The Mind-Numbing Sameness Of School Shootings in America
When tragedy becomes farce and reporting is like a book of Mad Libs.
Last year, I wrote about how we lived in David Koresh’s America after yet another mass shooting. Today, I’m reminded of how banal, how mundane, they have become, as we are four days into a new year and already have our first school shooting. Mass shooting incident happens somewhere, and here is how the next part goes:
Today, _______ was rocked by a [mass/school] shooting. The shooter, a __-year-old, was armed with an AR-15 style assault rifle, and later committed suicide as police surrounded the scene. ________, the [governor/mayor/senator] for _______, said that they were saddened by the senseless tragedy and offered their thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families. [If a Democrat], President ______ offered their condolences and spoke again about the need for comprehensive gun reform. [If a Republican] President ______ offered their condolences and spoke about the mental health crisis in America and the need to crack down on [criminals/drug runners/border crossings.]
The shooting is the ___[th/rd/st/nd] mass shooting in America this year. It is one of the [largest/smallest] death tolls for a mass shooting this year, and is unlikely to be the last. Gun safety advocates again reiterated their call for new laws to require background checks for all gun buyers, restrictions on how much ammunition can be purchased at once, and the total ban of all assault weapons. With a close divide in Congress, and Republicans unwilling to support any restrictions on gun ownership or purchase, change appears highly unlikely.
The only message that is sent to the rest of the world, let alone to the millions of people who want nothing to do with firearms is that we are run by deeply selfish politicians who care more about placating a violent minority and receiving NRA checks than they do our safety and well-being. A armed society is not a polite society; in fact, it’s one more likely to devolve into violence quicker. The cut-and-paste nature of reporting on this uniquely American issue, though, means the horror is now the norm, and the deaths but a statistic. There is no bottom, sadly. There is only Death in David Koresh’s America.