How about a love train?
Written for WQW #18: Transportation: Trains, Planes, and Working Machines
I usually don’t write or talk much about politics anymore because it’s depressing and what for?
I’m pretty sure that everyone reading this has heard about the 18-year-old gunman who, after killing his grandmother, made his way past school security and walked into the Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and opened fire with his two AR-15 style rifles and murdered 19 children and two adults. Do some math and add to the 21 murder victims their parents and siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, the school faculty and first responders who witnessed the tragedy first hand, and you’re talking about upwards of thousands of people affected by this one shooting. Add to that total the schoolchildren who were fortunate enough to survive and go home and the trauma they’ll deal with for the rest of their lives and all the people in their circles and number goes up to the tens of thousands.
How do we comfort these people? How do we tell them it’s ok? How do we tell them they’re ok? How do we tell them their lives will get back to normal?
More moments of silence? More candlelight vigils? More thoughts and prayers?
“The entire country is praying for the children, families, teachers, and staff and the first responders on the scene.” – Mitch McConnell
Thoughts and prayers are what you offer when you want more blog hits and comments, or an A on the test you didn’t bother studying for. It’s not a response to the wholesale, coldblooded slaughter of children.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he mourns the “horrific loss”, and that he urges, “all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering.”
How do we do that, Governor? By paying our respects by bringing them an AK-47 style rifle instead of a tray of lasagna and a bowl of potato salad?
“Grief overwhelms the soul. I offer prayer and condolence but know that it is grossly inadequate. We must find answers.” – Utah Senator Mitt Romney
You know what where we might begin finding answers, Senator? By voting out politicians who’ve accepted over $13 million in donations from the NRA. In case you’ve forgotten who that is, go look in the mirror.
And then there’s this: “Our nation needs to take a serious look at the state of mental health today. Sometimes meds can be the problem.” – Marjorie Taylor Greene.
While not 100% off the mark, confusing and misinforming isn’t an kind of answer. It’s avoiding the problem by simply lying.
You want to hear the worst of it? The Robb Elementary school shooting was the 27th such school shooting this year. I’m not a math guy, but I think that’s more than one a week. Yeah, wow.
I wonder what would happen if people stopped talking about loving people and actually started acting like they loved people?
“People all over the world, start a love train. Join hands, start a love train.” Love Train, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Performed by The O’Jays.
Michael B. Fishman
Michaelsfishbowl 
Right on!
And for MTG? That may be part of her problem, so she’s not wrong about herself. Grrrrrr!
Great song choice. Maybe dancing would get us REALLY moving!
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Dancing can solve a variety of problems so it’s certainly worth a try. MTG = ugh.
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Hi Michael, Wow! that’s a mouthful. I try to stay out of the political scene, too. Like you, I am heartbroken about the school tragedy. I am not a gun advocate, and I think that mental health is a huge problem. Covid has impacted the mental health of many people on the brink, both students and parents.
We witnessed a situation on Monday when a student got off a school bus that stopped in front of us. After a few minutes, a woman in a robe came out of the house and went on the bus. She practically carried a ten or eleven-year-old boy who was kicking and screaming. He threw himself to the ground. She was quite a big woman and picked him up again and carried him into the house. Our neighbor was the substitute teacher who witnessed him getting onto the bus, and may have been helping out at the time. He is new in school but would bear watching, and definitely, the entire family needs some mental health help.
Thanks for linking, Michael. I don’t put up the links that come in after Tuesday at noon. I hope you join up with WQW again. 🙂
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I’m getting ready for WQW #19 right now! 🙂 The school bus story is scary and the first thought I had was that kid didn’t want to get off the bus because he didn’t want to go home for some reason.
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That may have been true, but he was acting the same way on the other end. As my neighbors and I swapped stories, it was clear we were talking about the same boy. He was new in the school, so he probably behaved the same way going to school. I can’t imagine driving that bus! She must have been ready to quit her job when she rolled into the transportation barn. I would have been a nervous wreck.
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‘The National Rifle Association blamed a “lone, deranged criminal” for Tuesday’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead — and said its annual meeting will go on as planned.’ So, lone, deranged and business as usual. What in the damn hell.
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Does the NRA ever take blame or admit responsibility for anything? 😦
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There you go. You read all the GOP responses–arm teachers, lock the doors (no words for Cruz on that one), build man-traps. Man-traps. Good gosh. They purposely elude the obvious.
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Agree with all your points. So senselessly heartbreaking…
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Thanks Paula. I’d like to think at some point we (as a nation) will tire of these types of things happening to our neighbors and do something about it, but I’m sort of starting to lose faith.
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Guns and the mentally ill do not mix! Why wouldn’t someone question an 18-year-old buying an AR-15-style rifle?
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Or two of them just days apart.
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