By Michael Winship
I’m sitting here typing away at the dining room table in the home of friends a few miles along the road from Newtown, Connecticut. In a span of just thirteen hours, there have been mass killings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Many more are wounded.
Lone, young white gunmen have murdered nearly thirty men, women and children. In Texas, the dead were shopping for back-to-school sale bargains at Wal-Mart. In Ohio, they were enjoying a weekend evening out.
Each assailant legally obtained his weapon. The killer in Dayton’s AR-15-style rifle used a double drum magazine that holds 100 rounds of ammo for non-stop shooting. You can order it online for $129.95.
I sat at this same table less than seven years ago during the weekend of the 27 murders at Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School and wrote, “As many as 100 bullets were fired in Newtown; last year, a total of 85 were fired at people by the police in all of Germany and 49 of them were warning shots. We will hear all these and other statistics in the days ahead, and in a week or so they will fade until the next time. Unless this time we stand up and say no.”
There have been, of course, too many next times. And so far, as hard as we try, every time it happens again we apparently have not stood up in sufficient numbers or shouted loud enough to make the massacres stop. What does it take? The story keeps repeating.
July 2012: In the wake of the killings at a Colorado movie theater, my colleague Bill Moyers and I wrote, “We are fooling ourselves. Fooling ourselves that the law could allow even an inflamed lunatic to easily acquire murderous weapons and not expect murderous consequences. Fooling ourselves that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of a ‘well-regulated militia’ be construed as a God-given right to purchase and own just about any weapon of destruction you like, a license for murder and mayhem. A great fraud has entered our history.”
January 2013: Less than a month after the Newtown murders, we wrote, “Naturally, in a country where even life and death are measured by the profit margin, the cure for gun violence is, yes, more guns! Bigger profits.”
October 2017: After 57 were killed in Las Vegas, I said, “To claim as a constitutional right the possession of firearms intended for nothing less than brutal, gruesome warfare strains credulity. These are killing machines with no purpose other than to maim and destroy. Of course, we’ve said this time and again and will doubtless say it again because the foolish cycle remains unchanging.”
February 2018: I wrote, “An AR-15 is what 19-year old Nikolas Cruz bought for his rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland [Florida]… These are not sports weapons and they sure as hell don’t belong in the hands of any civilian, much less the mentally disturbed.”
And so it goes. A pizzeria owner who was at the murder scene in Dayton tells The New York Times he had watched the news from El Paso earlier in the day but thought it was, “just another mass shooting that we hear about all the time, and you never think it’s going to hit home.”
Is that what needs to happen? Must every community endure a tragedy of its own to understand that gun violence not only slays individuals but also kills us as a society?
Rather than face the truth, our elected leaders try to cover it all up, pointing fingers at everyone but themselves and blaming the gun deaths on video games and mental problems. When their hands are not fraudulently folded in prayer, they greedily reach out for more and more campaign cash from the National Rifle Association.
Here’s a truth for you. This is domestic terrorism. Here’s another: According to the NRA Campaign Spending Tracker run by The Trace, an independent news organization that investigates guns in the United States, “In the 2018 election cycle, the NRA… spent $5,362,861 supporting 265 candidates… and $4,369,083 opposing 71 candidates… in congressional races across 44 states.” Over the past decade, they’ve spent more than $100 million.
The NRA donated $30.3 million to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Where it all came from remains a secret. Keep that cash in mind; then remember how he incites white supremacist crowds at his rallies. Never forget all the vicious things Donald Trump has said about people of color, the constant anti-immigrant rhetoric, much of it in the past few days leading up to the shootings.
In characteristic cover-his-ass mode, he now lies and tells the public, “Hate has no place in our country,” and that when it comes to guns, “We have done much more than most administrations. That’s not talked about very much. But we’ve done actually a lot. But perhaps more has to be done.” Perhaps?
Monday morning, Trump, bowing to pressure, called for “strong background checks,” but naturally then blamed the media for the problem—”Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years,” he tweeted—as ever, misleading and trying to divert the blame away from the leading offender, himself.
