This Hideous Week
My aunt had a simple question for me yesterday that got right to the point.
“Can you believe this hideous week?”
Hideous is probably the best way to describe what’s been going on in this country recently. And no, I can’t believe it.
In the span of just a few days we experienced the Boston Marathon bombing, the murder of an MIT police officer, the massive explosion in West, Texas, and the U.S. Senate’s appalling rejection of sensible gun control amendments.
The images coming out of Boston were horrific with innocent people being murdered or maimed by a pair of sibling psychopaths. While the loss of life doesn’t match the number of deaths this country experienced on 9/11, it’s a grim reminder that the same demented, hateful minds are still among us.
Is this going to be the new normal? We will have to worry about being blown to pieces anytime we gather in public?
I was walking through the Times Square subway station on Monday afternoon and I caught myself looking for…I’m not sure exactly. A suspicious looking person with a backpack? Unattended packages?
That’s what’s so awful about these attacks. The routine of daily life suddenly becomes a potential war zone. We’re told to be alert, to say something if we see something, and obviously I understand the reasoning behind those requests, but it is still a hell of a way to live.
The gun vote was particularly sickening as the gutless worms in the Senate voted down proposals to expand background checks on firearms sales to ban some semi-automatic weapons modeled after military assault weapons.
More of the Same
Unbelievable. After Newtown, after Aurora, after God knows how many other gun deaths, these political prostitutes had the gall to strike down an intelligent plan that might prevent the next slaughter.
When Newtown first happened, I said nothing was going to change, that nothing would impede the flow of guns in this country and I’m sorry to say that I was right.
The NRA and their lap dogs were so desperate to prevent any change in the gun laws that they fabricated some fairy tale about a national gun registry.
In others word, they lied. Just like they lied about death panels during the health care debate.
I once had a commenter complain about my use of the term of “gun nut.” I know there are responsible gun owners other there, but how else do you describe this kind of behavior? More than 90% of the American people support expanded background checks, but that didn’t mean a goddamn thing to these bastards.
If you think you’re living in a democracy, you’re an idiot.
I’m curious how the Boston marathon bombers acquired the guns they used to murder that MIT campus police officer. What kind of weapons did they have? Perhaps if there had been background checks in place they wouldn’t have been able to get their hands on firearms and that cop would still be alive.
The explosion at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas is looking like yet another disaster that could have been avoided.
It turns out that OSHA hadn’t inspected the place in years, but I’m sure the anti-regulation crowd will find some way of deflecting the truth. And it’ll happen again.
The hideous week is now over, but the scars, the damage, and the misery will be with us for a long time. I wish I could say something positive or hopeful as we start this new week, but I’m just not feeling it.
“Can you believe this hideous week?”
Hideous is probably the best way to describe what’s been going on in this country recently. And no, I can’t believe it.
In the span of just a few days we experienced the Boston Marathon bombing, the murder of an MIT police officer, the massive explosion in West, Texas, and the U.S. Senate’s appalling rejection of sensible gun control amendments.
The images coming out of Boston were horrific with innocent people being murdered or maimed by a pair of sibling psychopaths. While the loss of life doesn’t match the number of deaths this country experienced on 9/11, it’s a grim reminder that the same demented, hateful minds are still among us.
Is this going to be the new normal? We will have to worry about being blown to pieces anytime we gather in public?
I was walking through the Times Square subway station on Monday afternoon and I caught myself looking for…I’m not sure exactly. A suspicious looking person with a backpack? Unattended packages?
That’s what’s so awful about these attacks. The routine of daily life suddenly becomes a potential war zone. We’re told to be alert, to say something if we see something, and obviously I understand the reasoning behind those requests, but it is still a hell of a way to live.
The gun vote was particularly sickening as the gutless worms in the Senate voted down proposals to expand background checks on firearms sales to ban some semi-automatic weapons modeled after military assault weapons.
