Enough Thoughts and Prayers. Time for Action

It’s understandable that people want to send their good wishes to the people of Las Vegas. And we also know that the people of Las Vegas include people from everywhere. Between us, Ken and I know more than a half-dozen Londoners who are there right now, safe, thank goodness, after the mass shooting there Sunday night that killed nearly 60 and wounded several hundred more.  

We don’t want to live in a police state but we’re going to have to give up some of our freedoms, even in a minor way, to ensure that a madman with several loaded weapons doesn’t get into a hotel. Body scans? Metal detectors? Probably. Giving up all of those glorious guns, Americans? You bet. How did a lunatic get and likely modify automatic weapons? For what? Even if he wasn’t a lunatic, why would anyone need a gun like that? If you say target shooting I’ll say, lock it up at the range.

Tweek from Ben Mulroney suggests it's time for gun control in the US. Reply says Americans don't need Canadian TV celebrities telling them what to do.

Mr. Witherstone has eighteen followers and he’s wrong. Apparently the US needs everybody with a thinking brain to tell it what it needs or it will get very used to losing its citizens to gun violence.

And a shout out to everyone who assumed the shooter was a radicalized Muslim. He was a 64-year-old, white, homegrown former accountant with no ties to ISIS or any other stereotype of cliche, except for Angry White Man. Conclusion-jumping helps no one.

Derek and I have been to Las Vegas many times and except for a couple of nights when we were just passing through, we’ve always stayed at the end of the strip where the shooting occurred. Mandalay Bay. The Luxor. Excalibur. It’s our “home area” of Vegas. We probably wouldn’t have been in the crowd if we had been there, but we can feel the terror as we watch the video and read the stories about those who ran, those who threw themselves over their loved ones, and those who didn’t get to go home.

Screw you terrorists and shooters and mass murderers. I’m in favour of a little more scrutiny to weed them out, but attacks like this won’t change a damn thing I want to do. You will not win. I refuse to be afraid. And if you are tempted to send out thoughts and prayers, give blood instead. Make a donation to the Red Cross. Do something tangible to make a difference. That’s what I’m going to do. And remember, the good guys outnumber the bad and they always will.

6 thoughts on “Enough Thoughts and Prayers. Time for Action”

  1. As far as I’m concerned “sending thoughts and prayers” translates to “I want to be recognized as making a contribution but I don’t really care enough to make an actual contribution.”

  2. They’ve found 23 firearms in his hotel room and another 19 at his home. We seek answers, but sometimes there just aren’t any answers as to Why!

  3. This person was obviously sick to commit such a horrible crime. As an owner of firearms I think it is wrong to assume that the “removal of all guns” is going to stop people of this nature. I am to understand this person was financially well off so he would have the ability to arm himself no matter what. Sick people can use many different ways to create chaos in this kind of venue and this sick person decided to use firearms. The blame is not the guns, next time it could be bombs or chemicals or gas or a virus. Tragedy yes, simple fix no…..

    1. Anytime someone mentions gun control there are people who hear that as “removal of all guns”. I haven’t nor would I suggest that. The blame is on a society that experiences this same thing over and over and makes no changes whatsoever. Tomorrow’s post goes further into this. Thanks for all of your comments.

  4. It’s sheer insanity. And nothing will change, not if 20 children (and 6 adults) at Sandy Hook didn’t change anything. The NRA owns the government by making huge donations to their campaigns. It’s pathetic, infuriating and frankly, criminal. There’s blood on more than the gunman’s cold hands today. (And I agree with Kevin: when I hear “thoughts and prayers” it might as well be Charlie Brown’s teacher. Just don’t even bother.)

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