guns

Mass Murder. Literally. Moms Demand Action

Children.

Children.

Children attending

Mass.

Murdered.

At School.

In Church

there.

Thoughts

and prayers

instead of laws

by naysayers

when kids 

were literally

shot

while praying.

Alas,

this is mass

murder,

literally

at mass.

How much

more crass

can we be?

I saw a

photo

like no

other

of a 

mother

running 

down the

street

in bare

feet

holding 

her shoes,

sprinting

toward 

the school,

with mother’s

fuel

and fear.

I tear

up just

thinking of

this image;

this extraordinary,

yet insanely

ordinary

scene.

Just back

to school.

Nothing

more cruel,

than doing

nothing

about

mass 

murder.

especially

of children.

Don’t accept

this

unconscionableness.

We can’t remain

still,

hopeless.

Momentum

takes time.

You can take action now:

https://momsdemandaction.org/

December Redefined

Abundant Life

Christian School

in Madison,

Wisconsin

is still reeling,

feeling

the fuel

of grief

and disbelief

from abundant

life 

shot dead.

That the shooter

was not a gunman

or a front man

for a cause

caused 

barely

a pause,

because

girls

can have

boys’

toys

too.

And the second

grader

who might

have saved 

her

by calling

9-1-1

probably

saved many

others

from her

gun.

Often,

adolescent

girls’ pain

is visible,

while boys’

behavior 

is often

derisible,

but the pain

is miserable

no less.

Too many

are stuck

not feeling

an abundant

life;

just strife,

sharp

as a knife.

The abundance

of violence

seems to be

cyclical,

but school

shootings

are atypical

in the rest

of the world.

We are desperate

for a respite

from the seemingly

endless

senseless

shootings.

And the irony

of the lexicology

of the entities

astonishes

me.

I just can’t 

stop thinking

about linking

meaning,

which no 

longer

seems 

linked:

United.

Health.

Care.

Abundant.

Life.

Christian.

School.

Now defined 

as combined

moments

a la 

Columbine—

referring

to disturbing

incidents

of lost 

innocence

and terror.

Each thought

and prayer

from despair

without repair

is useless.

Hope lives

in action

and legislation,

but given

the incoming

administration,

find grassroots

sources

for your 

resources.

In the darkness

of our 

Decemberness,

we celebrate

the light

we create

through

gifts

and shifts

in resolutions.

Rededicate

to effectuate

the path

toward

solutions.

A miracle

takes

people

to work.

United.

Health.

Care.

Abundant

Life

with love,

Happy Holidays!

Capital Punishment

Mourners 

will gather

as funeral

arrangements

will be

made

for those

murdered

in their

classrooms.

The injured

endured

the unthinkable,

yet 

we shoulda

thunk it 

by now.

Why give

hunting

a pass?

Like it’s not

killling?

Instilling

what values?

Pro life?

We are 

our own

weapons

of mass

destruction

as long as

obstruction

of gun safety

laws

persists.

The silence

on violence

and intolerance

beyond

thoughts

and prayers

alone

or lone

wolves

who tell

us who

they are,

is far

from who

we need

to be.

Yes, 

it’s insanity.

If we only

gather

for our own,

and our own

is like 

a clique,

we stick

to 

the residue

of this

toxic

stew,

that is literally

killing us.

I know

you know 

this.

It’s one more

once more

we shouldn’t

ignore.

But we do.

Ok, they do,

but they are

still we

and it should be

clear

by now

that this 

is how

we could

die.

Spoiler Alert

You already know

What will happen.

It’s more 

Like a rerun 

Than a new

Show

Of thoughts

And prayers

After 

Each Episode.

Now every day

Is spoiled

By mass murders

En masse.

Families forever

Ruined.

Communities shattered.

And those 

Who relish

Spoiling

The possibility

Of success

Of an opponent

Will stand by

Horror,

And allow

Us

To be terrorized

By the tyranny

Of the crazed

With weapons

Of war

In anywhere,

USA

Any time

Because 

Freedom

To terrorize,

Maim,

And brutally

Murder

Innocent

Actual children

And their friends,

And teachers,

And preachers,

And relatives

Is freedom 

Of their

Sort.

Demand action

From every

Leader

And

Neighbor

And

Person

You know.

Spoiler alert:

For Mothers’ Day

I honored

My mother

With Contributions

To Moms Demand Action

For Gun Safety

And to the

Brigid Alliance.

Moms are being attacked,

And dare I say

Tortured 

Daily,

By fear

And actual assault

On bodily autonomy

Of themselves

And of their living

Kin.

My mother and father

Taught their children

To participate

And contribute

And improve 

Our communities.

I relish the gifts

My mother

Continues

To share with me

That inspire me

Each day.

