Can we talk?

Nice man, soothing voice but not
an author of social commentary. Sorry.

I like to think that on a very good day, what I do here holds some of the more ugly, mean and nasty things we all have to deal with in life up to ridicule. In the process, I hope to reduce those mean and ugly things somewhat, making them a little less scary, a little less unmanageable, a little less overwhelming. I'm still struggling with what happened last Friday and I find myself less than up to the task of bringing the LOLZ today. I've tried, but I just can't come up with a fart joke that adequately expresses my thoughts on the matter.
Also, being completely honest, I really don't like some of you people right now. As such, I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of participating in a civil discussion about it, at least today.

Regardless, At some point, we all need to be grown-ups and at least talk about this and what we're going to do about it. Things aren't over once Morgan Freeman weighs in, especially when he doesn't.

For what it's worth, in the interest of full disclosure, I don't like guns. I was in the military, where I was required to use weapons, but I always considered them tools for specific tasks, not as toys for recreational purposes or as something to hoard, stockpile or collect as a defense against unknown enemies. As might already be evident, I have a pretty low opinion of gun enthusiasts. I tend to think of those people as irresponsible, paranoid, and ultimately, cowardly morons with penis envy issues who sit around fantasizing about "blowing away" somebody who messes with their stuff. I fully recognize that this is a stereotype, that it's practically a cartoon and that it doesn't apply to all gun owners. I admit this as a fault on my part, not a virtue. I will say in my defense that this prejudice is informed by things like drunken football fans shooting a tv, another one riding around in a golf cart and shooting a water tower, and last but not least, my own personal experience as a victim of gun violence. If I'm being honest, I have to admit that these things simply can't represent every person who owns a gun and to believe otherwise is unfair and intellectually dishonest. However, by the same token, gun owners can't say they don't exist. Being as anti-gun as I am, I wouldn't mind seeing every one of them turned in and melted down as scrap metal. But I know that everything I'd like to see happen isn't going to come to pass. I also know that not only is that impractical, it isn't even correct. Or fair, for that matter. However, I can live without getting my way. I can be okay with that if some of you are willing to concede that there is a problem and that adhering to or hiding behind one narrow interpretation of what was valid and necessary 250 years ago might not be a suitable way to go about business today. It would be a start at least. Christ, can we at least agree that this is simply unacceptable and that we can do better? I'd happily settle for that.

Anyway, here are some links to articles that I think are relevant and pertinent that do a much better job of addressing my views on these issues than I could, even on a very good day. Let's get together soon and talk about what needs to be done, or at least what can be done*. Thanks.

Replying to my pro-gun friends by Annabel Park

Thinking the Unthinkable by Liza Long

Columbine: Whose Fault Is It? by Marilyn Manson

The 2nd Amendment. Is the Intent Clear? by Jane Devin


Full transcript of President Obama's address at Newtown

* Unless you're one of these people who honestly believe it starts and ends with "Killers are gonna kill; that's the cost of freedom", because I find that so cinder block-headedly stupid and offensive that I never want to talk to you about anything. Sorry. I'm not willing to give back on all of my prejudices.