook posts to defend guns and their right to own them mere hours after the attack. It was so critical for them to assert that guns are not the problem and “mental health,” “video games,” “illegals,” blah, blah, blah. These were not strangers weighing in anonymously in some comment section of a news story–they were relatives and acquaintances who lived elsewhere. It was so cruel.
Our city has been through it. During Memorial Day Weekend, the KKK rallied on Saturday and were met with a huge counter-protest, and 14 powerful tornadoes leveled whole neighborhoods.
Kitten, did you coin that word, ‘ammosexual’? It’s SO apt.
Looking for more ways to express my disgust with all of this.
Because life is precious I don’t want to hear about any more mom’s dying trying to shield their babies or babies dying before their moms.
Trump was golfing when El Paso happened. Now he’s tweeting about including immigration policy with the gun control legislation that fucking McConnell is sitting on because he is a monster. We are being held hostage at the hands of GOP terrorism.
He’s blaming the press. I just cannot. Every day that passes without Congress bringing forth articles of impeachment is another day where we tell the world that this is normal. That having a racist, repugnant, tantrum-y child in the Oval is NORMAL.
He is LITERALLY blaming the press. As if the press made up his racist speech and racist rallies. I. Can’t. You can’t make this shyt up.
His tweet blaming the press made me gasp. I thought I was numb but that felt like a new low, even for him.
Trump doesn’t really want Congress to pass any immigration policies. If they did, he would lose his entire campaign platform.
And he certainly doesn’t want gun control passing. Motivating murderers makes him feel powerful.
Blaming the media AND video games! Toss in the death penalty to make things extra sucky. I have never hated a person more. If I weren’t so f’ing pissed off right now I’d be sobbing.
We keep saying “it will get worse” and it always does.
IT. ALWAYS. GETS. WORSE.
@Mac, everything you said. It’s what narcissist sociopaths do.
I can’t read anymore of the stories. The story about the young mother murdered while shielding her 2 month old infant did me in.
The governor of Ohio was heckled off the stage yesterday.
Something’s happening with Beto.
So now, we wait. Will this finally be the moment? I don’t know.
no. it won’t be the moment.
sorry to be so negative, but if someone shooting up a classroom full of kids (Sandy Hook) didn’t prompt congress to act, nothing will. they value guns more than children (unless, of course, the “child” in question is actually a fetus, then it’s all out war to save them).
I sure hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it. 🙁
You’re right, sadly.
You’re right. Babies were killed. In. School. (White babies, by the way.) And nothing was done. This is not what will do it (brown people being gunned down while just existing.)
I use think that if someone went after an elementary school then we would get the proper gun control laws. Well, Sandy Hook has come and gone and yet here we are, another day, another mass shooting. This should have ended at Columbine but it didn’t.
“This should have ended at Columbine but it didn’t”
This so much. Kids have already died over this and it wasn’t enough.
It just infuriates me when people keep saying they hold their guns to feel “safe”. I don’t feel safe because all of you are holding guns. And I won’t feel safe buying a gun for myself because I keep thinking – if this happened at my Walmart, my only means of defending myself from this with a gun would be to shoot the shooter. And idk if my tiny gun will stand a chance against his assault rifle.
This is what I’ve said after every shooting since Sandy Hook. Babies being killed wasn’t even enough.
I remember Columbine and how it was such a huge, massive news story (here in the U.S. at least) in 1999. Every person who was killed there was memorialized and their specific experience described in detail in the media.
Now it is like a deluge of massacres and the individual victims blur like grains of sand on a beach. It is insane.
I’m late in responding but that’s not what Darla meant in something is happening with Beto. I agree. It very well could be what propels him forward.
I kept thinking that yesterday, that maybe, finally, something might change. But I kept coming back to Sandy Hook. So I tend to think that no, it won’t. Not until the Dems control all three branches.
I agree Esmom, not until Dems control all 3 branches, but is this what finally gets us there? I do agree about Sandy Hook, but i have seen gun control advocates, like the founder of Moms Demand Action, talk about that attitude. Which I totally admit I sort of share. And they say, no, this is wrong, we are making advances, it was never going to happen over night. And too, I think the Parkland shooting was a big moment, because it was as if the Sandy Hook kids were able to fight back this time, to speak for themselves. Same generation. Those Parkland kids they are the Sandy Hook generation. They’re on the field now.
I don’t know who’s right, time is gonna tell, but there’s hope. There is still some hope.
Darla, Moms Demand Action are 100% right. State legislatures are where the action is. There is so much that can be done without federal legislation; it just is harder to see this progress, and to get joined-up policy that isn’t hamstrung by a neighboring states’ lax rules. It’s painfully slow, and it’s so, so far from being enough yet, but change is happening.
And I agree with you that today’s young people will make the change we need to see as they come into their full demographic power and the far-right base shrinks due to many current members aging out. Kids now reaching voting age have grown up with this nightmare, and most of them see clearly how profoundly effed up it is.
Trump is scheduled to address the nation at 10 am EST today. He should have given a formal statement over the weekend instead of crashing weddings at his golf course. He’s scrambling for a plan because the media is replaying his verbiage which is similar to the words that monster wrote in his manifesto before killing people. Democratic candidates for president are tying Trump’s racist rhetoric to this killer, although the monster stated Trump didn’t inspire him. Trump is only concerned about Trump; he is afraid 29 murders will cost him re-election.