You don’t need

Me to alert you

To those who

Would rather

Spoil our capacity

To live safely

Than limit

The possibility of 

One less

Shooting.

Demand better.

Do something.

Anything.

Don’t expect

Someone else

To contribute

Or sign

Or call

Or protest

So it’s done.

Sorry to spoil

It for you,

But your inaction

Is complicity.

Just like 

Thoughts

And

Prayers. 

At least 

For Mothers’ Day

Please do something

To contribute

To stopping

The current

Insanity

Killing us

Daily

While expressing

Condolences.

Nothing to See, Hear

Nothing to see,

Hear,

Just keep

Going.

We’ve got

This

Under 

Control.

Over controlled

Girls

And Women

Suffer alone

While we

Await

The next

Mass shooting.

Nothing to see,

Hear,

Or do,

When it’s legal.

Here 

The law

Is

Evil.

Personhood

Is claimed

For cells

And corporations

But 

A fetus

Is not exempt

To the IRS.

Nothing to see,

Hear,

But potential

Through ultrasound.

Yet potential

To massacre

With each

Purchase

Is abided

Because

It is

Legal.

We are

Not

Blind

Or Deaf

Just hostages

Of Prayers

And 

The 18th Century.

Not known

For nuance

Or complexity

But purity,

Our reality

Is 

Complicated

By myths

And systems

That feign

Deliberation

And calibration.

Yet absolutism

Is our DNA–
From Puritans

To Purell.

Unintended 

Consequences

Are nothing

To see here.

June 2022

A miscarriage

Has occurred.

Actually, an

Abortion.

Fifty years in the making

Seeking to criminalize

Those most

Desperate.

Overturned

But not over,

The tide will turn

Toward Justices

Corrupt

From Dark Money

And desperate for

Supremacy.

Rights for

Individuals

Who can’t get

Pregnant.

Now

The law sanctions

Open Carry

To full term.

I’m expecting

Violence

In response to

“Pro Lifers”

Who care

Nothing

For those already

Born.

Except

For the right

To bear arms

Anywhere.

I hemorrhaged

Tears

And could barely

Breathe.

This is an

Assault

On women and girls’

Rights.

I will not dwell

In the cruelty

Pain

And contractions.

We will

Heal

And create

Anew.

Mourning Sickness

Today I feel gutted.

I was already gutted by the mass shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, and the next day, as though re-gutted, the mass shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. As unbearably horrific as that mass shooting was, the cover up is even more grotesque to me. Anyone could understand the fear police might have when encountering a deranged shooter with an automatic weapon. Hesitation might occur. Hyper-caution to avoid children…ok. Then why the lies and covering up the story? I am not sure I have the stomach for the answer.

I felt gutted yesterday watching The January 6th Hearings and listening to members of Trump’s DOJ recount 45’s intense and insane pressure to install Jeffrey Clark in the final weeks of his presidency. This, after hearings in which witness after witness relayed Trump’s efforts to overaturn a legitimate democratic election that he lost. Election workers were abused; their lives endangered. VP Mike Pence’s life was in danger. The sickness of Trump’s pathetic cleaving to power and the sad, angry, delusional devotees who are empowered to serve him leave me distraught. When I am not angry and fearful (of so many angry, fearful people with serious gun power), I am profoundly sad that so many people have succumbed to such a gross excuse for a human being and for perpetuating cruelty and selfishness.

Yesterday, upon hearing the news of the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing open carry–because….you know….individual rights/liberties–I was at once terrified and broken. I believe there is now such a tension between the hyper-individualsts who embrace a particular definition of macho and those who are actually more driven to protect the lives of the already born, that the menacing and threatening that seems empowering will only cause if not a conventional civil war, then a serious threat to everyone.

And this morning, with the news of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v wade, I am actually sick to my stomach. I am in mourning. Democracy, which I certainly took for granted in the once USA, is on life support. I am mourning American life that had promise.

I was briefly uplifted by the seemingly ordinary people who became heroic to me: during Trump’s 2 impeachments; during the worst days (and throughout) the COVID19 pandemic; Zalensky; some Republicans who have been Trump loyalists in his administration; unceremonious election workers; Capitol police officers, all of whom bravely stood up to endure under duress and bear testimony to truth. There is still truth. There is still decency. Perhaps too little too late, but some people have been moved. I have learned of goodness and decency during such trials, when so much crazy and serious danger has been thrust upon us and relentlessly spewing through media over the last 6 years.

But whatever solace I felt was amidst the mourning for the beauty that was the promise of life here in the USA, even in this very dangerous 21st century. I am grieving not so much for the world in which I grew up, but for the willingness that we had to continue to improve; to no longer stand for what was, even if we endured it.

