Highly Misplaced Honor

Just read the following in Heather’s latest newsletter:

The far-right, pro-gun “Second Amendment Caucus” today hosted Kyle Rittenhouse, the 19-year-old who shot three men, killing two of them, in summer 2020 during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and who was later acquitted of homicide. 

Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) made the following comment about Rittenhouse’s appearance:  

“It was an honor to have Kyle join the Second Amendment Caucus. He is a powerful example of why we must never give an inch on our Second Amendment rights, and his perseverance and love for our country was an inspiration to the caucus.”

Is it just me or do others find it not only disgusting, but sickening as well, that a person who needlessly SHOT AND KILLED two individuals and walked away scot-free is given accolades such as this?

How can ANY individual who respects human life and all it stands for declare that Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions were a “powerful example” of the “rights” declared in the Second Amendment?

Perhaps it was the way I was raised, but it is so completely beyond my understanding that ANYONE would heap praise and verbal trophies of approval on an individual who KILLED two people (and injured a third) using a gun that he should never have had in the first place!

I’m sorry, but I simply cannot agree that allowing an individual to buy, own, and use a gun to shoot and kill others and then walk away scot-free was the goal behind those who wrote the Second Amendment.

The personal ego already has a strong element of dysfunction, but the collective ego is, frequently, even more dysfunctional, to the point of absolute insanity.
–Eckhart Tolle

I’m So Tired …

• Tired of Trump and any and all news about him
• Tired of reading about Marjorie Taylor Greene and her idiotic and perverted beliefs
• Tired of The Pillow Guy
• Tired of people defending Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions
• Tired of WHITE law enforcement killing BLACK people
• Tired of Antifa getting the blame for QAnon actions/activities
• Tired of Faux News manipulating the facts to satisfy their audience
• Tired of disagreements without compromise
• Tired of people who refuse to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Tired of churches claiming they are exempt from COVID-19 restrictions
• Tired of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Tired of evangelists ripping off their congregations to satisfy their own biblically forbidden “worldly desires”
• Tired of the evangelical community forcing their beliefs on others
• Tired of individuals claiming false Second Amendment rights
• Tired of closed-minded individuals
• Tired of ignorance
• Tired of … etc., etc., etc.

Are you tired also? Here’s your chance to kvetch!

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Image by Stephanie Ghesquier from Pixabay

Bruce Willis’ Simplistic Statement

Following is a ‘brief’ that was in today’s local newspaper:

Bruce Willis says he’s against new gun control laws that could infringe on Second Amendment rights. He dismissed any link between Hollywood shootouts and real-life gun violence in a recent interview while promoting his latest film. He believes “the real topic is diminished” when observers link Hollywood entertainment with high-profile mass shootings. “No one commits a crime because they saw a film. There’s nothing to support that,” he said.

It’s that last statement that sent me through the roof. Of course no one goes out and commits a crime just because they saw a film! It isn’t simply the movies, video games, or television programs that cause individuals to go out and murder innocent people. It’s what these forms of communication are frequently promoting, i.e., violence and disrespect for human life.

Watch practically any action movie or TV program and you’ll see this person killing that person (most frequently with a gun). Look over the shoulder of your teenager as he plays one of the popular video games and what is he doing? Shooting and killing.

Certainly not every person who is exposed to a violent movie or video game is going to go on a mass murdering spree. There are nearly always other factors involved. However, as Eugene V. Beresin, M.D., (Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital) writes in the following online article:

While the causes of youth violence are multifactorial and include such variables as poverty, family psychopathology, child abuse, exposure to domestic and community violence, substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders, the research literature is quite compelling that children’s exposure to media violence plays an important role in the etiology of violent behavior.

Dr. Beresin goes on to say:

The “typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18.”

He adds:

“They may come to see violence as a fact of life and, over time, lose their ability to empathize with both the victim and the victimizer.”

I was particularly struck by this statement:

“The typical scenario of using violence for a righteous cause may translate in daily life into a justification for using violence to retaliate against perceived victimizers. Hence, vulnerable youth who have been victimized may be tempted to use violent means to solve problems.”

In my opinion, while Mr. Willis may support Second Amendment rights, his comment related to films and crime demonstrated a complete disconnect to the very real issue that is facing our nation today.