I read yesterday that they have also removed all of his tweets that mention an invasion. Which is apparently a violation of the Presidential Records Act.
And Moscow Mitch is conveniently laid up with an injury.
I’m exhausted, I’m numb. I’m hopeless and and beyond fearful on behalf of the kids I was foolish enough to bring into this world.
I’m sure many have helpfully archived them.
https://twitter.com/fly_sistah/status/1157866775729643521?s=21
And this.
https://twitter.com/natijomartinez/status/1158049182877458433?s=21
As for #MoscowMitch, I had a stress fracture in my right hip that took four months to heal. I never missed a day of work, even scheduled my MRI for 6 AM so that I only had to be 30 minutes late one morning. #MassacreMitch can get his ass out of bed and go to work.
@jerusha. I had rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder on a Friday (didn’t want to take off more than I had to), went in on Monday to work (math high school teacher) and used an overhead projector to teach all day (and all week). This is just an excuse not to call back the Senate to vote on the background check bill that the house passed.
@Swack. We’re obviously tougher and better than that POS. People of Kentucky, please rise up and give #MendaciousMitch the heave ho.
I saw on twitter that over the weekend a bunch on Kentuckians (apologies if that is wrong) turned up at an event he was speaking at and drown him out by chanting ‘Moscow Mitch’, apparently he flounced off the stage when they wouldn’t shut up. There was a video of it but can’t find it now.
@DigitalUnicorn. I saw that, too. And some speculate that he’s faking a shoulder injury in order to hide out. Maybe there’s hope to oust him from the Senate.
I just read that the other asset is having or just had surgery (supposedly aftermath of that neighbor “visit” of a couple years ago).
Incredibly convenient timing for both, no?
Orange Slob: We’ve got to do something about this mental illness
Also Orange Slob: We’re gonna let mentally ill people have access to all the guns they want, because ‘Merica!!
GOP: That and also, video games are way too violent.
And let this sink in- the El Paso terrorist was able to go in and murder 19 people and yet the police were miraculously able to bring him in without firing a single shot. But a black man sitting on his front porch can be gunned down because officers are supposedly afraid for their lives.
“And let this sink in- the El Paso terrorist was able to go in and murder 19 people and yet the police were miraculously able to bring him in without firing a single shot. But a black man sitting on his front porch can be gunned down because officers are supposedly afraid for their lives.”
https://twitter.com/charlesmblow/status/1157864553843187712?s=21
THIS out and out PURE HATRED. #BREATHINGWHILEHAVINGMOREMELANIN! Lord In Heaven, when is this demonic nightmare going to end?
I feel like Trump looks at these massacres, smiles to himself, and thinks, “It’s working.”
,
No, that’s Stephen Miller.
True.
Do you know who else wanted to start a race war? Charles Manson. and he was considered a serial killer even though he didn’t actually kill anyone himself. Words to incite violence equals guilt, Orange one!
Trump is trying to finish what Manson started. And he’s doing a damn good job of it.
I agree. Why are we not clamoring for the ouster of Stephen Miller? I don’t not want to give credit to Donald for being racist – I know he is – but I also know he has very little ability to plan, or follow through and I also am of the number that believes him to have dementia. He’s not *originating* these plans; I don’t think he has the faculties for them anymore. I think it’s Stephen Miller and a few other lunatics.
Steven Miller proves that there are monsters in human suits among us.
So sickened by these hateful events. All of the rhetoric that led up to them, and culminated in this tragic weekend. And I really fear it may get worse. Mr. Trump and his sicko daughter and son in law are the worst things to ever happen to our country. We MUST vote them out. And never allow this again. Enough.
Trump is such a disgusting human being. As if immigrants play any part in these white males killing us. I’m more afraid of being murdered by white males than immigrants, but I’d never suggest locking up all white males and blaming the entire group for the sins of a few. Trump is Hitler reborn, but the most alarming part is that about 40% of Americans share his disgusting immorality. These racists have been living in the closet all these years, & I had no idea, but my eyes have been open and what I see scares the shit out of me.
trump is Shitler.
Same here girl. As a white woman, I had no idea how bad it was.
Think of how many disaffected young women are out there yet we don’t feel the need to pull out an assault rifle and murder dozens of innocents.
White males are why we can’t have nice things.
Good on Beto for calling Trump out for the racist and white nationalists that he is. We need all politicians and media members to do the same.
I’m just so depressed and out of ideas. Honest to God, I think that parts of our country are going to have to break up in order to get anything done. I live in the northeast of the U.S. and when I look at what’s going on in Alabama, Kentucky, etc I don’t feel like we’re part of the same country anymore. The only way we’re going to get meaningful gun control legislation is to break up our country. It’s never going to happen with southern states senators who keep getting re-elected and Mitch McConnell particularly. Look at what’s going on in Alabama. I feel like the rest of the country is hostage to the south and their ridiculous ideas about Obamacare, abortion, gun control, and other culture war issues where they’re whole existence seems to be to “stick it to the libs.”