More of the Same
Unbelievable. After Newtown, after Aurora, after God knows how many other gun deaths, these political prostitutes had the gall to strike down an intelligent plan that might prevent the next slaughter.
When Newtown first happened, I said nothing was going to change, that nothing would impede the flow of guns in this country and I’m sorry to say that I was right.
The NRA and their lap dogs were so desperate to prevent any change in the gun laws that they fabricated some fairy tale about a national gun registry.
In others word, they lied. Just like they lied about death panels during the health care debate.
I once had a commenter complain about my use of the term of “gun nut.” I know there are responsible gun owners other there, but how else do you describe this kind of behavior? More than 90% of the American people support expanded background checks, but that didn’t mean a goddamn thing to these bastards.
If you think you’re living in a democracy, you’re an idiot.
I’m curious how the Boston marathon bombers acquired the guns they used to murder that MIT campus police officer. What kind of weapons did they have? Perhaps if there had been background checks in place they wouldn’t have been able to get their hands on firearms and that cop would still be alive.
The explosion at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas is looking like yet another disaster that could have been avoided.
It turns out that OSHA hadn’t inspected the place in years, but I’m sure the anti-regulation crowd will find some way of deflecting the truth. And it’ll happen again.
The hideous week is now over, but the scars, the damage, and the misery will be with us for a long time. I wish I could say something positive or hopeful as we start this new week, but I’m just not feeling it.
Comments
Yes, it's been a HIDEOUS week indeed.
I finally had to pull myself away from the news online because I spent hours reading updates on the bombing in Boston since Monday - and everything else going on.
And it's ironic you mentioned how you caught yourself "looking" around because I did the same several times this week while walking down the street. I kept thinking to myself, "Well what's to stop people from bombing here as well?"
What really concerns me about the state of the U.S. right now, is all the anger that's going on around us. Even here in Philly, which is an angry city to begin with, it seems that the anger has magnified.
And you're right, this is one hell of a way to live. Paranoid over every little thing we suspect or imagine.
Thank you for venting what I've been feeling.
Have a great week, buddy!
Excellent observation about the level of anger in this country--and the world in general.
We have all these modern devices supposedly making our lives easier, but we can't seem to handle our emotions.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, buddy.
Take care.
And like you and Ron, I caught myself looking for shady characters with backpacks this week. Problem was, I was at my daughter's community college, so that's all there was!
Here's to a less hideous week.
Lobbysits rule government. I never voted for the goddamn NRA yet they're the ones dictating the laws in this country. The system is shockingly corrupt.
It's hard not to look at shady characters given recent events. Let's hope we move away from the hideous.
Take care!
I am thinking more of banning rifles based on their firepower rather than their looks.
I don't think civilians should own these massive weapons with the huge ammunition clips.
The mental health issue is certainly a vital part of this problem and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
Thanks for stopping by and take care.
What you are experiencing, when you talk of looking around you suspiciously on the subway, is what we in England - particularly those who lived and/or worked in London - lived with for decades during the height of the IRA activity. You just never knew when they'd spring one on you next. It could be anytime, and pretty much anywhere.
London was a favourite target, but anywhere with sufficient publicity or crowds would do nicely. There were nail bombs, intended to do maximum damage to innocent people, there were car bombs, there were litter bin bombs, backpack bombs, anything else they could think of. I think I found the letterbombs the most frightening in a way, because they came innocently through your front door, or landed on your desk at work and could quite easily blow your hands to smithereens and blind you at the same time.
Many, many people suffered huge amounts of stress, some of us never really got over it. The nation developed an increased suspicion of strangers, and of Irishmen in particular. No, it was not fair on innocent Irish people, just as it isn't fair on innocent muslims now, but it's what happens. And no, it's no way to live.
I feel for you all. It has indeed been a terrible week. I can't believe the senate either, but OH told me it wouldn't get through. *Sigh*
We have to be wary of the blacklash against innocent people as well as the political parasites who use such events as an excuse to whip the public into a frenzy.