Reactions to Another Mass Shooting

This is the first of a two-part post.

We are truly a troubled society. The past week or two were filled with high profile events that once again show why we the people are not making much progress.

First and foremost, my condolences to those who lost their lives or were injured at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. In the immediate aftermath of those shootings, there were some on social media calling for restraint before jumping in and playing the blame game. But that was very short lived at best. Within a short time the usual suspects, some of who are my friends, were themselves going full bore at Donald Trump. The shooting was because of the tone Trump sets. The shootings were because Trump claimed there were bad people in the caravan headed to our Southern border. Trump was blaming the victims because he said the loss of life would have been less had there been armed security at the synagogue. Everything bad happens because of Trump. If you do not agree with the liberals who hate and despise Trump and every single thing he does and says, then you too are a horrible person, because only those who see things as the liberals see them are the righteous amongst us.

The liberal mindset is to preach love, and if we could all get together and just hug it out it will all be better. If you don’t join us in that big group hug then it’s OK if we beat the crap out of you until you come to your senses. The Democratic party has poured a ton of resources into their own Trump hate campaign, and I put absolutely nothing out of the realm of possibilities when it comes to acts they will stoop to gain control of this country. I don’t hold the Republicans in much higher regard, but they usually don’t resort to group violence in order to get their points across.

So now I just did what a lot of you did. I made generalizations about millions of people without a single bit of proof or even rationalization. The truth is there are plenty of things going on, and the only, and I mean only way to solve any of our issues is through sincere dialogue. If the first words out of your mouth are ones belittling or name calling people as you try to start a conversation, the conversation is really already over.

There is also no magic wand, no single approach that will instantly make all bad things go away. There are multiple issues that need addressing both in this country and in the world as a whole. There are multiple reasons why these issues exist - hate, mental illness, religious fanaticism, lack of respect for authority or authority figures, loss of morality, and so on. There are multiple approaches that could and should be evaluated and implemented to try to address these issues. Some are already taking place as we speak. Some can be effectuated at the same time, while others may have to follow a chronological approach because you need some remedies to be implemented first before you try others that necessarily piggyback off the first ones. You also need a legitimate, objective understanding of history to put current events in their proper perspective without having a guttural, knee jerk reaction to every news event.

Not every mass shooting is Trump’s fault. In fact, it may well be that none of the mass shootings are Trump’s fault. There are clearly some shootings that are indeed directly spurned by politics. We all know about the various assassinations or attempts to assassinate Presidents in the past. The shootings of Representatives Steve Scalise on 2017 and Gabby Giffords in 2011 are certainly of the political ilk as well. Please bear in mind that even when a person who commits a mass shooting is registered to a particular party or is against a party or a politician does not mean the shooting itself is the fault of any particular politician. Often these shootings have multiple factors, and mental health is always one that needs to be considered when a mass shooting takes place.

Mass shootings are not new. If Trump is to blame for the recent mass shootings due to his political rhetoric, how do we explain all the mass shootings that pre-dated his Presidency? The rhetoric may well be a contributing factor, but political rhetoric has been around forever - go back to any point in history and you will see plenty of it.

In the wake of every mass shooting that is played up in the media, there is always an almost immediate call for gun control and to put an end to the rhetoric and hateful speech. But there is a great line from the movie The Patriot, wherein Colonel Tavington orders the church filled with all the people from the town to be burned, and then states “the honor is found in the end, not the means …this will all be forgotten”. While only a movie, the quote is very symbolic of many of our most tragic events. We see many get riled up, want major changes to all the possible behavior that may have contributed to the horrific event, and then within a very short time revert back to the daily grind, which often brings about the very same rhetoric and hateful thoughts and speech. It is a vicious cycle and just wanting it to stop doesn’t mean it will. By the way, you may have noticed when I said those mass shootings played up in the media. That is because there are indeed mass shootings that take place in the U.S. that many never hear about because they don’t make for a juicy news story. Of course, we can’t even agree on the definition of a mass shooting, so it is a bit difficult to have discourse over something that has no precise definition. Regardless of the exact definition, I think we can all agree that way too many people got shot each year. Depending on the definition used, were you aware that there have been 3 additional mass shootings since the attack in Pittsburgh? One in Memphis, TN; one in Elgin, IL; and one in El Dorado, AR. The Memphis shooting had five people shot at a house party with none killed; the Elgin shooting took place in a bar where one person was killed and three others injured; and the El Dorado shooting took place at a house where two people were killed and two others wounded. Odds are you haven’t heard a peep about those incidents.

We need to have all the conversations about the various topics that tear us apart, while remembering that many of us are very passionate about some of the topics. Heck, our country was formed because of that very passion. Our liberals of today would have crapped all over themselves at the notion that we were going to rise up against England and fight to the death for the independence of a new nation. But that is exactly what happened to form the United States of America. Yet we were not so united when it came to the issues that tore us apart during the Civil War, were we? So we have a history of fighting to the death for our freedom, or when we perceive injustices of the highest magnitude. Are we surprised that those types of deep roots could again be ignited and fan the flames so far that we are again at war amongst ourselves? We tend to think we have progressed beyond that, and I certainly hope we have, but those who ignore history are bound to repeat the mistakes of yesteryear.

