Amerigeddon

Iesha Evens Bears Witness (NY Daily News)

Lay that pistol down, babe

Lay that pistol down

Pistol packin' Mama

Lay that pistol down!

What has gone down in this country during the last week is attracting comment on so many different levels that one is at a loss to know where to begin. Guns? Violence? Hate? Yeah, all of that stuff, but I can't help wondering whether there might be some festering national psychosis infecting America's soul. What happened in Dallas over the weekend seems to render the National Rifle Association's latest argument meaningless. Only a good guy with a gun will stop a bad guy with a gun? Forgive me for pointing this out, but the streets of that city on Saturday night were literally crawling with good guys with guns - scads of 'em. That fact did not deter the maniac who opened fire on the the police. When the smoke had cleared, five of them were dead, and a lot more were wounded. Another NRA talking point shot to hell - pun most definitely intended. By the way, what's their solution for the carnage in Dallas over the weekend? More guns. Ain't that something?

And congress? As I said after the carnage at Newtown nearly four years ago: Don't expect them to do anything to change. Still, the people of Dallas may take some comfort in the knowledge that the "thoughts and prayers" of the corrupt politicians on the NRA's payroll are with them.

Of course, the extreme right wing is already using this latest atrocity to slander the Black Lives Matter movement, as if the sniper who committed these murders was the national spokesman of that organization; as if unarmed people who are being murdered by police almost daily these days are somehow complicit in their own slaughter. 

Philandeo Castile

The latest incident is the killing of Philandeo Castile in Minnesota. He was pulled over, allegedly, for a broken tail light (although the tail light was not damaged as it turns out). When Castile told the officer that he had a permit to carry a pistol and that he had it on him, the officer ordered him to Castile to produce his ID. When he reached for it, the murderous jackass shot him four times - in front of his girlfriend and eight-year-old daughter. He's dead. Nice, huh? And it makes some wonder why African Americans are so outraged. Incredible.

If this idiotic, murderous cop is allowed to walk free, the proverbial substance is gonna hit the fan, baby. This was cold-blooded murder. His excuse is that he thought Philandeo Castile was a robbery suspect. Mr. Castile was not a robbery suspect. Besides, if that is the only defense he can come up with, it's a pretty lame one. Last I checked, robbery was not a capital offence. Maybe that has changed I'll get back to you.

Black lives do indeed matter. All lives matter.

Not that I'm defending trigger-happy police officers, some of whom have the tendency of murdering unarmed people with dark skin, but there is a whole lot of room for understanding the situation most cops face. Because of the insanely lax gun laws in too many regions of this sick country, any police officer could be forgiven for thinking, as they approach a car that they've pulled over, Whoa! I might die here. Again, that is not offered as a blanket defense of what is now happening in America, that's just a morsel that should be mixed into the national discussion. For the record, it is my opinion that "more guns" is not the answer. I just wanted to throw that one out there.

The United States of America has become a very dangerous nation.

To be honest with you, mass murder is a subject that I've become totally bored with. Ironically, I'll probably be writing about it when the next massacre of innocent people happens in another two or three weeks, if not sooner. The front page of my local paper this morning tells us that, in this area (Orange County, New York) applications for pistol permits are much higher in 2016 than they were at this time last year. The good news is that at least you still need a permit to own a hand gun in my neck of the woods. The bad news is that I don't feel one bit safer. How 'bout you?

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

The Trial of George W. Bush for Murder
by Vincent Bugliosi

Vince Bugliosi is not some left wing crackpot (like me, you may argue). He is a distinguished and greatly respected former prosecutor. This is the guy who put Charles Manson in the slammer for life. He lays out the case against Bush in a fashion that any prosecuting attorney would - and that case is air-tight. He argues that Bush deserves the death penalty for his crimes against humanity. I wouldn't go that far. I'm against capital punishment in any form, even for a horrid little piece of shit like Dubya. I will say this, though: If Bush and Cheney were to be executed, they deserve that punishment far more than Ten Bundy did. As horrible as his spree was, his victims amounted to about twenty women. George and Dick murdered at least one-hundred thousand men, women - and little children. There's no contest. None.