Yet he’s just the latest in a long list of culprits. More than twelve years ago—twelve years!—the day after 32 were shot and killed at Virginia Tech in April 2007, I asked, “How many times do mass killings… have to occur before we get it through our thick, wired for the Stone Age skulls? For that matter, how many times do people have to write a column like this one decrying the insanity of gun violence in America?”
Here’s that column once again. Will I ever be able to stop writing it?
Michael Winship is the Schumann Senior Writing Fellow for Common Dreams. Previously, he was the Emmy Award-winning senior writer for Moyers & Company and BillMoyers.com, a past senior writing fellow at the policy and advocacy group Demos, and former president of the Writers Guild of America East. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelWinship
Michael Cocchiola says
I hold every Republican, every evangelical and every white supremacist (oops, already mentioned Republicans) responsible for the El Paso and Dayton mass killings. They elected a racist and xenophobic demagogue to pollute America. And despite these atrocities, they continue to prop up the very person who has unleashed this hatred and violence.
Republicans… you own Trumpp and you own the cancer that he has metastasized.
mausborn says
Shame on you, America, for allowing this man to remain in your White House. Get him out. Drag him out by his cotton-candy hair, if you must. Just get rid of him. The divider in chief who think its a winning strategy and good politics to pit people against one another is talking about video games or the mental illness BS. Call it for what it’s Homegrown Terrorists! Trump is the Poster Child of TERRORISM in USA!
Jim Bob says
But…but…you forgot video games, banning prayer in schools, Kenyan birth certificates, Benghazi…ad infinitum. You will get no sympathy from the Ronald Reagan and/or Eric Rudolph Republican Assemblies in Palm Coast, Florida.
David T Schaefer says
Michael you said it best.
Mark says
Yes it everybody’s fault except the liberals. I’ll ask, why don’t you get out from behind your safe space and do something of consequence to help. like volunteer to coach a kids team, or babysit for these parents who don’t care about their kids. Make a kid feel like they belong and someone cares and loves them. Quit trying to control everyone and everything, That’s a democracy.
CB from PC says
I’d like to see people stop writing that guns are responsible.
In the cases of the El Paso and Dayton shootings two mentally ill people decided to kill innocent people.
The Dayton shooter had juvenile records of kill and rape lists.
Under current law, they were sealed when he turned 21.
The El Paso shooter posted an ” anti-immigration manifesto”.
According to the media and most of the 2020 Democrat candidates, that makes him a “White Supremacist”.
Regardless, he is a deranged individual.
And once all the facts are presented, there likely will be other “warning signs” which were ignored.
Which brings me to Nicholas Cruz, the Marjorie Stoneham shooter in Broward County.
37 incidents on DEMOCRAT Sheriff Scott Israel’s watch were ignored.
Deputy Peterson, who previously went easy on Boss Israel’s Quarterback son in a locker room sexual assault investigation, was busy figuring his retirement options, instead of doing his job while Cruz shot up the school.
Thank God, the cops quickly killed the Dayton shooter quickly.
Medical records are confidential under HIPA law.
Good luck using Shrink’s diagnosis.
However, State and Local juvenile, and any criminal conviction records should be included in the NICC database for firearm background checks.
Until we have a fail-safe system, which ain’t gonna happen, as individuals, if we see something, we have to say something.
Layla says
I am sorry but I am going to disagree, heartily. Look at you suicide rate right now, the drug deaths, 60 million abortions. Trump didn’t cause any of that AND CONGRESS refuses to do anything about it. This coming election is going to be costly to BOTH sides.
Until the American people can see a Congress doing their jobs RESPONSIBLY, this is going to continue.
Mr. Cocchiola, what kind of political party fundraisers off this?
Facts says
How about instituting term limits with all elected officials and end allowing lobbyist to influence designs our politicians make due to legal bribes. They are suppose to represent their constituents. Do not blame the president because you do not agree with him. What about the politicians that been in office for years. They have done nothing but talk.
gmath55 says
Yes, It was President Trump’s fault I saw him put the gun in the shooters hands.
