ClydeStyle

Tag: Mass shooter

  • Let freedom ring, for real

    Our beloved country brags about its freedoms. We often speak arrogantly about our freedom to do this or that. Many have died for the right to have such freedoms, but what we haven’t learned is that great responsibility comes with our freedoms. A responsibility that we have already decided is too much for us.

    We argue that our government is too involved in our affairs. We fight against government regulations, and we want to be left alone. Freedom dictates that we allow those free to March by the beat of their own drum. We don’t have the right to say you can have your beat as long as I like it, too.

    Why regulate abortion? Guns? Transgender surgeries or any surgeries for that matter? We do these things in spite of our freedoms because we believe the said person making the decision is not fit to make a wise choice. We are a free country, but our government wants to regulate a woman’s body and her decisions surrounding her body. Why? Because abortion is a sin. But what if we don’t share the same religion? Don’t we have freedom of religion here, too??

    A student should not be able to obtain an automatic weapon and take it to school and kill dozens of people because he’s angry or bullied. But, if we’ve decided in our free country that people have the right to bear arms, doesn’t that decision already come with the understanding that someone is going to make a decision within this freedom that most will disagree with? If that is the case, then we either grant the freedom and shut up or take it off the table altogether, and no one but active military personnel can have guns.

    We are so hypocritical regarding our freedoms because what we really mean is you have the freedom unless it bothers me or it’s something I like too, or I can benefit from it some way. You can’t have freedom if it affects me in a negative way. Now, all we need to figure out is who gets to be the decision maker of these things? The government? The wealthy? Republicans? Democrats? Should it just be a part of white privilege or incorporate affirmative action into it!

    Anyway, other countries are watching us get it wrong and, at this point, probably wondering how could democracy possibly be a benefit.

  • El Paso shooter gets 90 consecutive life sentences. For what?

    One of the many mass shooters in America recently went through sentencing for shooting up a Walmart, killing 20 plus people and wounding many others. We were outraged when we heard about it, and the usual things were said, like, is the shooter dead? Did they identify the dead? What type of weapon was used? Was he a formal employee of Walmart?

    Prayers and thoughts were sent out by millions who heard about the deaths and conversations began around the country regarding whether the death penalty should be brought back and when we would get stiffer gun laws.

    Chatter, then begins to die down until the next shooting kindles it back up. Finally, the El Paso shooter gets sentenced, and it took multiple days to do it. Our country is so juvenile when it comes to things like this. Although his court days are far from over, he was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences. Why? It’s almost like each sentence was a shot to his head, and the person with the trigger just kept pulling it to the tune of 90 consecutive life sentences.

    What is the purpose of this? It won’t bring anyone back to life. It is not even equal punishment. And rehabilitation is definitely not an agenda item here. We’ll just toss out life sentences like coupons and hope that they satisfy the families of the deceased.

    This is madness. Of course, we need tougher gun laws. In fact, we need to eliminate guns from our society, but that won’t happen because there is money to be made selling guns.

    Until we begin to look at our crimes as a mirror and see who we truly are instead of acting as if those criminals are just “bad apples,” we will continue to lack the compassion it takes to heal and rehabilitate the under belly of our society. These shooters did not plan to be mass shooters in kindergarten. It’s not an excuse, but circumstances happened, and we could trace back through the lives of the shooters and find the points of trouble.

    Stricter penalties like death have proven to be abusive, and many die who are innocent, especially those of color. We need to change the narrative in America by acknowledging our sins and fighting injustice where it occurs. If not, eventually, we will all be killed in a mass shooter attack or be in jail for 90 consecutive life sentences as the shooter.