I know this whole idea isn’t fair to all the wonderful people in states that are stuck with awful and many times illegitimate representation but I’m honestly not sure what else there is that can be done but to break up and have a few countries made out of all of this mess.
I feel the same. I feel like long game, the south actually won the civil war and we are all living underneath their thumb.
It might take a generation to do but it would be worth it for our kids. I don’t think we’re compatible in beliefs anymore as a country, we’re just too different. We go our separate ways and be friendly neighbors and trading partners but separate legislation and borders. It would be a relief and I really feel we’d be able to get gun control and healthcare like any other normal country.
Wow. There are so many people in the south working for change that you are willing to dismiss out of hand. We’re just like most of the country- our cities are liberal and the rural areas are conservative. I grew up in New England, but live in NC. We’re a purple state, but without gerrymandering we’d probably go blue. Rather than complain that we’re not working fast enough for change, maybe move down here and help out?
No thanks. I’m going to stay in NY where I live under the protection of a Democratic governor who views me as human even though I’m a woman. I wish you all the luck, but no guilt trip is going to work on me on this issue.
@Darla- I live in NC. Our Governor is Roy Cooper- a Democrat. We’re a purple state that would likely go blue if not for gerrymandering. I don’t think you would consider my post a “guilt trip” if you weren’t being so dismissive of an entire diverse region of people.
The MAJORITY of black Americans still live in the south where much of what we think of as regressive politics comes from white people dedicated the harming this population. It is critical that we NEVER abandon the descendants of enslaved Africans and the white people & multicultural other folks who fight with them against neo- Jim Crow.
Thank you @bleumoon. I am also living in the South (about a stones throw from NC) and I also get upset at this sort of talk. I live in VA and I always wonder where we would land if the country split.
Wisca makes a necessary point.
No no, N Carolina is definitely a purple state about to go blue, they can come with us. Maybe Texas too! I speak really about the low population states, who are getting over represented due to Senate malapportionment. It’s a disaster. WE here in the populous blue states are slaves to a right wing court for the rest of our lives thanks to this. And it cannot stand. It cannot stand. Listen, there isn’t going to be any secession, this is just a pipe dream, but I am not against it. I would rather than live under yahoo rule for the rest of my life just because the founders got it wrong, and they did. As for African Americans, no, that is who I feel most sorry for in those states, and I would be all for 100 moving, relocation, job, etc costs for them to come to the blue states, if they so choose. Even without secession, which again, is never going to happen, I am 100 percent for that.
Moving to reality, know that won’t happen so that’s why I watch the Dem candidates very closely. You won’t expand the supreme court? I don’t want you. Because short of secession, which won’t happen, it’s our only change to get out from underneath minority, yahoo, rule.
@Wisca, @bleu_moon, @MachineElf,
Thank you SO very much for saying what I could not in any kind way. Always good to know how ignorant people truly are. Not ignorant, but not understanding how the words will be read no matter how it was intended.
I’m ignorant because I don’t want to live under repressive, MINORITY rule? LOL
I am so glad I am not the only one who feels this way. As a northeasterner, I feel absolutely no kinship with the southern politics and politicians (and therefore the southern majority of people), who seem to be living in some alternate reality. Abortion, gay rights, gun control, immigration etc etc its all horrible politics down there and I want nothing to do with it.
Cut them off. Let them ban abortion and have zero social programs and have as many guns as they want. Just keep their politics away from me and mine. Keep their guns away. Keep their Nazis marching in the streets, their KKK, their racist bullshit away.
And those people that are down south that see that their states are still stuck in pre-civil war hatred and bigotry can apply to come on up north. Open arms to all who care to live a better life.
I wish northern states could make their own decisions. I feel we would have a better life within just a few years.
I’ve actually heard leading democrats say that the way to help is that people who believe like us should move to the southern states and run for office and vote there to change demographics. Sorry but I’m not leaving a state that has great schools for my kids, healthcare for the most vulnerable, some gun control and where women and gay people are guaranteed certain rights, to move to states where those very ideas are mocked as socialism. It’s just not happening.
Same.
You could always come down here and help us out with voter registration and driving voters to the polls the way idealists and activists did in the Sixties, and I say that seriously. There are plenty of us good people here but we could use some help. And Ohio, Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, Kansas, et al aren’t Southern states. They’re rather backwards, too. Actually, imo, fewer than half the states can look in the mirror and say, “We’re good.”
As Jerusha said, there are a lot of people working hard for change in the south. Our cities are liberal and our rural areas are conservative- just like the rest of the country. I know people in central PA and rural NH who are just as racist and backwards as people I’ve met in the south. Actually, the racism in central PA really shocked me.
Susannah, my kids attend full-day gifted magnet programs in NC. I truly believe they are getting a better education in our very diverse community, than they would in the small, mostly white town in NH where I grew up. Is our education system perfect? Hardly, but I doubt any state can boast of uniformly excellent schools in all areas. Please don’t write us all off.
Maybe the folks pushing secession on this thread could check their stereotypes at the door and come visit the south? You’d likely be surprised to see the diverse group of progressives working for change. You may not want to support us, but we could do with less of your scorn.