There were mass shootings under Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barrack H. Obama. So, it was blood on their hands too.
Trump is talking about mass shootings and you all are talking about people getting their feelings hurt… You really compared murder, with political disagreements?
Veteran says
The label “racist” has been put on Trump by the liberal media so much that the democrats believe it. What proof do you have? Is it because he’s done more for prison reform which affects mostly blacks? Maybe it’s because unemployment rate for blacks is lowest since God knows when. White supremacist rallies? There are plenty of blacks and Hispanics in attendance, but how would you know, you’ve never watched one. I’d rather have Trump than one of the wacky socialists running against him.
Jack stewart says
I do believe the shooter in Dayton was. Registered Democrat……..
Dave says
We need to vote for a total ban of all Semi Automatic guns that use magazines. That includes all riffles and handguns with these features period. period
Alberto Minota says
Society has deteriorated. There are too many causes to list. Our president did not cause these two evil men to go out and murder all these people and injure all these people. How do you explain 8 murdered and 40 others hurt in shootings in Chicago this weekend? You can’t blame the president for that. These two devils are to blame. There are plenty of people with hatred inside but they don’t go on shooting sprees murdering people! Violent games and availability of guns and insane ammo clips that hold crazy amounts of bullets…laws must change. Society needs to change. Internet has destroyed society.
Thw Realist says
To Michael Cocchiola…I guess you didn’t delve to deep into the Ohio shooting, This sick bastard had been giving off warning signs since 2012 and no one acted on it. He had a list of people he wanted to rape and kill…still no one did anything about it. And oh yeah…he was a big supporter of the left and Elizabeth Warren. Do some research on your own and you will find out that is a fact. Do some research and educate yourself to the reality of the situation or continue to sit back with your lemming mentality and believe and repeat what the media instructs you to do. If you want these shootings stopped you have to promptly execute these offenders once convicted.
Traveling Rep says
Astounding how all of these liberal clowns can blame a couple of deranged psychopaths committing mass murder on a 70 something old billionaire who happens to be president. Surely you imbeciles realize he had zero to do with the demonic acts these animals undertook. And let’s get real here, why is every racist lefty so quick to blame white people for everything these days? Identity politics and race baiting, that is why! I still can’t think of the last time an NRA member was the culprit of a mass shooting. Amazing how quick people are to blame an inanimate object…have you all forgotten that rental trucks do the same thing? Nice, France? Evil people are going to use whatever is available. Politicizing tragedies like this does nothing to solve the problem, in only further exacerbates and divides us. If we want to be honest about the underlying causes, mental health should be our new focus. Lamenting over who is President or Rep or senator will never get us anywhere.
Traveling Rep says
Not that it matters but, which political party did the Dayton shooter belong to? Yep, democrat! Sorry to burst your narrative…buffoons!
Peter A Cerreta says
Is there more political corruption today or is the media and means of communication making it easier for public awareness? Having been around for many, many years l feel corruption has been, still is and unless there’s a significant change in the way politicians are protected, paid, allowed unlimited terms in office and given golden retirement packages, corruption, thirst for power and greed will always be on the American scene on national and local levels. I fear politicians make decisions based on personal goals that occasionally benefit the majority of the people. Polls, surveys, even citizen votes on local and local issues are ignored- the rationale is, the citizens aren’t bright enough, to understand what is good for them.
How long has the media reported the plead from citizens to develop a viable plan for gun control? Nothing
Has been nor will be done.
Q with many other citizen issues of need shelved or put into committee counting on the passage of time so the issue will be allowed to die; until a crisis revives urgency. Further, the media must uncover Wrongs of all government hierarchy and follow through with demands as to action and progress
Accou from specific
Outsider says
Michael, are yougoing to blame the Democrat in Dayton, who actually did the shooting, for the shooting?
oldtimer says
The shooter in Dayton was a registered Democrat who on his own posts “couldn’t wait for socialism to spread and begged people to vote blue” he wasn’t a Trump supporter
I’ll be surprised if this is posted it doesn’t fit the narrative
Agkistrodon says
I voted for Obama, am I RESPONSIBLE for all the people shot and killed while HE was President? I think Not and that line of THOUGHT only serves to further the Problem.
