Another Day in America
That’s what we’ve chalked it up to now.
This past Saturday, nine people died and ten more were injured in a mass shooting at a shopping mall in Allen, TX. Those who passed away include a pair of 8 and 11-year-old siblings, a 20-year-old college student, and a young family of three, aged 37, 35, and 3, who leave a 6-year-old in this world without his parents or younger brother.
I mean… when will something change for God’s sake? It feels like just yesterday I was writing a blog on the shooting at the Elementary School in Tennessee, yet here I am at the age of 22, trying to put into words some jumbled bag of emotions that range from sheer sadness to rage at gun lobbies to concern as to not if, but when, Nebraska is next.
In the same way that I have grown up with technology, learning how to use the computer lab in 4th grade, I have also grown up with mass shootings being an accepted reality of the American experience. My whole life has been marked by candlelight vigils and active shooter drills, but no substantive change to actually save lives.
I think this country needs to take a long look in the mirror and actually figure out not just how to diagnose the problem *cough* gun reform *cough*, but also, how to address the underlying issues that lead people to commit gun violence.
Common Sense
Apparently, common sense isn’t as common as its name would lead me to believe. The lack of common sense gun laws across our country implies that about half our country, or one political party’s worth of elected officials, don’t have common sense. I can’t say I disagree with that statement.
Despite what Republican politicians would like you to believe, common sense gun reform isn’t part of some socialist scheme to take all the guns away. According to a Harvard study, 83% of gun owners and 72% of NRA members actually believe in common sense universal background checks.
But if the policy is so popular, why hasn’t it passed?
Money talks, and clearly buys votes too. The NRA has donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates up and down the ballot. It is clear that the PINOs (pro-life in name only) care about the sanctity of life ONLY when their pockets don’t suffer.
Extremism– The Crack in Our Foundation
The most recent mass shooting in Allen was committed by a young 33-year-old man who “espoused an obsession with violence and extremist ideology”. He had a slew of Nazi tattoos across his chest and was a proud white supremacist– yet, extremism and domestic terrorism aren’t a problem in our country according to fake moderate Rep. Don Bacon.
To the right, we see a chart documenting the frequency and severity of mass shootings over the years. As illustrated, there is a pretty definitive marker in the rise of school shootings around 2015-2016. Hmmmm… I wonder what prominent person spouting extremist rhetoric around that time might have had some correlation to the increase in violence?
These mass shootings are what happens when extremists wield power and have a platform. Whether it be the neo-Nazi this week, the white supremacist who targeted an African American grocery store in Buffalo, New York, or the xenophobe who murdered 23 Mexican-Americans in El Paso in 2019, the surge in right-wing hate crimes is undeniable.
The perpetrators in Buffalo and El Paso both cited Tucker Carlson’s “white replacement theory”, which has also been parroted by GOP leaders such as Senator JD Vance and Chair of the House Republican Caucus Elise Stefanik.
Aidan Scully is a Harvard contributor who fell down the alt-right pipeline in his adolescent years and had the following to say, “Caught in the alt-right spiral, I told myself the world misunderstood me, when in reality, I had just cut myself off from it. My mental health only recovered when I escaped the pipeline.”
These rhetoric extremists, such as Vance, Stefanik, Tucker Carlson, and former President Donald Trump, all exploit this, finding people at their lowest, cutting them off from reality, and bombarding them with fascist and hateful lies.
When Republicans claim “mental health is the problem”, they need to take a look in the mirror. Their own extremist rhetoric is the catalyst of a large portion of this violence, and there needs to be accountability in that regard if this country is serious about saving lives.
Around the Horn
Serial liar and Republican Congressman George Santos was charged with 13 counts of federal charges. The New York Representative has, among other things, lied about his mother dying in 9/11, claimed he is Jew-ish; not Jewish, and to add to his record, he has now committed embezzlement, fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. The GOP is still currently allowing him to serve in office.
Former President Donald Trump took a page out of Santos’ book, getting charged with his own crimes this week! The ex-President and current presumed nominee was found liable for the sexual assault of a woman who claimed he raped her in the 1990s. Though Trump is the one charged here, I think the real indictment is on the moral fiber of the Republican party for letting a rapist/racist (doesn’t matter which way it’s spelled, both apply) be the face of their party.
In other news, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is holding the entire global economy hostage by not raising the debt ceiling. McCarthy must make concessions to his right flank, led by alleged pedophile Matt Gaetz, in order to get the deal done and keep his job. The hold-up is occurring because Gaetz is only willing to help the debt ceiling if it is under $18.
To leave you on a good note– abortion is still legal in Nebraska! Despite the GOP’s attempts to strip women of bodily autonomy. The bill has now been coupled with LB574, the “Let Them Grow” Act. The bill will be up for debate this coming Tuesday, May 16th. If possible– show your solidarity and make your voice heard at the Capitol on Tuesday evening to fight against the GOP’s authoritarian policies.
Thank you for reading!
Please consider becoming a monthly donor to the party as we build toward 2024!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out at jack@nebraskademocrats.org.
All the best,
Jack Schiewe
