It is only the first week in September and already it has happened
A 14-year-old student opened fire at his Georgia high school on Wednesday, killing two students and two teachers before surrendering to school resource officers, according to the authorities, who said the suspect would be charged with murder.
The attack, which also injured at least nine people, stoked fear and anguish in Winder, a city of roughly 18,000 people in the exurbs of Atlanta, as the community grappled with a burst of violence that the local sheriff described as “pure evil.”
Fourteen families are changed forever. Friends are dumbfounded as to what to do. People will be looking to blame anyone and everyone who may have been able to prevent the attack. Lawsuits will be filed. Sides will be taken. The community will be torn apart. The school administrators and school board will shut down communication based on the advice of their lawyers. Answers will be sought, but none will be provided willingly for fear of more legal action.
If you don’t believe me, look at what has happened at Oxford, Michigan. Today an appeals court in Michigan heard arguments on why a district judge erred in ruling the school district and employees were immune from lawsuits. It has been 2 years and 10 months since the Oxford high school shooting, and it remains in the news today. Unfortunately, the media articles usually rehash the shooting and show pictures of the victims. Making it harder for the families to move forward.
In the meantime, the politicians will make the case that we need to do something about mental health and gun violence while the TV cameras are rolling. Once the red light is turned off, nothing will happen, and I will be writing a similar article next month.
Question of the Day: How many more students need to die before something is done to limit access to guns and to address the lack of access to mental health services in our country and communities?
We have grown to accept mass killings. We should be ashamed of ourselves.
Today’s shooting in Georgia was the country’s 29th mass killing this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At least 127 people have died this year in those killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
Last year ended with 217 deaths from 42 mass killings in the U.S., making 2023 one of the deadliest years on record.
This is just another stat in a boatload of stats which we collect about avoidable deaths in our country. We have a society the accepts a certain number of avoidable deaths. Deaths such as obesity, suicides, automobile accidents, murders, cancer from smoking, lack of vaccinations etc. are avoidable, but we accept them as part of life. We take the attitude that it is someone else’s problem. It only becomes our problem when it affects one of our loved ones. Unfortunately, by then it is too late.
See my Video of the Day: Kris Allen singing If We Keep Doing Nothing. It is worth your time.
Two months to go
The presidential election is heating up. Independent and undecided voters are being wooed. Based on the latest polls, every vote in each swing state matters. Swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin are going to get the candidates undivided attention.
If you care, get out and vote. If you care, make sure all your friends and neighbors vote. If you care, make sure everyone you know gets out and votes. If you care, make sure your friends and neighbors are registered to vote. If you care, make sure everyone you know is registered to vote.
Today I read an article that only 40% of eighteen-year-olds are registered to vote. This needs to change quickly. Their future is at stake. If you know an eighteen-year-old, make sure they are registered to vote.
The Detroit Lions
For the first time in nearly 60 years, the Lions are considered serious contenders for winning the Super Bowl. Most betting sites have the Lions in the top four teams most likely to win the Super Bowl. Since the Lions made the conference finals last year, this seems reasonable.
We will find out early if the Lions are going to be contenders as they take on the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford on Sunday. As we learned in the first playoff game last year, the Rams have two of the best receivers in the NFL with Puka Nacua and Cooper Cupp. Nacua, a rookie last year, torched the Lions secondary last year in the first game of the playoffs. Every time Nacua touched the ball, Lions fans were holding their breath.
The Lions enter the season healthy. Injuries will play a major role in every team’s season. Those with the greatest depth will overcome the injuries. However, very few teams can overcome an injury to the starting quarterback which lasts for an extended period. The Lions are no exception. An injury to Jared Goff will sink the season quickly. Fortunately, the Lions have one of the best offensive lines to protect Goff.
It will be exciting.
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Quote of the Day: Former president #45 says his wandering speech is deliberate. He calls it “the weave.” “I’ll talk about, like, nine different things, and they all come back brilliantly together, and it’s like, and friends of mine that are, like, English professors, they say, ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’”
Orchid of the Day: Leah, 47 miles on her bike since Saturday, and tomorrow it will be a few hours in the kayak. For a person who grew up in a non-athletic family, she is an athletic beast when it comes to outdoor exercise.
Onion of the Day: We the people, for accepting one school shooting after another and not demanding immediate action related to easy access to guns and the lack of access to adequate mental health services in our schools and communities.
Video of the Day:
Kris Allen – If We Keep Doing Nothing – 3/17/2016 – Paste Studios, New York, NY (youtube.com)