Newtown, Connecticut Massacre: Why We Are All Guilty

Without a national mass movement to compel politicians to get on board and become involved in fighting these rampages in a few weeks or months we will be counting bodies of innocent victims and saying "how could it happen again"?

[Black Star News Editorial]

Yes, It Will Happen Again, Unless We Act


After the massacre at Columbine High School claimed 15 lives in 1999 there was shock, awe and indignation and many “never again” statements.

After the Virginia Tech massacre snuffed 33 lives in 2007, there were more “never again” and “we must do something” statements.

Earlier this year, the nation was again stunned when a gunman executed 12 movie goers in Aurora, Colorado. There were several “how could this happen again” and “this is the final call” type statements.

Teenagers continue to die by the dozens every few days in Chicago through gun violence and the nation throws up its arms collectively as if nothing can be done; primarily, there, the dead are mostly African Americans.

Then yesterday, 20 children were robbed of life, and six adults killed by a gunman who first took his own mother’s life before heading to Sandy Hook elementary school, in Newtown, Connecticut, for his rampage. He also killed himself.

How many more times can we really say “how could this happen” and “never again” when we know why it happens and that it will happen again — as surely as clockwork, unless something is done to address gun culture and the proliferation of weapons?

For how long will we engage in the hypocrisy? How long will we pretend we are still shocked because we don’t want to acknowledge we’re culpable due to our inactions?

Guns do kill; and very many guns available translates into very many people killed.
 
The weapons used in Adam Lanza’s murderous attack were reportedly a Sig Sauer and a Glock, handguns. A Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, which is a rifle, was also reportedly found at the crime scene. The guns were legally registered to the mother of the gunman.

Murderous impulses, out of control rages, and deranged outbursts can never be eliminated: but easy availability of firearms makes it easier to conduct rampages that claim more lives.

In a few weeks or months today’s indignation will subside when new disasters grab the headlines: possible meltdown of a European country’s economy leading to riots; violent turmoil on the streets of Cairo; fresh massacres by Rwanda’s M23 terrorists in Central Africa; or, another outburst of violence elsewhere in this country.

President Obama in an address to the nation correctly said we must “come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”

New York’s mayor Bloomberg, a proponent of gun control said, “We have heard all the rhetoric before” and “What we have not seen is leadership – not from the White House and not from Congress.”

Saying and doing are two different things.

It’s also no use to scapegoat only Republicans, who are indeed deep in the pockets of the National Rifle Association (NRA); Democrats also are wary of fighting for gun control for fear that the NRA will target them and finance the campaigns of opponents.

We the people must give up on politicians and start a movement to check the out-of-control proliferation of weapons and the pervasive gun culture. Politicians are not good in charting a new course: they are normally good at jumping on the band wagon.
 
To expect lawmakers to take the lead is akin to waiting for members of Congress, including the many multi-millionaires there, to take a paycut until the nation’s fiscal health is restored. If they could not, on their own, do a common sense thing like that, we must all have our heads examined if we expect them to take the lead in combating gun violence.

What’s more, when one of their very own, Rep. Gabrielle  Giffords was shot and almost killed last year, that incident didn’t create any momentum to deal with gun violence.  No: it’s time for people to organize and not wait for politicians.

People at the grassroots level allover the country can take action such as:

(1) Targeting politicians who are in the pockets of the NRA and voting them out of office by supporting the right candidates.

(2) Launching websites to share information, coordinate ideas, and to organize campaigns at the local and national level.

(3) Organizing petition drives and protests online targeting politicians and officials who oppose combating gun violence.

(4) Organizing and coordinating demonstrations and protest marches against politicians and officials who oppose combating gun violence.

(5) Organizing and coordinating campaigns against manufacturers of the weapons that are most frequently used in these massacres.

(6) Organizing regular town hall meetings to brainstorm and share ideas and streaming these sessions.

Without a national mass movement to compel politicians to get on board and become involved in fighting these rampages in a few weeks or months we will be counting bodies of innocent victims and saying “how could it happen again”?

Start off with townhall meetings.

“Speaking Truth To Power.”

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