(thanks to David Flanders for this one)
The events in Orlando do nothing more than demolish our most treasured illusions about ourselves and our country and—most trivially—our politics. How many of the congresscritters now sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims in Orlando, and to their families, spent a lot of time in their day jobs making the everyday lives of those victims more miserable than they had to be? There’s still an audience for clean-shaven, well-tailored bigotry of all faiths…. It is never innocence which gets lost in these episodes. It’s illusions. Americans can make war on each other for the most sacred of reasons—reasons drawn from the Scriptures of all faiths, reasons drawn from our own conceptions of the divine, of our relationships with our personal Lords and saviors. We have a positive genius for this kind of thing. Lincoln spoke about that when he spoke about the series of mass shootings that he had to address during his presidency. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other.
We Americans collectively tend to have a very high opinion of ourselves; how else might one explain “American Exceptionalism?” By and large, we’re convinced that we’re #1 in just about everything…even though the list of things in which we actually come out on top seems to be shrinking by the day.
One thing we definitely DO lead the world in is gun violence. Mass shootings have become a uniquely American phenomenon. Though we hardly hold a monopoly or patent rights when it comes to mass murder, we ‘Mericans find ourselves exposed to it far more than any other country in the world.
“USA!!! USA!!! USA!!”…as if being #1 in inflicting mass bloodshed and suffering is something to be proud of.
We also excel in hating those we revile as The Other ©, those we fear because they think, believe, live, and/or love differently than what we believe to be correct. Those who don’t adhere to our narrow moral/ideological/theological framework are those we too often define as “less than,” as somehow unworthy of being treated with the dignity and respect we demand as our due.
The shooting in Orlando, as it turns out, was one of two attempts at mass murder connected to Pride events being held in the various LGBT communities around the country. It was merely the one that succeeded. Just as the police in Orlando were producing details about Omar Mateen, the Los Angeles Times reported that a man had been arrested in a car full of weapons and explosives that was headed for the West Hollywood Gay Pride Parade.
Santa Monica Police spokesman Saul Rodriguez confirmed that the suspect was from Indiana and that weapons were found in the car, but added that police “were not aware of what the suspect’s intentions were at this point.” Neighbors called police after he was spotted knocking on doors and “loitering in the area,” Rodriguez said. Santa Monica police were searching the suspect’s white Acura on Sunday morning near 11th Street and Michigan Street where the arrest was made. All four of the car’s doors were open, and a green blanket, red gasoline canister and several other smaller items were being piled on the sidewalk next to it.
What is it that allows us- and by “us,” I’m referring to the White Christian majority- to feel as if we’re God’s Chosen Ones, that we ipso facto sit at the pinnacle of the sociocultural food chain, and assume- to quote a friend- that “our $#!& don’t stink?” Do we really believe ourselves to be superior simply because of our skin pigment and religious faith? Is Manifest Destiny real and not just a self-congratulatory justification for placing ourselves above those not “fortunate” enough to be born White and Christian? Are we really arrogant enough to believe that, though there are approximately 4200 religions practiced by humanity, ONLY ours is correct, and the adherents of the other 4199 are heretics worthy only of destruction?
It seems that with each mass shooting, we become a bit more tired and resigned to a reality in which a madman with an AR-15 can walk into a public space and open fire for any reason…or no reason at all. We increasingly accept such random horror and widespread bloodshed as our new “normal.” Since those we elect refuse to take any action that might keep us safe (or at least safer), what are we to do?
The one common them running through every mass shooting in this country is that the victims bleed, suffer, and die the same way. Regardless of skin color, sexuality, or religious faith, the blood spilled is the same color; a bullet doesn’t recognize or respect the artificial dividers we’ve become inured, even addicted to.
We live in a time when “thoughts and prayers” have become the default reaction to mass murder, so much so they’ve become a running joke and a hashtag. This is what happens when random slaughter becomes the norm and we gradually lose the capacity for outrage and demanding our elected representatives DO something to stop the carnage.
(#thoughtsandprayers)