*Final reply to this thread*
Ok I read all the comments and I can see the points that are being made. I get it and I’m sorry if I offended people, truly.
I just want to say that we are all speaking from both sides of the same frustration. I get how frustrating and hurtful it would be to be told that your state is holding other states back. I get how frustrating it would be to feel like you are being given the middle finger when you’re suffering as much if not more so than the rest of us. But please understand how frustrating it is to live in a densely-populated blue state where people vote for a better life for the country–including red states–yet still we are subjected to and beholden to rural red states who want us to go back to 1950.
We’re all just incredibly sad and frustrated. We feel hopeless and despondent and it just feels like…this country will just continue to get more divided.
I am really sorry if my comments were callous or cruel. I get that we ALL need to fight together, I do. I stand with all of you who are fighting to make red states better; to turn them purple. I truly appreciate how hard you’re all working.
Jerusha makes a good comment- there Are still actions to take for those who “stand with”, however demoralizing the situation.
I’ve been thinking about this so much lately, Susannah.
On one hand, there are small liberal bastions in places like Georgia, Texas, Iowa etc and I don’t want to leave the good folks in those states behind, but I’m also just TIRED of being held hostage by these red states and their regressive policies.
I also said to my BF yesterday that although mass shootings can happen ANYWHERE (as we know) I still feel safer living in a state with strict gun laws.
There are more than just a few “liberal bastions!” Our cities are nearly uniformly liberal, but gerrymandering has made the conservative rural area votes count for more in our elections. There are a lot of people working hard for change down here, and we could really use your support rather than your scorn. FWIW I grew up in New England and subscribed to the same stereotypes as you before moving down here.
It’s really not a stereotype in some red states though. My BF is from the midwest and I go to Iowa every summer. There are just a LOT of backwards people living out there and he’s from a small pocket of northeast Iowa which is more blue than the rest of the state.
You’re right that there are a decent number of blue cities in red states and I feel sorry for the people who have to live with the kind of misery that Republicans heap on them but it’s not our fault–we didn’t make your state the way that it is–and if the people around you keep voting against their own interests then maybe you should blame them.
THOSE are the folks we want to get away from. THOSE are the folks that are destorying our country,
No one is saying it’s the fault of people living in blue states. However, promoting divisive ideas like secession and demonizing an entire region make the problem worse, not better. I had associated some of the ideas mentioned upthread with the trolls who promoted the Texas and California secession movements online. There were popular secession pages on Facebook that attracted a lot of interest during the 2016 election. As you may recall, they were later exposed as at least partly a project of the Russian troll farms. Obviously Russia would have loved for the US to be broken up into smaller less influential regions like the former USSR and increased US polarization. Now I wonder if these ideas are fallout from the Russian propaganda or if the Russians just brilliantly plugged into existing regional biases. I’m not saying anyone on the thread is a troll, I just think it’s sadly fascinating how quick we are to turn on each other and how easily that is used against us.
It’s not as simple (as of course you know) as red vs. blue states. A huge component of it is urban/suburban/rural divisions WITHIN states. I live in a state that is slimly holding onto being blue for now (in terms of statewide elections and electoral college) – but that is because of the large cities within the state. The non-city portions of the state are red.
So within my state (Minnesota) we have elected U.S. representative Ilhan Omar for the congressional district centered in Minneapolis; but the vast majority of counties of this state vote Republican by huge margins.
Recently read about a movement in Illinois pushing for the non-Chicago part of the state to secede from Chicagoland.
I agree. It comes down to our concepts of “safety” being incompatible. They need guns to feel safe. I need them to NOT hold guns to feel safe.
This whole thread is really heartbreaking for southern progressives. It’s also interesting that you are so eager to secede from the region with the highest population of African American folks in the country. I assume that’s not your underlying intent, but when you start talking about shedding the south because we’re holding you back, it’s part of what we hear.
Oh, don’t get me wrong: I feel awful for people of color who live in red states where oppressive, regressive whites continue to f*ck them over. However, it’s because of white folks in power in red states that they are in that position. It sucks but it’s not the fault of those of us who live in blue states.
@bleu_moon,
Your words encompass exactly what these posters don’t seem to truly understand. This thread is a whole new level of mean I never thought I would see on a gossip site.
@Jerusha,
Thank you as well. Much more eloquent than blaming entire regions of people. These stereo types and generalizations being made are truly depressing.
I just have to say…we are the United States of America. It has always bothered me when conservatives I’ve known have used the “leave it up to the individual states” when it comes to abortion, gay marriage, etc. We are only as strong as our weakest, most oppressed, and most bigoted links. It is up to ALL of us who are liberal/progressive, no matter where we live, to work together for the sake of our country. Those of you on this thread who identify as progressive and are painting certain parts of the country with broad strokes are doing EXACTLY what the fascists in power want you to do. It’s classic divide and conquer. You can pat yourselves on the back for living in a liberal part of the country (AS IF there aren’t plenty of bigots where you live) but there are people suffering at the hands of conservatives in other parts of the country. You’re basically saying you don’t care and that you want to secede. That is not how this is supposed to be. Like some Southerners on here have said, there are progressives everywhere who are fighting for change, and the majority of black people still live in the South. You’re saying you don’t care. Full stop. I can’t believe that commenters I usually agree with are spouting this nonsense. I’ll say it again…the divide and conquer strategies that have worked throughout the history of global colonialism, apartheid, US slavery, and Jim Crow are still working, evidenced even in the microcosm of a CB thread.