Fredrick says
I will take you and the rest of the anti gun crowd seriously when you start writing every Monday about the shooting killing of innocents weekly if not daily in Chicago. Until then please keep calling those you disagree with racists and everything else you can think of. It ensures your continued and growing insignificance. When are you willing to do something about the cause? The gun is simply an object. Why is it happening? Adress the problem not the inanimate object.
The Reaist says
Hey Jim Bob. Based on your comments you think that there is nothing wrong with violent video games and the affect it can have on young minds. It’s just pretend killing right? There’s no harm in that… well being that’s the case and I would say that killing is a worse offense than rape..you should come out with a video game called Jim Bobs Rape Game. You will make millions! Fun for all ages and great hand eye coordination development.
Sherry says
@Michael Cocchoila. . . you are right on!
We have now reached the point that since 9/11 more Americans have been killed by “domestic terrorists” than foreign ones. The constant drum beat of fear and hate from FOX, Rush and trump combined with weapons of mass destruction (assault guns) have mass murders of innocent people happening at insane levels with no end in site!
ALL the Republicans and others who still insist on worshiping trump are complicit in the murders!
Agkistrodon says
So based on Michael’s thinking OBAMA is RESPONSIBLE for the Las Vegas shooting. HE allowed Bump Stocks to be sold. Trump Banned THEM.
capt says
The fault doesn’t belong to any president or congressional member, or state or county leader, the fault belongs to the person that did the harm. Its not Fords fault when a teenager texts while driving and kills someone, like what happened to my mother 4 years ago. Its the person faults. These people shooting are pure evil. That’s it. You can take every gun away and evil people will still have a means to harm and kill someone.
Michael Cocchiola says
Nice distraction, Layla. Everything but the issue… Trump, hate and guns. Stay on subject.
gmath55 says
@ Veteran – you are spot on! But, you will never convince the CNN, MSNBC, and the hypocrite cult Democrat party. The shooting in Texas was done by a white supremacist extremist the shooting in Ohio was done by an Antifa supporter and recently another Antifa supporter attempted to burn down a immigration holding facility full of illegal aliens, he then attempted to murder law enforcement before he was killed. A Bernie Sanders campaign staffer shot up a field full of Republican congressmen. African males kill more people in one month in Chicago then right-wing extremist could in 10 years. There is plenty of violence on both sides to go around.
Michael Cocchiola says
Contributors here are right. I overstepped about Dayton. But the issue of guns still applies. A young man gets his hands on a high-volume assault-style weapon. And Trump does actively promote hate and guns. A disastrous mix nonmatter who pulls the trigger.
The Realist says
To Sherry….are you not following the entire story of the ohio shooting??? this slime ball was a pro ANTIFA and anti police leftist. What does that have to do with Trump or republicans??? ANYONE that takes another persons life unwarranted should pay for that crime with their own life promptly. NEVER do any of you people known as democrats or liberals ever push to make the laws for these horrendous acts more severe. These people need to be convicted and put down immediately. But no I suppose you don’t think that way…you would rather place blame.
TheTruth says
Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump who can’t wait to get their money from the NRA refuse to change our gun laws in the country, and as Morning Joe show said it all McConnell, Trump and all the Republican party have blood on their hands.
Donald Trump has he hate rallies and preaches hate and insults at each an every rally he does, yet he doesn’t want to be blamed. Well Donald you have a lot to do with this and you have a lot to STOP IT, BUT YOU DON’T.
This is a disgrace to our country and to the innocent people that died in the hands of Trumps racist followers.
