The To-Do List Is Outrageously Familiar

One mass murder after another. I don’t have to name them; you know every one of them.

The Mass Murder Response List:

The President speaks, deploring the violence, sympathizing with the families. (Assistants check out speech from the last mass murder in order to avoid excessive repetition.)

Presidential visit is planned ASAP.

FBI goes to work: Is the shooter on any lists? What did his mother/girlfriend know? Was he an isolate? What kind of toothpaste does he use? Was he bullied in the seventh grade? Drug user? Connected to terrorists on the ground? On the Internet? Sexual identity issues?

We are familiar with the FBI moves by now. In all likelihood they arise from a file: “Mass Shooting Investigation Protocol.”

Community groups:

    Organize sympathy parade.  Make “LOVE NOT HATE “placards

    Organize fund raising for families: Create bank account and local team for equitable distribution.

.   Organize a group to supervise flowers and memorials.

.   Organize food for those who need it.

    Organize transportation for incoming family members.

    Plan community –wide memorial services with local clergy

The Mayor of Orlando calls the Mayor of San Bernadino to ask for support and assistance? “How did you handle . . .?”

OK. So all of the above is good and thoughtful response stuff. Right?

According to The Dallas Morning News, June 19, 2016, there have been 353 mass shootings in the United States this year. A mass shooting is defined by the deaths of four or more persons. 1,312 persons have been injured.

 All America now knows the drill for mass shootings. Protocol lists and files exist everywhere; no doubt including files at-the-ready in major cities where a mass shooting has not yet occurred.

We know how to mourn. We’ve become good at that, too. We wring our hands, say our prayers, send our cards and our money and kneel at candlelight memorial services. We do it all.

What we do not do? WE DO NOT CHANGE OUR GUN LAWS!  

We do not demand background checks or waiting periods. In this country it is much more difficult to get a driver’s license than a gun. It is laughable; it is disgusting.

The United States? A country adept at mourning: a country heartbroken by these frightening killings: a country nearly IMMOBILIZED by mass shootings. Does that explain the inability of Congress to ignore the power/money of the NRA? Does that explain our government’s failure to collaborate across the aisle to create legislation that could ameliorate this appalling situation?

 I doubt it. 

We should be ashamed.

 PS: Maybe, just maybe, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy’s recent heroic filibuster will spark some movement within our seemingly indifferent Congress. I pray so.