For the record, I’m from Minnesota and live in southern Arizona.
It’s white male terrorism. Here are their faces. You can add the Dayton shooter yourself.
https://twitter.com/grantgunterr/status/1157999247389863937?s=21
And it’s just a hat, you know.
https://twitter.com/shari2112/status/1158098632702251008?s=21
Of course he does, because then he’d loose half of his fan base. Let’s call it like it is, the Trump administration offers thoughts and prayers to the victims of the terrorists they inspire. Let’s not forget how he called Nazi’s “fine people” and refused to denounce their actions. Let’s not forget that his rallies stir up chants of hatred racism sexism and xenophobia. I am so fed up, because we as a people know in our hearts nothing will be done to stop these acts.
His fan base in all their glory.
https://twitter.com/imaresistasista/status/1157209269273415680?s=21
Our Police Deparment put out some BS tip sheet about what to do- stay vigilant, leave if you feel uncomfortable, fight for your life.
NO. I should be able to go to the store and buy groceries or go out with friends at night and not have to worry about being shot to death simply because I’m not. a hermit holed up in my house. Basically I have to change my life because the aholes in Congress are bought by the NRA. Cool. Cool.
Jeez.and what tips do they give to black people who want to fight for their lives?
@who – we had a shooting at a Wal-mart last week and when I’d heard the shooter was taken to the Med and not shot and killed on site I was shocked to find out he is black.
Meghan, yes. We all have a right to walk our streets, go to school, work, the store, clubs, festivals, houses of worship or not, wherever, safely. It is CLEARLY a time to discuss G control. Now.
Did you know that Don the Con received more than $100m from the NRA for his last campaign. Do you believe he’s going to do anything to change anything? If you do you are not paying attention. Do you believe he cares that some Mexicans were killed? He chalked up anyone else killed are collateral damage to his bigger plans.
Whenever I see him or hear him on tv I switched the channel as fast as I can. I refused to listen to his lies any longer. I will listen to talk shows or read the news that I believe are reputable for my news. Just trying to keep my sanity. Btw, I’m glad Beto called him out for who he is and let the chips fall where they land.
I also liked he told the person asking him a stupid question, “what the F is that kind of question”.
Isn’t it interesting that repubs always start their mental illness false concern rhetoric only when the shooter is white? I don’t recall anyone fretting over the emotional problems of the 9/11 terrorists–they were simply murderous monsters fueled by hate, and describing these white supremacist scumbags as anything else just highlights their prejudice.
POS POTUS is now tweeting that the press is to blame..I’m not sure we can withstand much more of this.
Of course, the press. The fake news, the lame-stream news. How I hate the man. I’ll be in the corner sobbing.
I have this friend, a HUGE Trump supporter. Even though I unfriended him on facebook, I can still see his posts. I went on and read his and all his friends comments about the shootings. It is all the liberals fault. We all hate our great president. And how dare we say anything about White Supremacy when there is ANTIFA-the mother of all that is bad! There were actual comments from people saying they should just go after all opposed and get rid of them. And guns are needed to protect from the evil liberals. My brother-in-law stated Trump is the BEST president ever in his lifetime and he has donated thousands to him. It causes for some strained family events…we are not in the majority! It is such a sad time and people are getting so angry. I worry for my children and any children they may have.
I’ve stopped being with family who are in the trump cult. I had enough. They’re toxic, they really are, and sometime early this year, I actually had a talk with myself. I decided I love myself, and I don’t want to expose myself to toxicity.
Good plan, I think. I probably know some secret Trump supporters, but they keep their views to themselves. Any open and enthusiastic Trump supporters are no longer people I associate with. For my own sanity, such as it is.
My mom is ‘friends’ (air quotes because not so much now) with a woman like this. Know what the worst part is? She’s my former first-grade teacher. If she was like this before, she hid it well. I think she was radicalized by her brother who lives in the US. She is the most bitter woman I’ve ever met. It’s sad and I’ve never spoken to her about it, but I would love to know how she would react if I ever brought it up and asked her why she changed.
Assault weapons should be banned from civilian use. Nut up and do it already.
Yeah.
I think of those assault rifles as penis extenders. Whenever an idiot brags about having one, I think the only answer is to look sympathetic and ask them if the viagra didn’t work or if they are under-endowed. Because it has to be one of the two.
I live in Dayton Ohio. The shooters family was upper class in a upscale neighborhood. One of the victims of the shooting was his own fkn sister. She was at the bar with her boyfriend. The shooter had been kicked out of highschool but let back in due to his violence against women. He had a hitlist with multiple women on it. Nobody knows why he suddenly decided to go kill his sister and open fire on everyone else yet. He still lived at home as well and they took lots of evidence from their home yesterday. He would of done tons more damage because he first tried to go into a bar but his ID was expired so the bouncer didn’t let him in. The bouncer is a hero because he grabbed the barrel of the gun when he realized what was going to happen and that helped the police get him down in less than 60 seconds. The bouncer only suffered shrapnel injuries ❤️
I’m trying to picture the utter terror and fear if this happened in the busy areas of Boston on a Saturday night. It’s just impossible to fathom, yet what we’ve come to expect from our insane gun culture.
