Today, there is a cultural obsession with politeness, with the idea that if people behave well enough, any deadlock or difference of opinion can be bridged. But these are times of desperate wisdom. And there is nothing more uncivilized than the stubborn political base for mass shootings in the United States: 60 dead in Las Vegas, 49 dead in Orlando, 26 dead in Sandy Hook, 13 died in Columbine, 10 died in Buffalo. Adults, students, concertgoers, nightclub revelers, grocery shoppers, teachers.
The scale of the deaths in Uvalde, Texas, is incomprehensible. At least 19 children and two teachers were killed. These staggering numbers won’t change a thing.
Time and again, we are told, both implicitly and explicitly, that all we can do is endure this constant abuse. All we can do is hope these bullets don’t hit our children or us. Or our family. Or our friends and neighbors. And if we dare to protest, if we dare to express our rage, if we dare to speak fullWe were taught the importance of politeness. We are asked to remain calm and vote as an outlet for our anger.
Incivility throughout the history of this country, founded on stolen land, built with the labor of stolen lives. The document that governs our lives has denied more than half of the population the right to vote. It counts only three-fifths of the enslaved population when determining representation. If you want to talk about force majeure, let’s be clear about how deep those roots are.
The United States has become incurable not because of political differences, protest or lack of courtesy, but because it is a country that is unwilling to protect and care for its citizens – women, minorities. numbers and especially their children.
When politicians talk about politeness and public speaking, what they are really saying is that they want people to remain silent in the face of injustice. They want the marginalized to accept that the conditions of oppression are the unalterable fact of life. They want to enjoy the power they hold, where they never have to compromise, never confront their conscience or lack of it, never face the consequences of their actions. no action.
Gun violence is one of those issues that they don’t need to worry about because they believe these scourges will never affect them or their families. Instead, these politicians talked about defending our Second Amendment rights – and they re-imagined the Second Amendment as something that would respond to whatever the corridor guns want, rather than what the Constitution actually says. With a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, continued Second Amendment re-creation is likely to flourish, unchecked.
When asked for a solution, Republicans talked about arming teachers and training them to protect their classrooms. We hear about how good people with guns will bravely prevent mass shootings, even though there have been good people with guns in some mass shootings and they have failed to prevent these tragedies. .
These politicians offer blessings and prayers and scriptures. But they don’t care what has to be done to prevent the next gun massacre or an average of 321 people are shot a day in the United States – including 42 homicides and 65 suicides. It is important that we proclaim this truth clearly and repeatedly and loudly. That is, we do not let them hide behind words. That they know we see through their lies. They have to know that we know who they really are.
They called for civility over and over again, as they did during protests after Blacks were shot or killed by police in Ferguson and Kenosha and Minneapolis and Louisville. They called for fairness as a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn the Roe v. Wade case was leaked this month. The draft decision tells people of childbearing age that they have no physical autonomy. It’s barbaric.
Following the leak, there were peaceful, legal protests outside the homes of several judges. Journalists and politicians have fallen to their knees to condemn these protests as inhumane – as if the protests were the problem. The Washington Post editorial board wrote that judges have the power to personal lifethat public protests must never violate certain boundaries.
They call for politeness, but the definition of politeness is malleable and ever-changing. Justice is anything that allows them to exercise power without question or challenge.
Last March, Senator Christopher Murphy of Connecticut reintroduced Background Check Expansion Act. The bill is a common law requiring federal background checks on all firearm purchases, including private sales and transfers. Nothing happened to this bill. Majority of voters support background checks, but Republicans in Congress are blocking the bare minimum of gun laws.
Their hindrance is vile evil deed. These are not people who take life seriously, no matter what they say. They value power and control. This we must also say clearly and loudly and repeatedly.
Had at least 213 mass shootings for the first 145 days of 2022. Politicians on both sides of the aisle who have enabled this have not conveyed a real sense of understanding or concern for the helplessness of children practicing the protests. active shooting drills and wear bulletproof backpacks to school. They don’t seem to care that children are instructed to throw things at a gunman who might enter their classroom. They care nothing but their own political interests.
On Tuesday morning, at least 19 parents of the children woke them up and helped them brush their teeth, feed them breakfast, and prepare them to pack small backpacks. They hold their little ones’ hands as they walk or drive them to school. Those children were alive when their parents waved to them and gave them lunches and kissed them on the cheek. Their lives are precious, and they are important.
America’s greatest indignation is knowing that no amount of rage or protest or destruction or loss can change anything about this country’s relationship with guns or lives. . Nothing will change about a bad political system where policy is sold to the highest bidder. Language is not enough to express this lack of politeness.
