Numb

Yesterday was shocking.  Today I feel numb.  Numb to the killing.  Numb to the spectacle.  Numb to the idiocy.  I can't watch anymore TV.  It's too difficult.  They just go over and over the same thing.  And we've all been down this road before.  Virginia Tech, Colorado, Oregon, and many others.  It seems to be a variation on a theme.  Except.  Except this is so much worse.  Little kids mowed down.  20 of them.  And teachers.  People with a particular calling to help kids.  Gone.  Kids with futures.  Teachers with purpose.  Gone.  It makes no sense.

The battle over gun control is now emerging.  As I said yesterday, I don't know what the answer is, but serious dialog needs to begin.  Changes need to be made.  Somehow we need to honor and uphold the Second Amendment while at the same time putting into place serious regulations.  The Washington Post had a pretty good first editorial today.

"...whatever the facts of this case, that the country would be safer with fewer guns, that mass killings are more difficult with knives, that it is not the Second Amendment but political cowardice that precludes sensible regulation. That we are not supposed to exploit tragedy to talk about this issue, but that in the absence of tragedy it never gets talked about at all."

But I'm not naive.  I'm not optimistic that anything will be done.  If there is any dialog, it will be overshadowed by shouting and intimidation.  So I guess all I can do is declare my belief that the country needs some sort of gun regulation.  If I get the chance, I'll work for it and I'll vote for it.  Period.  This can't happen again.

We've also been inundated by news.  And this is certainly a newsworthy story if there ever was one.  But once again, as in every big story, be it the pregnancy of Princess Kate, a big hurricane coming ashore, or this unspeakable atrocity, the news media are spring loaded to going over the top.  Everyone needs to get an angle that others don't have.  It has always been that way but with our 24/7 news cycle, it's truly out of control.  We all want information, but what we get is saturation...over saturation.

I saw this little rant attributed to Morgan Freeman posted on Facebook.  I've also seen some articles saying its not true.  That he didn't say it.  But you know what?   I don't care.  I agree with a lot of the sentiments.

TURN OFF THE NEWS.......

Morgan Freeman's brilliant take on what happened yesterday :
"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.

It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

Like I said, I agree with most of it.  He (or whoever wrote it) points to mental health research instead of gun control.  I think it's both.  As a society, we need to attack both.

If I believe in anything in government, I believe in the First Amendment.  If there is any fundamental principle of our country, it's freedom of speech.  Once again, I'm not naive.  I don't think it will change.  I don't think it can change.  We're too far down the road and can't come back.  The news media is in it to make a buck.  And being first to report something, or continuing to report something, or finding a new angle that leads to more viewers, which leads to more advertisers, which leads to more revenue is the name of the game.  They will say they are just journalists cover a story.  Right.  But it's really about making a name and making a buck.  Free enterprise.  I get it.  But it's tough to take.  So I'm now a big fan of HGTV, Food Network, ESPN, HBO, etc, etc, etc.  Or going for a bike ride.  Or a walk.  Anything to not be subjected to it.

Finally.  Finally video games.  I haven't paid much attention to these things.  Have seen some advertisements.  When I drop by Best Buy or one of the other electronics stores, I've seen the boxes.  There are hundreds of these things out there.  I'm pretty sure anyone can get them.  Impressionable youth.  Sick weirdos with guns.  Anyone.  In case you're wondering if they are that bad, here's the description of the video game that ranked number one in violence in 2012.

No.1 Postal 2 

Taking the throne of video game violence is a mantle often reserved for only the elite titles, and Postal 2 easily captures the top spot. This is a game in which it is not uncommon to drop-kick grenades and whip scythes at unsuspecting civilians if they refuse to participate in your everyday life story (which is, after all, the plot behind the game). Of course, this includes using cat carcasses as silencers on your gun, hitting people with anthrax-laden cow heads and playing “fetch” with dogs using the severed heads of your dismembered victims. Postal 2 is the epitome of senseless, over-the-top video game violence.

Once again...something needs to be done.  At least...at the very least...we need to keep this kind of crap out of the hands of our kids.