I have had queasiness every day for years now, but hoping it would subside when this period finally settled down. Today’s overturning of Roe v wade was not surprising, but it is nonetheless chilling. It is nauseating. And the waves keep coming.

I am mourning the loss of separation between church (all religion) and state; of the recognition of the dignity of all living beings who have been born; of the danger of guns; of peaceful elections and transitions of power; of a healthy climate–political, social, economic,natural.

But after the mourning one must get on with the business of living and creating a healthy life. I don’t see how the current conditions are sustainable. The sickness that has pervaded too much of the American culture and now American deomcratic institutions and democracy itself, from the base to the Supreme Court, is deadly. But succumbing to mourning is deadly too.

Righters Block

I haven’t said much here in quite some time. It’s not that there isn’t anything left to say. It’s just been a horrendous case of Righters Block.

Righters kvetch about freedom while blocking access. The righters block loves walls and barricades, obstructing processes and others. Righters tear down that wall of Democracy that is the foundation of freedom. It’s a party of destruction that is punishing all that’s left.

Disruption is their right, while blocking safety for the rest. Facts remain on the side of what’s left, exposing truth and lies that righters tell. It’s insanity. Crazy like Fox, anything goes because they have rights, no matter how wrong.

We live in an era of storytelling. Maybe we always did. Now, everyone is a storyteller. It’s even encouraged and platformed. Meanwhile, righters block evidence as having any meaning, and ideate strategies to the contrary.

Righters claim populism and patriotism and nationalism and supremacy, redefining and insinuating with hopes of defeating. Righters block responsibility feeling entitled to anything and accountable for nothing.

There is no contest when suffering righters block. Being left alone to anguish and expose reality, those seeking to conserve Democracy have been flailing. Institutions have been weakened by righters block, but are not yet left for dead.

Too many weapons of mass destruction fired off by boys who are proud and keepers of an oath, automatically arming themselves for….?

I have no idea.

….Other than the notion that power trumps and powers Trump. Left to their own devices, righters block. This is the unbearably sad, scary, true story of our time.

Litmus Test

 

 A guy shoots up a newsroom, killing 5 journalists. President says nothing in response to event or to reporters’ questions following the incident. That night, the video of  the President silently walking past reporters, ignoring their questions about the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom, was aired on tv and social media. A long day later, he stated that “journalists shouldn’t have to be fearful of being attacked while doing their jobs”. But  to Trump, journalists are “the enemy of the people”.  

So, another mass shooting that couldn’t be prevented, because how could we possibly stop the outlier? Each time? Beforehand?  We could arm teachers! Where are those good guys with guns? 

This is a reflection of our culture and politics. We live in danger of being shot anywhere because we won’t regulate lethal weaponry and have poor mental healthcare. Guns are considered masculine, even when women use them. They are the ultimate symbol of American individualism and self sufficiency. They are said to be for protection, but they are for killing (or injuring) full human  (and other) beings. They are meant to cause suffering and fear.

Even those who want to see loopholes closed, better screening , and better mental healthcare across the country, understand that there is a cultural affinity for guns, legitimized by the Second Amendment. 

Why, then, has abortion become the litmus test of our culture and politics? Why has Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion, always seemed dispensable ? The “Right to Life” is only valid as a potential life, but not once born—an actual life? Many like to mock the Clintons’ stance that abortions should be “safe, legal, and rare”, because, well, Hilary said that. The circumstance of pregnancy is unique. But it does include women’s health, and I do think abortions should be safe, legal, and rare.

 Abortion is not some newfangled cultural phenomena that began with The Feminine Mystique. Abortions have always existed, and have been dangerous (and criminal) until I was 10. But the cultural zeal and singular voting issue that has overridden everything in my lifetime has been the issue of abortion. 

Physicians have been shot (and killed) over the idea of getting rid of Roe v Wade, thereby criminalizing abortions (and OBGYNs who might perform the procedure). Right to life?

The President of Trumpistan understands that putting an anti-abortion judge on The Supreme Court will keep his base applauding, and his congressional lackeys collecting contributions. The ridiculous argument that gets put forward that it should be a states’ rights issue, not a federal one, sticks because it is an effective political move to limit access in Red states. Culturally and politically, the so-called “Right to Lifers” have all but eradicated the legality of early termination of a pregnancy, while opening up the floodgates for more semiautomatic weaponry without restrictions on use. 

Sure, there are several issues that delineate the views of the Supreme Court, but none are as contentious as Roe v Wade. Not even guns. We have deluded ourselves across our culture and politics into accepting certain rights as necessary for freedom and, ironically, life, and others as oppressive. Moreover, we have been so divided and hateful over this issue. We have so little room for accepting differing concepts, or compromising. 

Abortion is the issue that most are concerned about now that Kennedy is stepping down from the high court. Shouldn’t we be talking more about the mass murder at a newsroom?