Trump says Texas church mass shooting not a 'guns situation'.
After the Nov. 5 Texas church shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs near San Antonio, let’s not even debate Donald Trump's views on Islamic vs. other types of terrorist activity, or how his spin on mass murder changes as it rolls off the tongue — experienced charlatan that he is — depending on whether the perpetrators of such heinous crimes are U.S.-born, homegrown people of color, or white like Devin Kelley. Indeed, let it suffice to say that his descriptive spectrum for perpetrators ranges from being “an animal” to merely a “deranged individual,” according to color, ethnicity, and religious affiliation.
More importantly, don’t count on Trump or our Republican Congress to actually do anything beyond offering “thoughts and prayers” to the families and those affected. Don’t expect them to publicly connect the dots either on mental health issues and the need for adequate gun control legislation. They enjoy the kickbacks, perks and campaign contributions from industry bedfellows within the gun and healthcare lobbies too much to care what happens to you, or me.
Case in point:
Donald Trump’s Nov. 5, 2017 statement, after the Texas church shooting: “This isn’t a guns situation. This is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event.”
Headline for Feb. 28, 2017: "Trump Signs Bill Revoking Obama-Era Gun Checks for People With Mental Illnesses"
Can the hypocrisy be any more blatant?
Maybe, I should be careful about putting this question out into the universe about a man who has shown that scraping the bottom of the barrel on ethics and morality only reveals how much deeper that bottom of the proverbial barrel is than we previously thought.
Perhaps, the real question to ask is, why are we experiencing the extremely high incidence of mental health issues that drive seemingly regular Americans to mass murder, certainly more so than in other developed countries? What is it about AMERICA that is creating these alarming mental health — and the opioid epidemic — issues? Furthermore, what does it say about AMERICA, vis-à-vis the rest of the world, when we have appointed our own mental basket case to the Oval Office and provided him free access to nuclear codes? Indeed, what does it say about AMERICA’s mental health when our own representatives in Congress continue to ignore actual advice from mental health professionals who currently advocate for Trump’s removal under the 25th Amendment on the grounds that he is mentally and psychologically unfit to be president?
We are who we are from the head down. Literally. Figuratively.
What’s more, for those of us thinking that such major incidents, as happened recently in Texas, New York and Las Vegas — covered ad infinitum, ad nauseum by CNN and the like — are the only incidents of mass shootings that have taken place in America this year, here’s a reality check courtesy of Mass Shooting Tracker, with dates, incidents and the numbers killed or wounded, by year.
Numbers highlighted red = Killed: 531. Numbers highlighted grey = Wounded: 1,619.
Could it be that we don't have adequate, affordable, accessible healthcare for all? Now, there's a “novel” thought — that access to proper healthcare could actually make a difference. Yet, here is our Hypocrite-in-Chief signing away the most basic of safeguards for gun control, while simultaneously advocating against a universal healthcare system that would provide that very thing. You know, the way it works in other civilized, developed countries that don’t have the kinds or frequency of mass murder incidents like the United States.
Could it be also that we don't pay sufficient attention to social issues like childcare and the kind of millennial family environment we have created in which marriages fail 50 percent of the time — often for issues involving domestic violence?
Could it be that we have become accepting of domestic arrangements in which people are having children with random multiple partners, which, in turn, often creates issues of abandonment? It is a rarity to find a traditional nuclear family today — not that dysfunction doesn’t arise also in that setting (so, please don’t jump on me). My point is that many parents today are becoming increasingly marginal or divorced from their children in the pursuit of their own happiness — in new lives with new wives and baby daddies.
That creates issues.
Could it be that we are underestimating the loss of those left behind and their inability to cope, which pushes them over the edge? Grown adults from such home environments are more prone to drunkenness, drug use and suicide. You’ve all heard the statistics before.
Could it be, also, that we are not taking care of our veterans, many of whom had no idea what they signed up for when they looked for ways to avoid that "specialized mortgage," AKA student loan debt?
Could it be that we underestimate the level of resentment such veterans feel about fighting rich men's wars that have little to do with "liberty and justice for all"? Colin Kaepernick can give a masterclass on this topic.
Could it be that we are divorcing the reality of circumstances in which people live at subsistence level on minimum wage for years, while the income gap of the top 1 percent grows daily by deliberate fiscal public policy decisions that are creating an oligarchy rather than building democracy?
In other words, can we truly divorce a discussion on mental health from a preparedness to address the contributory causes?
Most importantly, haven't we had enough yet?
How many politicians, children and babies, churchgoers, movie and concert attendees, employers and employees have to be gunned down? One only needs to be going about the business of daily life to be at risk now in America — and not from political terrorists or jihadists but our own home-grown insane variety.
Most importantly, do we do something meaningful about gun control now, or do we wait on the magic pill from the health and pharmaceutical industries that drive "healthcare" in this country and actually benefit from us being stark, raging lunatics?
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