Mary says
@Sherry, so who is complicit in the mass murders that took place under our last 5 Presidents? There is no end in sight because there is no humanity left. Children are not born murderers. Someone has decided that 2 parent households are no longer necessary. Parents are no longer required to care for their children, schools will do it. Kids are on their own before elementary school running the streets learning the basics. Assault guns, like Drugs are easily obtainable by knowledgeable criminals. So, you are saying that before Trump became president, there was no hate, no looting and riots and everyone was happy as a pig in sheet? I didn’t vote for either Trump or Clinton. I truly hope that the next President of the US is the Messiah because there are going to be a lot of disillusioned people when they realize that everything will stay status quo and have to realize that Trump or congress is not the problem. Humanity is the problem and its virtually too late. 16 year olds will kill at the drop of a hat. Food for thought.
mark101 says
Lets see Obama was President when Sandy Hook in 2012, the San Bernardino attack in 2015, and the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016. So by all rights Obama is to blame for those. Just like Trump is to blame. I say, this type of thinking is total BS. People filled with hate for others will find a way to kill. They want to blame someone, blame the parents, blame the upbringing, blame the hate for god , blame violence on TV and on the web, But to blame presidents thats about as lame as they come and is nothing more than politics looking for votes. Fix the freaking problem, put these murders to death instead of setting in a fancy prison getting better treatment than the homeless, or our poor or our VETS,.
Sherry says
@TheTruth. . . You are so very right!
We need to be paying much closer attention to the complete obstruction, power mad manipulations and agendas of Mitch McConnell. . . and, others who have been in Congress WAY TOO LONG! It’s likely that trump will be out of power soon but those who serve in “lock step” behind McConnell in the Senate will continue to STOP anything being done to improve gun safety, STOP anything that safeguards our election process, STOP anything that takes his power away to pack the federal judgeships with those that will continue to take more and more power away from the people.
McConnell and other completely corrupt politicians like him are completely bought and paid for by the wealthy corporate elite. Unless or until we somehow manage to get the almighty buck out of our election process with political campaign reform , we’ve got the foxes guarding the chicken coop!
Racism and gun violence did not start with trump. . . but, he took the lid off the cesspool of the despicable haters of all who are not lily white. trump’s immoral words and behavior is changing our society and encouraging many to think and act in ways that portray the WORST in human beings. He is setting us against one another with great glee as his massive, insecure ego is pumped up by the power his duped followers give him.
If we are very fortunate, trump will be out of power next year. . . the ongoing problem will be Mitch McConnell and his behind the scenes cult of corruption.
CB from PC says
This is a great forum.
A lively discussion where even the opinions of Trump supporters are welcome, and according to some, a President “complicit” in “murders.
You keep drinking that laced Kool-Aid.
Concerned Citizen says
We keep blaming everyone but the shooter. And the shooter is the one responsible regardless what reason he had.
You can blame guns you can blame politicians. At the end of the day it boils down to an asshole who hates his fellow humans I’m tired of hearing the mental health card being thrown. Sometimes there are just mean people.
Yes guns make it easier and maybe even laws passed allow things to slip thru from time to time. However until you find a cure for being an ass you’ll never stop the hate.
Looking over this thread it’s amazing how much divisivness is created when politics are brought in. At the end of the day the concern should be concern for the victims.
Fredrick says
In Chicago, 1,517 people have been shot this year. When does that become a story worthy of the outrage. Or is it because it does not fit the narrative that you anti gun people have.. It surely is not because the huge majority of this is Black on Black and you are all racists. Can’t be that because everyone knows that only republicans are racists. Just like the cesspool of Baltimore. When the congressman or Bernie say the same thing the President says it’s not racist but when he says it it suddenly is. The left is the one dividing this country and fueling racism because it is the only thing you have. You can’t talk about fixing a problem because you have done nothing but create the problems in the cities you have controlled for decades. You have no vision for the future, all you have is racism and everything is free……. It ensures your defeat in 2020 and beyond.
Layla says
Mr. Cocchiola, I AM staying on point. Every time one of these shootings happens, Democrats fundraise before the bodies are even cold. I don’t think I am the only person here wondering if there is a connection. Fundraising off the deaths of others is about as low as it goes.
This is a cultural problem. Trump didn’t cause it.
