The Political Gun Thread

[BostonBeaneater]

Wellness check in for Flex. Check in Flex.

I'm fine, thanks. We live a fair bit south of where the shooting took place.

Horrible stuff. Every state has something similar, but I saw a list yesterday of the number of mass shooting in Colorado since the early 90s and, well, it was too long a list to be contained in a tweet's character limit.

Terrible stuff. I know that's not exactly close by but it's still too close. I wonder if we will ever address our mass mental health crisis. It seems like a solid 25% of Americans are suffering mental illness of some sort right now.

[matedog]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

[Dr. Medulla]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

I've argued (and continue to hope) that that will be the catalyst for meaningful gun policy change in the US. Kids who grew up with post-Columbine active-shooter drills and experiences will decide they don't want their kids to go thru the same shit. Those whose childhood was too strict tend to want their children to have more freedom; those whose childhood was too lax and without structure seek to counter that. So those who grew up regarding school as a place where you might get murdered, I hope, will generate the political will to address that. (I'm perversely optimistic, I know.)

[matedog]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

I've argued (and continue to hope) that that will be the catalyst for meaningful gun policy change in the US. Kids who grew up with post-Columbine active-shooter drills and experiences will decide they don't want their kids to go thru the same shit. Those whose childhood was too strict tend to want their children to have more freedom; those whose childhood was too lax and without structure seek to counter that. So those who grew up regarding school as a place where you might get murdered, I hope, will generate the political will to address that. (I'm perversely optimistic, I know.)

You are way more optimistic than me. God I hope that's how it turns out, I just don't see anything changing based on the current climate and penchant for apathy and bending to the will of corporations.

[Dr. Medulla]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

I've argued (and continue to hope) that that will be the catalyst for meaningful gun policy change in the US. Kids who grew up with post-Columbine active-shooter drills and experiences will decide they don't want their kids to go thru the same shit. Those whose childhood was too strict tend to want their children to have more freedom; those whose childhood was too lax and without structure seek to counter that. So those who grew up regarding school as a place where you might get murdered, I hope, will generate the political will to address that. (I'm perversely optimistic, I know.)

You are way more optimistic than me. God I hope that's how it turns out, I just don't see anything changing based on the current climate and penchant for apathy and bending to the will of corporations.

The historian's credo is that everything is in flux, and change can occur where seemingly it would be impossible. I often cite same-sex marriage as the seemingly impossible that is generally conventional now.

[JennyB]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

I've argued (and continue to hope) that that will be the catalyst for meaningful gun policy change in the US. Kids who grew up with post-Columbine active-shooter drills and experiences will decide they don't want their kids to go thru the same shit. Those whose childhood was too strict tend to want their children to have more freedom; those whose childhood was too lax and without structure seek to counter that. So those who grew up regarding school as a place where you might get murdered, I hope, will generate the political will to address that. (I'm perversely optimistic, I know.)

You are way more optimistic than me. God I hope that's how it turns out, I just don't see anything changing based on the current climate and penchant for apathy and bending to the will of corporations.

I've kind of been of the opinion that if nothing changed after 20 six-year-olds were massacred, then it's not gonna. If it weren't for the filibuster, maybe background checks could get through this session. But that blob whose dad killed JFK and is also the Zodiac Killer is dead set on filibustering any meaningful legislation.

[Dr. Medulla]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

I've argued (and continue to hope) that that will be the catalyst for meaningful gun policy change in the US. Kids who grew up with post-Columbine active-shooter drills and experiences will decide they don't want their kids to go thru the same shit. Those whose childhood was too strict tend to want their children to have more freedom; those whose childhood was too lax and without structure seek to counter that. So those who grew up regarding school as a place where you might get murdered, I hope, will generate the political will to address that. (I'm perversely optimistic, I know.)

You are way more optimistic than me. God I hope that's how it turns out, I just don't see anything changing based on the current climate and penchant for apathy and bending to the will of corporations.

I've kind of been of the opinion that if nothing changed after 20 six-year-olds were massacred, then it's not gonna. If it weren't for the filibuster, maybe background checks could get through this session. But that blob whose dad killed JFK and is also the Zodiac Killer is dead set on filibustering any meaningful legislation.

Again, historical constellations change. Not saying it'll happen this time or the next, but to say nothing is ever going to change—that the future will be the present but more so—is to say that we are frozen in history or immune to it. The people in elected offices change, those who are alive and dead in the country are constantly in flux. Y'all need to think like historians and appreciate that everything is always in motion.

[Mimi]

It's rough that most (American) people seem to have a too close connection to mass shootings. Mine is the Thousand Oaks one from two years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Oaks_shooting

I went to high school in this town and went to this actual bar once or twice when I was still in high school (they had an 18 and over area).

I've argued (and continue to hope) that that will be the catalyst for meaningful gun policy change in the US. Kids who grew up with post-Columbine active-shooter drills and experiences will decide they don't want their kids to go thru the same shit. Those whose childhood was too strict tend to want their children to have more freedom; those whose childhood was too lax and without structure seek to counter that. So those who grew up regarding school as a place where you might get murdered, I hope, will generate the political will to address that. (I'm perversely optimistic, I know.)

You are way more optimistic than me. God I hope that's how it turns out, I just don't see anything changing based on the current climate and penchant for apathy and bending to the will of corporations.

I've kind of been of the opinion that if nothing changed after 20 six-year-olds were massacred, then it's not gonna. If it weren't for the filibuster, maybe background checks could get through this session. But that blob whose dad killed JFK and is also the Zodiac Killer is dead set on filibustering any meaningful legislation.

100%

[Flex]

reports are that biden is actually getting keen on nuking the filibuster - very "only nixon could go to china" stuff there - so I'm formally moving One (1) IMCT Hooky's Left Nut Unit of Speculative Value over to Doc's optimism that maybe something (anything) can be done.