Pick a topic that you are so passionate about and I will guarantee you there is an identical person on the flip side of the issue, also as passionate about the subject as you are. Does your passion mean you are right and they are wrong? Does your passion mean only those who agree with you are right and everyone else is an idiot? Here is a sample of current hot topics:

Politics - the President, the two major political parties

Abortion - Roe v. Wade, right to life, right to choose

Gun Control - 2nd Amendment and its interpretation

Anti-Semitism, White Supremacy, Racism (particularly against people of color)

Terrorism and civil rights - how to prevent one while protecting the other

Religion - levels of religious observance from atheism to zealots

These are but a few of the topics that inflame passions today. Some of these topics have been inflaming passions for many, many years, while others are more recent in nature. But you can easily see how a conversation on any of these can go from a civilized one to a shouting match to a shoving match to an outright fight to a riot to total chaos which may eventually cause one to try something with horrific consequences such as a mass shooting or a bombing. The answer of how to deal with these topics does not come easy. You certainly can’t go so far as to turn a blind eye and be silent and not speak out when injustices occur. That may help tone down the rhetoric but it doesn’t solve the underlying problems. In fact it often facilitates the problem and allow it to grow and spread untouched because of the apathy that comes with silence.

Yes, we need to have discussions, and those discussions need at some point to move towards significant action that will make us a more tolerant and peaceful society. I really don’t know how we get there given where we are at today, but we need to figure it out collectively. But the leftist mantra that we need to stop all the rhetoric means the left has to stop their rhetoric as well, or do you mean the left keeps going strong until the right stops their rhetoric, because the left is always correct and they have to do what they do until all others see things their way? In life you can make excuses and blame others or you can take responsibility for your own actions. We can’t control what others say or do but we can control what we say or do. We can also lead by example - you know, the same thing we keep demanding of our elected leaders who some feel are setting the tone for increased strife.

I will guess that within a few minutes of my posting this my friends who lean left will be telling me how wrong I am, how I missed the mark, how I don’t understand things. Folks, I have been around long enough, am educated and informed enough, and understand things just fine. You may not agree with me and that’s your right, but that’s what makes us Americans unique and hard to fix. We have lots of independent thinkers, and often we find ourselves diametrically opposed as to what the cause of any problem is let alone how to go about fixing it. It happens on all levels of politics and in many areas of life.

We are also a multi-tasking society. During the days last week when the pipe bombs were circulating (and that whole story requires its own breakdown) I saw some posts bashing one of our local political contenders because he was posting about something that impacted his race. He was criticized because he wasn’t shifting his focus to the sole issue that a few thought should be discussed to the exclusion of any campaigning. I am going to name him here because it is relevant to the conversation. Joe Ciardullo has decided to take on the enormous task of trying to run a race against a well-entrenched and well-monetized incumbent namely Nita Lowey. I give much credit to those willing to throw themselves out there and run for office. I don’t consider Joe a sacrificial lamb – I have seen plenty of them over the years. He is however a huge underdog and with less than two weeks to go I question what would have been the appropriate amount of time for him to have stopped campaigning based upon the events as they were unfolding? No one had been killed or injured, no property damage had occurred, yet it seems he was being insensitive because he was still out there trying to get his message out?

Even with the horrific massacre in Pittsburgh, we manage to find ways to mourn those lost, to encourage our fellow citizens to stop hating, but at the same time political realities go on as Election Day will still be a week away and we still need to advocate for those we believe are the right choices to lead us forward. If we cease all campaigning in the wake of events then those behind in a race should probably just throw in the towel and concede since to carry on would be insensitive? There will always be fine lines between tragic events and the right timing in carrying on with the everyday activities that sustain us. There is no magic answer but we should all be cognizant of what is going on around us and realize we may have to continue certain activities even if they may seem at times a bit harsh given the circumstances.

We in Rockland, and in some other communities, are also faced with a unique challenge as we have an on-going cultural clash with the tremendous increase of the Hassidic population. Some prefer not to discuss this at all, for fear of being called an anti-Semite. I believe the lack of frank discussion of this issue in fact leads to anti-Semitism. I believe some of the behavior within the Hassidic community helps perpetuate certain stereotypes that fuel the anti-Semitism as well. But those who speak of the underlying issues brought about by these communities are not being driven by anti-Semitism but by anti-corruption and anti-fraud concerns. It happens that the activities being uncovered are being perpetrated by Hassidim, and thus are being committed by those of the Jewish faith. Without leaders of the Jewish community, and I’m talking the non-Hassidim, participating in frank discussions and openly talking about the true issues plaguing us they are actually helping to perpetuate the cycle of mistrust which helps fuel anti-Semitism. I will have an entire piece on this topic alone in the near future.

For now suffice it to say we need to mourn. We need to show our solidarity and support for those whose world has been shaken to the core. But we need to find a way to talk with each other, not at each other, if we ever hope to find a lasting solution of any kind.