That bouncer was brave. I am so heart-broken for your city and all the victims and their families. Sigh.
I live a 1/2 mile from the Oregon District, and to wake up yesterday to find out we’ve become a site of a shooting is surreal. And as already mentioed, if the killer had made it into the bar the death toll would been much higher.
I’m so sorry. I wish I had words to capture the seething mixture of anger, frustration and sadness that I feel for all of you.
This didn’t need to happen.
NONE of this needed to happen.
The mother of the shooter is/as delusional. I’ve seen screenshots posted on other media sites of her bragging about son. Apparently, he and his sister made her homemade cards for Mother’s Day or something. She called that gesture a “parenting win”. She obviously knew about the lists he made of killing his high school classmates (male) and raping his female classmates. I wonder if his parent’s got him any therapy. The had to have known he was a ticking time bomb. Maybe they were just in denial.
Republican thinking 101:
Laws against guns won’t work
Laws against abortion will work
Apparently laws are self-aware and are selective on what areas they will and will not be effective on
i hate him. i fucking hate him. i hate half this country. i don’t care what these right wing lunatics want or how to reach them. i want them to go into their paranoid bunkers with their stupid guns and racist fears and inbreed to their rotting heart’s content. just stay away from our streets, our schools, our stores, our festivals, our bars and our bodies. just go the fuck away.
it makes me sick to my stomach but this isn’t new. mass shootings have been skyrocketing for 20 years. a huge part of the US population have been subject to this type of violence daily in their communities due to discrimination and racially inflicted trauma.
i want to them to ban guns outright. i don’t care about hunting. i don’t care about protection. get rid of them. why should we keep doing this over and over over A HOBBY. it is truly insane.
Agree with everything you said.
I fantasize that “live by the gun, die by the gun” will come true.
Yes. Yes. YES. All of this. F*ck these terrible people.
Totally agree. I am very worried that the horse left the barn though. IF we did get a new assault weapons ban, is it already too late? They have been stockpiling these things for years, since BUSH and Republicans allowed it to expire in 04. I fear we would have to have the feds go door to door and confiscate them at this point. That means near war, if not outright war.
So I think we are going to reach a place, very very soon, where we have a decision to make. Do we want to send in trained adults to fight his war, or do we want to keep sending our children and babies onto the battlefield ala Hunger Games?
My opinion? This country doesn’t have the stomach for what would have to be done.
As much as I hate to say it, I agree with you, Darla. Confiscating these guns or preventing them from circulating would be nearly impossible and would start a war. These nuts are hell bent on stockpiling their guns and protecting their 2nd amendment rights. All hell would break loose.
An outright ban on guns will never happen. These are the only countries to ban guns outright or have such strict policies in place it is almost impossible for a civilian to get one:
China – Restricted
Eritrea – Banned
India – Restricted
Indonesia – Restricted
Iran – Restricted
Japan – Restricted
Lebanon – Restricted
Malaysia – Restricted
North Korea – Banned
Singapore – Restricted
Taiwan – Restricted
Venezuela – Restricted
Vietnam – Restricted
I highly doubt we will add the US to that list. Other Western nations are able to balance the utility of guns (not just hobbies) with the safety of their people. There is no reason we couldn’t do that as well. Given the gun culture in the US (not just the Southern states, people) there is no conceivable way an outright ban ends well for anyone.
I’m speaking of an assault weapons ban, and here are some facts:
Bill Clinton banned assault weapons in 1994, & mass shooting deaths declined by 43%. Republicans purposely let the bill expire in 2004, and as a result mass shootings increased 239%.
So yes, it can be done, yes it can.
lindsay and darla made clear fact-posts that complemented each other well- thank you both (full ban unlikely, assault ban easy).
@Darla sure that could be and should be done. However, that’s not what the OP said:
“i want to them to ban guns outright. i don’t care about hunting. i don’t care about protection. get rid of them. why should we keep doing this over and over over A HOBBY. it is truly insane.”
You are moving the goal posts to a much more reasonable stance. I never said an assult weapons ban could not work – it has in the US before and mass shootings went down. It should definitely be reimplemented. I am not even all that worried about the crazies who have been stockpiling them. They tend to be focused on an upcoming war with the government which they will never be able to win. It’s the lone, quiet ones that are much more troubling.
ah yes because my comment on a gossip board was actually a complete policy outline for the solution to gun violence and not a something i wish for personally despite how reasonable or achievable it is. i will take your input and shove it up my own ass along with all the thoughts and prayers out there and the opions of people who throw up their hands and say “well – we’re too far gone. we can’t do anything”. its pretty snug up there but i think this one more will fit.
I mean..I think Lizzie’s comment was more of an emotional and rage-based reaction and I can’t say that it’s not something I haven’t said before, myself.
Look, I didn’t grow up with guns. Hunting is not something I would EVER in a million years do. I don’t have any desire to shoot at a range. I’ve never felt that guns make me or my family safer–I only see the emotional pain and lasting damage that they cause.
