Last Saturday should鈥檝e been a day of normalcy for those at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Instead, it would end up being called the deadliest gun violence attack on the Jewish community in United States history.聽 Forty-six-year old Robert Bowers walked into the synagogue where innocent people had come to worship and started spraying not only bullets, but anti-Semitic vitriol to go along with the carnage.
Eleven people are now dead, and Bowers faces 29 charges, including hate crime charges that were filed earlier this week by federal prosecutors.聽 If he is convicted of a hate crime charge, Bowers could face the death penalty.
鈥淭he actions of Robert Bowers represent the worst of humanity,鈥� said Scott Brady, US Attorney.
In other words, just another day and just another batch of breaking news headlines in gun-totin鈥�, freedom-lovin鈥�, fellow-man-hatin鈥� America.
And it鈥檚 not going to stop.
Am I being overly-critical and far too glib on my take on gun violence in America?聽 Perhaps, and I鈥檒l leave it up to you to decide, but haven鈥檛 we all seen this dog and pony show before?聽 Can鈥檛 we recite the lines by heart from the overused script that everyone will read on the talk show circuit?聽 The one about how 鈥渨e鈥檝e got to stop gun violence, we鈥檝e got to take this fight to Washington, we鈥檝e got to raise our voices鈥�?
Here鈥檚 what typically happens in the days following every mass shooting that takes place:
There are approximately nine million headlines pumped out to the masses through TV, the Web and social media platforms that dissect every last detail surrounding the shooting, as well as the shooter(s).聽 And when I say 鈥榙issect鈥�, I mean a fine-toothed comb absolutely digs down to the core, including the shooter鈥檚 background, childhood upbringing, what their neighbors thought of them, what their favorite color was, what they ate for breakfast that morning, and perhaps whether they preferred Wheel of Fortune to Jeopardy.聽 Because all of this meaningless information spoon-fed to us is vitally important, people.
From there, it鈥檚 time for the talking heads to tell us what action we need to take.聽 The news figures will make some very vague statements regarding gun control that don鈥檛 go beneath the surface, and what action the 鈥済ood鈥� Democrats want to see taken, while the 鈥渆vil鈥� Republicans will of course downplay any said action and will most likely be positioned as the bad guys.
If your favorite CNN anchor hasn鈥檛 told you what to do yet, don鈥檛 worry, because the late night talk show hosts will do the exact same thing.聽 But tonight鈥檚 broadcast is a very special one because the host isn鈥檛 his normal joking self.聽 No, tonight Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are going to 鈥済et real鈥� with you.聽 Knowing Kimmel, he鈥檒l probably end up crying about it while he talks to you about the need for gun control.聽 Odds are that they鈥檒l probably trot out photos of the victims of that particular tragedy, and they鈥檒l be sure to promote some wonderful hashtag to try and get trending on social media.
Speaking of social media, it鈥檒l be its turn to attempt to show that it can make a difference.聽 What, didn鈥檛 you know that draping your Facebook profile picture in a 鈥渟pecial flag or symbol鈥� totally makes a difference and makes the bullets and bad guys disappear?
Then, after a span of maybe 9 or 10 days, these tried and true exercises in how North America reacts to a mass shooting will disappear in a flash.
Why?
Because gun violence in America is not going to stop.聽 The sad, plain fact at the end of the day is that it鈥檚 a horrendous cycle that keeps turning and coming back around to end more lives and make us all a little bit sicker to our collective stomachs.
It is not going to stop until there鈥檚 a real discussion on mental health and illness in our Western society, instead of just throwing dollars at it and saying, 鈥淵ou know, we just need to do more.鈥澛� I mean REALLY tackle the problem as to why someone feels the need to take an assault weapon and walk into a place such as a synagogue and end almost a dozen lives, or how we can help our veterans and trauma victims deal with the effects of PTSD.聽 Oh, and I mean *actual* PTSD, not the version that today鈥檚 generation tries to pass as the real deal simply because Donald Trump is President or they don鈥檛 have a 鈥渟afe space.鈥�
It is not going to stop until gun control is truly explored beneath the surface.聽 I鈥檓 talking the loopholes and regulations that still allow Joe Six-Pack to somehow get their hands on the kind of guns that should only be in the hands of our men and women who serve.聽 Something is very wrong with the way guns are able to pass hands, and ultimately, they land in the hands of someone who has only the darkest of intentions.
Seems like a couple of tall orders to combat gun violence, huh?
To the people in charge, that seems to be true.
And because of this, it鈥檚 not going to stop.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
