When will the insanity end? Thoughts on the Massacre at the Pulse in Orlando

     Once again,  the Mad Flood of hate,  bigotry  and violence that has permeated America has reared its horrible head and produced a tragedy of monumental proportions.   This morning,  at around 2 AM,  a madman  entered the Pulse in Orlando, Fl  and opened fire with a rifle.  The toll, as of the late afternoon, is 50 dead, and 53 in hospital with varying wounds.  While the data is still fuzzy,  as it is early times,   it appears that the shooter was offended by seeing a couple of guys, kissing each other,  and chose to attack the Pulse (which is one of the biggest, and best known gay bars in the area).   As the day has progressed,  there have been some weird twists.  For example,  apparently he called 911 and told the operator that he was swearing allegiance to Daesh and the current piece of slime that is heading it up  right before he went into the club.   He also has been working as a security officer for the past seven years, and had both weapons training,  and gun permits.   Although he was born in NYC,  his parents immigrated from Afghanistan,  so he was also a US citizen and, had not shown any obvious signs of radicalization before today.  His father has issued a statement saying that he and his wife were shocked and amazed at their son’s actions, and had no idea he was on this path.   On the other hand,  his ex-wife was interviewed and said that he had become quite abusive in their relationship before she got out.   The full story will come out,  I am sure, but, right now,  it is pretty chaotic.

     As always happens,  there is this momentary burst of folks posting rants about how Americans need to give up their guns (which is their idea of “gun control”).   I rather doubt that anything like this will happen as even this huge massacre will be unlikely to move legislators in that direction.   My view of the situation is somewhat different.   I believe that a bigger factor is the society of hatred, bigotry, and violence that we have allowed to permeate American society.   Today,  we have a Right-Wing Presidential Candidate who has come out in support of not only killing terrorists who attack America,  but, killing their families too.   He has promised that not only will he return waterboarding to the toolkit of the Spooks but, will authorize much more extensive torture in an attempt to extract information from prisoners.   He actively denigrates and disrespects almost every race that is not White.   He has claimed that ALL Muslims are terrorists out to destroy America.   He has claimed that Undocumented workers from Mexico are actually rapists and murderers.  I could go on, but, will simply say that he is not the only one of the Right-Wingers to support extremist views.   Because of this preaching hate,  there have been myriad attacks on folks that LOOK Middle Eastern,  no matter whether or not they are Muslim or not.   There has been a spike in vandalism against churches serving the minority community.   Even the cops are getting in on the “fun”…killing unarmed people of color on a daily basis.  Granted,  a couple of these psychopaths have been charged and gone to prison,  but, a vast majority walk, in spite of video evidence showing that their actions were uncalled for.  Perhaps saddest of all are the number of so-called Christian churches  who are no longer preaching the gospel of Love as presented by Christ,  but, rather, are picking and choosing verses from the Old Testament to support their agenda of hate and oppression against various groups of society.   I am of the opinion that part of the radicalization of today’s killer  came from being exposed to this hate speech and calls for action against those that are considered “Enemies”.

     What can we do about this?   I have no idea what the complete answer is,  but, I know some things that would make a difference.   For example;  We should spend more time examining ourselves,  and use that introspection to help us understand what controls our attitudes and actions.  Only then, can we stop being completely controlled by the programming given us by others and control our own life.

     We, who have decided to reproduce,  should take on the burden of parenthood with enthusiasm,  and teach our children to behave ethically, and with love and tolerance for all.   We should refuse to stand by as a spectator when we see Evil growing.

The shooter, for example,  planted a number of red flags that have been reported.  His descent into domestic abuse is a huge warning sign that his mind was being taken over by Evil,  and the sort of Evil which leads to very bad actions.   I am sure that a number of people knew about this, yet did nothing.   It is a shame, for example, that his wife – his primary target – did not go to the police and file a complaint.   I can certainly understand why she might have been too frightened to do so on her own,  but, if one of the silent watchers had stepped up to support her,  he could have been arrested,  and would not have been able to acquire the weapons he used in the attack.   His melt down over seeing a couple of guys kissing a few weeks ago should have been a warning sign that should have pushed someone to contact his employer and see if he could get some help.   We shall see what shows up in the next couple of weeks as the investigation continues,  but, I suspect he will have a record of increasingly fanatical posts to social media.  Again,  someone should have cared enough about him to try and get him help.   This reenforces the truth of that old bit of wisdom that “the only thing Evil needs to succeed is for Good Men to do nothing”.

     Pleasant dreams.

     bee Man Dave