A few random thoughts on the Buffalo shooting.
I'm sure I'll upset people on all sides of this but so be it.
Summary of points I considered:
Violent speech/postings should be sensibly criminalized
A saltwater analogy to racism
Why Republicans and Democrats don't really care this time
This mass murder has come and gone....anyone surprised?
My thoughts:
I don’t know how to implement it but I think there needs to be some kind of punishment or forced rehabilitation for the kinds of hateful messages that people put online.
I realize that it’s tricky because free speech is a foundation of our nation.
This to me is different than someone who has a different perspective on capital punishment or homelessness or even abortion or discrimination.
There’s a concept called “fitting” an equation. It basically means take an outcome and look at the data to see if there’s a relationship.
And the number of these shootings which have at some point a person posting in parts of the internet Facebook or 4chan is breathtaking.
I’ve read stories where individuals have been charged and they claim “I was not serious” and it’s irrelevant. The person needs to be held to some kind of account.
Is it possible that this shooter in Buffalo has mental illness? Maybe.
And the truth is from the snippets I’ve seen of what he wrote if he is mentally ill, he needs help with that.
If he’s clear minded and not mentally ill the writing is deserving of some kind of consequence.
Two separate women who texted their boyfriends to commit suicide ended up serving time in prison. (Remember the Netflix series on Michelle Carter?)
It’s not exactly the same but it’s similar. Someone’s words should make them accountable.
Admittedly, I’m practically numb to these shootings. Even when a shooting came way to close to my daughter who left a scene a few hours before a shooting in Sacramento still doesn’t seem real.
Sandy Hook forever changed me. I knew when nothing happened then as a nation to re-think how we do things it’s either never going to happen or happen after I’m long gone.
There were I think 3 separate shootings that I saw covered that weekend where multiple people died. And yes I believe that gun violence in all contexts is a nearly incomprehensible problem.
The gun violence in the name of drugs or gangs is seemingly a matter of economic disparity at a minimum. So the solution seems like it’s a different path, but I don’t fully know.
And "innocent" in those situations is at times dubious unless it's a child or other person not involved in any way with the game.
What I’m not numb to is the certainty that there are notable parts of our society that are racist.
And I personally believe if notable parts of our society are racist the case can be reasonably made that we have a racist society.
If I have a glass of pure water and put a pinch of salt in it, it’s now salt water. It doesn’t require a heaping scoop to be salt water.
I have a fairly cynical view that’s going to be kind of controversial.
Democrats haven’t taken up the cause on this one in a overt way.
Republicans have not come out and condemned this act.
In both cases I think they’ve taken that stance because it’s not politically advantageous. And btw, solving gun violence in the inner cities is also not politically advantageous.
You can draw whatever conclusion you want, but to me I think it means that the people who died aren’t as important.
Ever noticed how absolutely silent it is when Boko Haram kidnaps yet another group of young school girls in Africa? Almost nobody cares.
There’s even limited outrage of any kind about Britney Griner.
I’d humbly submit that these are demonstrations that prove that there is more than a pinch of salt in the glass of water.
The man who murdered attendees at a Taiwanese church gathering in some ways is similar. I could write a whole separate post on that.
And for my money, if that guy was posting hateful stuff online about Taiwanese citizens I’d consider consequences for that too.
If gun control is just not possible, is it possible that a thoughtful more stringent approach to personal accountability to the speech possible?
Honestly I'm undecided on the impact of words/speech by media personalities and politicians. Blaming them in some ways eliminates personal accountability which I'm not in favor of.
But to think it has no impact is too simple (note the "pouring in" words the Buffalo murderer/terrorist used).
Yes, I used the word terrorist which means someone who attacks civilian for a political purpose and I believe blatant racism has at least some political purpose, even though he professed that he disagreed with people on all sides it seems.
I was encouraged when the parents of that school shooter were charged. Remember that mass murder?
It was the one before the other 5 that came before the next 10.
School shootings are like Starbucks, there are so many of them that you forget which is which.
Finally this murder spree has more or less come and gone. The commentary on it was practically non existent (vs other police shootings or even mass shootings) in my social graph. And most people have moved on.
While not surprising, it’s unfortunate. It’s a data point on a downward slope of likelihood that things will change.
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