Monday, June 13, 2016

"Killing In The Name Of..."

I had planned on posting something lighthearted and fun today. Had it all written up and everything. I wanted to be that "fun guy" but, nope, now I've gotta be the asshole again. 
It's been a while since I've actually offended someone, I think. So I guess I'm overdue. You guys ready to be mad, call me names and cancel your subscriptions? Let's go then. 

I'm going to start off by saying that any senseless death is tragic. I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those killed in that club in Orlando over the weekend. It was needless, tragic and inexcusable. A deplorable act perpetrated by a misguided zealot. 

That being said, here's where I start making people mad. See.... I saw postings all over the internet where people weighed in. I saw speeches made by Emperor Nobama. I read and heard a lot of things that were just tremendously STUPID. 


First off, the Obama speech: he feels "gun control laws" are the issue. This Idiot in the Oval Office thinks we should blame guns. Hmm. Gun control. Well, let's see, if the folks in that club had had guns then a lot less of them would've perished, I'm sure. He was able to shoot as many people as he did because no one could defend themselves.
However, "gun control" will not keep people with murderous intent from killing. Quick to cry for gun control we forget several factors. Don't worry, we'll get back to the rest of this post afterward. I doubt there'll be a good segue because there's nothing humorous about this level of stupidity so bear with me. 

Factor one: the bad guys don't give two shits about gun laws. Period. Paris has pretty strict gun laws. Did that deter the terrorists in the slightest? Didn't appear to. 
Chicago is a "gun free zone" yet people get shot there pretty frequently. New York City also has shootings despite being "gun free". Apparently the bad guys there also just don't care about the gun laws. 
If people want to kill they simply will whether they're using planes (World Trade Center), trucks full of fertilizer (Oklahoma City Bombing), pressure cookers (Boston Marathon), knives, hammers, rocks, etc. When Cain slew Able do you think he cared that killing was bad? And he certainly didn't use a gun. 
Factor two: guns aren't the problem. People are. For millennia people have killed one another. Long before the advent of guns. You simply can't prevent extreme behavior and you usually can't predict it either. 

Factor three: stricter gun laws will only serve to keep people from being able to protect themselves. The best way to stop an active shooter is to shoot him back. Period. How did SWAT stop him? They shot his ass dead. 

Now, back to the story. I saw someone post that they blame Donald Trump because "he said things that promote hate and fear." Seriously?! This is Trump's fault now?! How asinine can you get? The ONLY person to blame for this was the radical Islamist who did the shooting. No one else is responsible for his actions. 
This goes hand in hand with me reading the other day about a girl who committed suicide because she was "bullied". The family says the kids who bullied the girl were to blame for her death. False. SHE killed herself, they didn't kill her. Though it's tragic to lose a loved one, she was responsible for her own actions. 
Accountability. We lack it sorely. Everything that happens we have to find someone to blame. (This prompts me to tell you that there will be another inflammatory post soon). 

Next up. I'm kinda curious about something here. People keep clamoring for "equality" and shit. "We need to quit labeling people..." I've seen this fun little gem in posts about transgender, LGBT, color, etc. 
So why was it necessary to immediately tell everyone it was a gay club? Is that supposed to raise the level of severity? I felt I was appropriately sympathetic for the families then I found out it was a gay bar. So does that mean now I've gotta be even more upset? 
Thinking back, I remember there being plenty of violence in a few of the bars I've worked in but I don't remember the papers or news saying anything about a "stabbing in a straight/heterosexual bar". Did we really need to differentiate what type of bar it was? "Don't label us but make sure you draw attention to our sexual preference when appropriate." What the hell? 
Same thing with the girl who committed suicide. "She was a promising young black woman." Couldn't she have just been "a promising young woman"? I'm unsure what skin color had to do with her level of promise or with her killing herself. 

There will always be separation of color and sexual orientation as long as BOTH sides are quick to point it out. Yes, I feel bad that someone radical thinking shithead killed those people. No, their color, age, gender or sexual preference didn't make me feel any more or less bad. When we can simply address each other as people instead of our sexuality or color THEN we will have made progress towards change. Until then it's just different levels of segregation. 

No, I'm not done. There's another thing about this that pisses me off. I saw several posts and pictures of tweets wherein people say variations of "I'm glad he killed perverts and not innocent people." That is an exact quote. Look, these were innocent victims. Have respect for them and their families. I know that there are Christian extremists who claim homosexuality is "an abomination to God". 
Let's set the record straight here. Christian extremists are no better than extremists from other religions. Religious extremism is wrong no matter your religion. 
Remember, it was Christians who slaughtered people in the Crusades, who tortured people during the Spanish Inquisition, that burned people alive at the Salem Witch trials, who slaughtered Native American men women and children wholesale, who drove Aborigines off cliffs... The list goes on. 

I subscribe to no religion and don't believe ANY religion should be an excuse for committing atrocities or being stupid. So you can call me whatever names you want but, before you go telling me how great your religion is, make sure you know your history because the most powerful weapons are knowledge and reason. 

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