James Leroy Wilson's one-man magazine.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

My Orlando reaction


In past few days, I've people on social media blame the following for the Orlando shooting:

  • The NRA, even though the shooter was a security guard who worked at government buildings.
  • President Obama's Muslim immigration policies, even though the shooter's parent migrated from Afghanistan during the Reagan Administration, and the father seemed to have close ties with senior government officials.
  • Christians who oppose gay marriage, for inspiring anti-LGBT hatred, even though Obama himself held that position as recently as eight years ago and the shooter isn't Christian.
  • The FBI, for investigating the shooter then gave up because the guy wasn't doing anything criminal.
These ignorant blame games suggest even more sinister ideas.
  • Gun control advocates say "no one wants to take away your guns." But if they think the laws should stop a licensed security guard from buying one, who would they allow to have one?   y
  • Left unsaid, but implied from the "blame Muslims" crowd is that not only immigrants, but native-born Muslims should be more closely monitored or have restrictions placed on them. Reminiscent of the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.
  • Implicit in blaming "hatred" is that people expressing disagreeable and/or "extreme" views should be censored. Political Correctness should be the Law of the Land.
  • To blame the FBI is to say the feds don't have enough surveillance powers.
The week before the shooting, a rapist at Stanford University argued that his cultural surroundings influenced his behavior. He got a light sentence, and the nation reacted in outrage. He was to blame, not anybody else. Not his friends. Not the promiscuous, binge-drinking "culture."  

A few days later, many forgot that very point when it came to the Orlando shooter. It wasn't the guns, it wasn't religion, it wasn't what The State did or didn't do. It was him.

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