Tragedy in Parkland, FL

 

Photos above: School shooting inspired school letters going out around the country this week. How to talk to your kids about senseless violence (brought to you by toxic masculinity and our gun worshiping militarized society).

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Another school shooting. I don't want to keep saying that. But here are the details:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43081361

The victims:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/us/florida-shooting-victims-school/index.html


An action:



There is always a rash of calls for gun control or an assault weapon ban after a mass shooting. Liberals calling Congresspeople to account for their NRA money. All good things. Conservatives always responding with - wait a minute families need time to grieve and don't politicize these children's deaths. Of course we should be beating down the door of elected representatives and calling them to account and voting out those who prize guns over our lives and safety. We need laws. Thoughts and prayers don't make laws. Lawmakers make laws. Sometimes. Gun control is a very good thing, we should absolutely be talking about that after a shooting, but not the only issue. Also, mental health and health care are very good topics to talk about, but not as a convenient excuse for another white male abuser. The gun fetish and misogynistic culture along with white supremacist terrorism in America is a better place to start.

From Facebook:

Why is this happening to us?? 

“In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate,” Dan Hodges, a British journalist, wrote in a post on Twitter two years ago, referring to the 2012 attack that killed 20 young students at an elementary school in Connecticut. “Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”

What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/world/americas/mass-shootings-us-international.html

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Ultra Violet and others have been pointing this out for some time, that there are some very real correlations between gun violence and toxic masculinity. It's a welcome change from thoughts and prayers and the mental illness cop out. If mental illness were the driving force here, the statistics would look a bit different. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gun-violence-toxic-masculinity-tweets_us_5a85ead4e4b05c2bcac8ec08

A thought and a prayer from Twitter:

After the Las Vegas shooting four months ago, it became popular to declare that that common condolence, thoughts and prayers, is not enough. This is still true and we need to call Congress again.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/thoughts-and-prayers-politicians-las-vegas-shooting/

Also from Facebook:

But it is good to see a spotlight even if only journalistically on mass killings and domestic violence:

Of Course Florida School Shooter Was A Girl-Hating White Supremacist. Of Course I Am Tired Of Writing This Article.
https://wonkette.com/629807/of-course-florida-school-shooter-was-a-girl-hating-white-supremacist-of-course-i-am-tired-of-writing-this-article

Control and Fear: What Mass Killings and Domestic Violence Have in Common

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/16/world/americas/control-and-fear-what-mass-killings-and-domestic-violence-have-in-common.html

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My post on Facebook with accompanying links:

Along with guns, white supremacist violence is a problem no one (Congress, White House, FBI and police) wants to identify. Everyone wants to excuse the men who kill this way as a lone wolf or mentally ill, yet there are more telling patterns with these guys (white supremacy, domestic violence, basically toxic masculinity).

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/15/white-supremacy-group-florida-school-shooter-was-a-member/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/the-resurgent-threat-of-white-supremacist-violence/550634/
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And Twitter with another reality check:

Aaand finally, just what are these gun rights that are so important they trump the lives of school fulls of children:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/second-amendment-guns-michael-waldman/

Urgent! This is true!

I am embarrassingly fascinated by these things- how they spread, who passes them on, how long they survive, what tactics they employ to compel a person.


Via messenger in the present, February 12, 2018:

In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked the Lord to spare the city if he could find 50 righteous people. God responded to Abraham's plea "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all ....Genesis 18:16-33The movie "Corpus Christi "is due to be released this June to August. It is a disgusting film set to appear in America later this year which depicts Jesus and his disciples as homosexuals! As a play, this has already been in theaters for a while. It's called "Corpus Christi" which means "The Body of Christ". It's a revolting mockery of our Lord. But we Christians can make a difference.That's why I am sending this e-mail to you. If you do send this around, we just might be able to prevent this film from being shown in Australia, Canada and America etc. Let's stand for what we believe and stop the mockery of Jesus Christ our Savior. Where do we stand as Christians? I am forwarding this to all I think will respect and appreciate being informed. Please help us prevent such offenses against our Lord. There is no petition to sign, no time limit, or minimum number of people to send this to.It will take you less than 2 minutes!If you are not interested and do not have the 2 minutes it will take to do this, please don't complain if God does not seem to have time for you. Imagine what would happen if this film were depicting Mohammad in the same way...the Islamic world would be in flames!!. Apparently, some regions in Europe have already successfully banned the film. All we need is a lot of prayer and a lot of E-mails.JUST GET THE WORD OUT!....Will God be able to find at least 50 righteous people who are willing to express their concern and voice their opinion against this act of blasphemy?

It is true... so please forward to everyone you know

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My usual source will give you the history. Conservatives tend not to like this site. OOh- has Snopes rated that - Conservatives don't believe Snopes' research? I should look that up- but for now:

https://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/gayjesus.asp


Just on the surface, it's pretty funny. Or you could call them red flags. I love how there was no studio executive's address, no concrete film information or times, no state officials to address complaints to, no specific information really, just an exhortation to get angry or offended and email your friends. The premise is wonky, too- it seems like an odd position to take given that Christians are to show Jesus' attributes to others through actions, not by banning everything and trying to control their perception or trying to protect Jesus' reputation. Does he need that?


Also great is that it says "this is true" which you don't really say unless you know for a fact it's spurious to begin with. Another highlight is how they just moved it from the 90s email to messenger without updating the wording. I'm a little disappointed it didn't promise a wish for each person I forwarded it to - or predict my doom if I fail to act within 10 minutes of receiving it.



Before Googling the thing to see what was what, I started to think of the nature of the hypocritical request and Christianity and wrote this:

Seems like people should be more interested in giving and being kind and campaigning for peace instead of war- all the good things the Bible teaches in order to spread Christianity.. . Banning films and books (among other things, like abortion, alcohol and divorce) is both ineffective and impossible and doesn't teach people any of the good things you want people to know about Christ like peace or love or kindness towards your neighbor. I would think the Bible approach (rather than this urgent message to help ban a film) would be who cares what they think of you, you just live the Bible and the truth will prevail if he wills it. And if the truth doesn't prevail, you ran your race (2 Tim 4:7), turned the other cheek (Matt 5:38-40) and you'll be justified in the end with you eternal reward. The Bible, as I understand it, doesn't teach that you are to control everyone else's actions to be found faithful.

Also, this Christian tendency for knee jerk bans that appear to be a litmus test of faith reminds me of some Muslims trying to ban disrespect of Mohammed (there was a cartoon in Denmark?) or a dictator banning disrespect of himself. Book and film bans are impossible to police and an abysmally ineffective evangelism tool since bans usually give free people a goal or mission to unify around and fight for. If Christians start living the peace and love in the Bible, the Quakers do a pretty good job on that front, that would go farther in demonstrating the respect one needs to have for Jesus than just banning things and demanding respect be given arbitrarily.