I don’t *get* guns.
That being said, as I said upthread, I can understand someone owning one or twon handguns for self-defense. I am NOT fine with people owning assault rifles or hoarding hundreds of guns. There has to be a middle ground there and it has to start with reinstating the assault weapon bab.
I’m with Lizzie actually, I would overturn the 2nd amendment, period. But I am screaming for an assault weapons ban because we can get it, we can get it. I want to see it again in my lifetime.
This is horrific. I was last in Cleveland two years ago and I felt safe then, but I’m not travelling to the US again any time soon. It’s just horrific. Gun violence is now as common as blowing your nose. I don’t know what it’ll take for things to change. How many more people have to die?
The sad thing is, none of it matters to Trump. None of it is real to him because he’s never lived in the real world. He and Melania really don’t care.
Worse, he loves it this way. Loves it. This is what he and his buddies want.
These attacks break my heart and terrify me. My son is 22 months old. Places like Wal-Mart, the Gilroy festival, or even going out for drinks with my friends on the weekends… these are the sorts of places I go regularly, and as a SAHM mom my son goes with me on those errands and to events like the garlic festival. After this past week I just kept thinking “that could have easily been us at the fourth of July fair, or the amusement park, or target.”
I hate Trump and what he’s doing to our country. The hate he encourages and incites, the ignorance and confusion he spreads with such childish glee. I try so hard not to hate people and to be understanding and give them the benefit of the doubt, but for him I cannot give a pass. The very sound of his voice fills me with rage and nausea. We need this nightmare to end. Our country can’t survive another four years of this cancer. As it stands it’ll take decades to undo all the harm he’s done (that we’re able to rectify. Some things, like the trauma imposed on children at the border and to those who have lost loved ones to these terrorists, we’ll never be able to make whole.)
I agree– as a parent it is so awful to always have these thoughts now–not just worrying about your kids being shot in school but in virtually any public place.
I literally think about it every time I take my kid into a movie theater or mall.
The effing bastard was trying hard to look sincere during his speech. He has the balls (shrunken) to act like he hasn’t been the cheerleader in chief of white nationalist hatred. MAGA is all about white supremacy. In his view, making ‘merica great again means getting rid of the troublesome brown people.
You could see the glee in his eyes, in some part of his diseased mind he was getting off on the chaos and the fact that there are nutjobs out there basically doing what he tells them to.
Yes, a demonic hard-on from all of these tragedies. . . .
Trump just blamed video games for the shootings. Video games, y’all.
@Canber, That’s why I could not watch that lying pos. I knew he would poo poo 💩 what’s going on in the country and shift the blame from himself. He did not mention white supremacy. Tomorrow he will tell us there are good people on both side. He believes the majority of the country are fools. I hope everyone goes out and vote November 2020 and Make America Sane Again.
This Walmart is 1 mile away from our house . My friend’s aunt and uncle were shot. My family was there a few days before the shooting. I have a family member in hospital near the Walmart. I witnessed first hand how the hospital staff worked together as a team. The hospital staff was prepared to take in patients. Off duty nurses and doctors came in and worked over time. We had long lines for blood donation. El Pasoans delivered food and water to the hospital staff. El Paso businesses offered free funeral services to the families of the deceased. Free counseling was available to families in the waiting rooms. I just want to make it clear that El Paso is a safe city. El Pasoans are kind and compassionate people who embrace everyone. Someone from out of town did this to us due to the hatred in his heart. I am not one to judge him but God will and he will face the heavy consequences in court and in the eyes of God.
We know, we know. He drove seven hours to commit his hate filled carnage, slaughtering innocents, including Mexican citizens who routinely shopped there with no problems. People were there to take advantage of the back to school sales. So sorry.
In this case I wish Texas still used the electric chair.
Watching the coverage of the long donation lines, descriptions of the medical community and hospital staff’s tremendous efforts, etc., illustrated to me what a good community you have.
I am so sorry this happened in your area, and to people close to you.
Completely his fault. Everyone knew this was coming. It’s his fault. Republican’s fault. McConnell’s fault.
He’s a barrel of laughs. Here he jokes about shooting immigrants. No need to wonder what inspired Crusius.
https://twitter.com/robertmaguire_/status/1158014418065776642?s=21
Such weird body language in that clip. He’s vibrating & bouncing with evil.
Oh the death penalty now?? Way to bring yet another divisive issue into the mix to keep us libtards distracted. And oh won’t that bode so well with his insane followers. He needs to have a heart attack already. I would love it if he faced real justice but that seems unlikely. All my thoughts and prayers for massive coronary. It might be the only thing that saves us.
Texas has had and used the death penalty for decades. It has not deterred anyone from anything in the state in which four of the ten deadliest mass shootings have occurred.
I agree. It doesn’t deter crime at all. Any kind of crime. Trump knows this. Many of these shooters go into the shooting expecting to die. It’s a stupid crumb for his dumb cultist and an opportunity to change the conversation for his opposition. We aren’t falling for it but the MAGAts are going to use it as a way of saying he isn’t racist because he wants to kill racists. They’ll feast on that crumb for years.
The death penalty deters nothing. It has been proven by multiple studies and the Three Strikes Law also does squat. While I am a propoent of the death penalty in certain cases (serial killers, child killers) it is not working as a deterrent to crime.
I think about his vascular system (cardio and cerebro) a lot too.
This idiot somehow managed to get the city wrong in his speech?
Toledo instead of Dayton. I mean at least pretend to care…. urghhhh
He doesn’t make any efforts to get any information correct [i.e., very poor grammar within his tweets and his speeches, U.S. History/Geography (as shown re: the state of Ohio), international protocols (he displayed when during his UK visit in front of Queen Elizabeth), his manner of dress and grooming (orange makeup, hideous hair plugs for that 🤮 backflip, misfitting clothes), etc.]. So, I’m sure most the nation, except for the *MAGATS, are not surprised about the way Dump-Trump carries/conducts himself.
*(P.S.: MAGATS usually commenting, “Ah duh, Prezdent Trump, heez soo smart!”🙄 )
Apparently, trumpkins said Toledo rather than Dayton in his speech today. Idiot. Shows how much thought he’s given to the weekend’s events. Wouldn’t want to distract from his golf game and crashing weddings though.
He crashed weddings at his golf course over the weekend, posed with rich deplorables from Staten Island.
Thank you for mentioning part of his weekend was spent attending a wedding at his club he also tweeted about a boxing match, I believe, and golfing. The man don’t care what’s happening in the country. This morning he read a speech someone wrote for him. Watch his behavior the end of this week and going forward. I bet my home he’s not going to change a thing. His next rally we will see he’s back to normal, nothing will change. It took him two days to make a statement to the American people because no one was around to tell him what to do or say, sad.
Oh is that where those monsters were from? I saw the pics and was disgusted. As a lifelong NY’er this really makes sense. Of course they were from Staten Island, of course they were.
Candice Keller, Ohio State Rep. explains the reasons for mass shootings. She Republican, need I say.
https://twitter.com/brettpransky/status/1158223751382745088?s=21
And some believe this type of thinking is limited to the southern half of the country. This one is just stating what some will not vocalize. And I will never believe it is limited to any single geographic area or socioeconomic class.
You are right, my state is far from southern (it borders Canada actually) and we have plenty of this kind of thinking up here as well.
Trump is a racist piece of trash, and always has been. But keep your eye on Thiel’s Palantir and the new manifestations of Cambridge Analytica. These orgs have such massive amounts of our data, and much of it is stolen health records. They may be targeting subjects who records show have fantasizes about killing, and then encourage them online. For the 2016 election, they worked with the Russian GRU, who has been using psychological operations against innocent Russians for decades. Their targeting tools are very sophisticated. Please report any suspicious behavior to the FBI. Help them stop the next shooter.
I always thought that I would go to the US next year after my last year of Master. My dad told me over the weekend, please go anywhere, but not there. I’ll listen this time.
I’m sick of feeling helpless and unhelpful. What actions/volunteering are you all taking that you feel like has an effect? I call, I write, but that’s not enough and I’m so torn up about what to do where. There are so many fronts.
Moms Demand Action is a great organization if you can spare bucks and/or time.
The media/journalists did not cause this. The media/journalists need to stop using vague language. He LIED. He is a RACIST. He is a WHITE SUPREMIST. He entices VIOLENCE.
*supremacist
What is terrifying to me is that the president is not only spreading this vile filth, he is actively encouraging the violent cult that is Q. Those people are deranged and need help, but the president is instead pulling them onstage and encouraging their insane rhetoric to feed his ego. Looking at their twitter posts makes me terrified of what they may do if the Q “prophecies” don’t come true.
I feel like a broken record but I just can’t with this anymore. All I feel is sadness and despair.
This is all so truly terrifying. Our president tweets after acts of terrorism and something even as small as that is given a pass. Never mind every other damn thing happening.
McConnell tweeted a photo of Amy McGrath’s name on a tombstone. I just cannot.
“Hours after the El Paso shooting, Mitch McConnell proudly tweeted this photo. I find it so troubling that our politics have become so nasty and personal that the Senate Majority Leader thinks it’s appropriate to use imagery of the death of a political opponent (me) as messaging.”
https://twitter.com/AmyMcGrathKY/status/1158411295852511233
What a hideous thing to do.
Heaven help us. Seriously.
Sorry I should correct that it was not Mitch himself but his senate campaign twitter account, “Team Mitch”. They also tweeted this photo of a group of young white men, one of whom is pretending to strangle a life-size cardboard cut-out of AOC.
https://twitter.com/Infantry0300/status/1158455323042230283?s=20
They are just so disgusting.
Oh my god.
Toledo. Never forget.
I live not far from El Paso and earlier learned the husband/father of the woman shielding their baby was also killed
I want to see the gun and ammo manufacturer$ held to account along with the NRA.
On Anna Navarro’s Twitter account she lists all those called out by dt including Bette Midler but not white supremacist domestic terrorists.
“Go back to where you came from!”
Me: :”Oh Santa Fe. Can’t afford it w/ all the movie stars and 1% living there. You do know it used to be Mexico and before that Spain and before that . . .”