Pierre Tristam says
Layla must have a soft blind spot for those apologists of mass violence, especially when they profit off the bodies of dead Floridian kids: “NRA breaks 15-year fundraising record after Parkland shooting.”
Sherry says
In the wake of weekend mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, New Hampshire Democrats are slamming a Twitter post by an official of the Hillsborough County Republican Committee inviting people to a “machine gun shoot” fundraiser later this month.
But the GOP committee officer who wrote the tweet defended it as a way of promoting Second Amendment rights, not trying to exploit the tragedies for financial gain.
“This was not an attempt to link the shootings to our event, of course,” said Chris Maidment, corresponding secretary of the Hillsborough County Republican Committee.
He was responding to a statement issued by New Hampshire Democratic Party spokesperson Holly Shulman, who said, “The New Hampshire Republican Party’s attempts to fundraise off of a national tragedy shows exactly what the Republicans and Chris Sununu’s priorities are — prioritizing their party over people’s lives.”
Joe says
I am a middle aged white male Republican and I agree 100% with you Michael. I am ashamed to call myself a Republican on days like today. I do not own a gun nor do I need to own a gun as I am not a hunter. The second amendment was written in times much different than of today. We need common sense legislation which should include banning all assault style weapons. If its ain’t used for hunting there is no need to own it period. All weapons should be registered and monitored like an automobile. If you desire to buy a gun you must pass strict background and psychological test including school records. Unfortunately we have lost our right to bear arms as a country. If you don’t like it blame it on those few nut jobs just as if you don’t like the TSA screening blame it on 9/11. We cannot tolerate inactivity anymore. Something must be done and done quickly. Look at New Zealand and how they came down hard on the issue after 1 shooting. Make me proud President Trump and Republicans in congress. Grow a set and stand up to the NRA and gun lobbyist and all their money. Just do the right thing for future generations.
palmcoaster says
Stop selling weapons that only belong in military hands! Do real background checks and lets have a Potus that does not glorify racism, guns and undermines and insults minorities and immigrants!
Sherry says
The POINT that many are completely missing here is that although racism and prejudice has sadly always been with us, the vast majority of past Presidents did NOT fan the divisive flames of such bigotry.
trumps words are bolstering the White Supremacists! Regardless of whether the bullets where fired from the fear and hate of “extreme left wing or right wing”, the center of the problem here is that this president, and his followers, are working hard at normalizing DIVISION in our country.
Such DIVISION dangerously weakens our country across the board. Putin is laughing with glee at our lack of unity. China is weakening our stock market and economy. Our (PAST) allies think trump is a fool and laughing stock. This administration is playing right into their hands.
Randy Jones says
Your Honor, I respectfully petition for dismissal of the State’s charges of murder which they have filed against me. I am innocent – the President made me kill those people.
Richard says
Obama bolstered division in this country by pitting blacks against white cops and white people and the beat goes on. Oh I forgot, it’s always Trump’s fault regardless of what the topic is and who really started it. This tactic is getting old and worn out. Try some other avenue to discredit Trump like all of the left wing congresspeople in office have been doing since 2015/16. GMAFB
Sherry says
@ Joe. . . very, very well said! I am a Democrat who is happy to read your fine words and to have you in our community! Now if only our Congressional representatives (many of whom are “owned” by the NRA) would step up and follow your lead. We can all hope against hope, and keep making those calls to our representatives.
gmath55 says
Nobody answered the question if there was no rhetoric from the pass presidents, then why was there still mass shootings? Could it be because the ONLY ONE to blame is the person doing the shooting?
Daniel says
Guns are not evil, people are. When anything bad happens people want someone to blame. Trump did not kill anyone. He did not bring division, but rather gained the office because existing division. People do not want God in this country, in its government or schools, He is out and the devil is in. There is the evil. Why are people so surprised and angry? the have what they demanded and just don’t like the result. Attacker kills 4 in series of stabbings in California cities mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2019/08/08/stabbing-rampage-in-california-kills-4-wounds-2 Knives don’t kill either. As said before evil people do. And lastly, evil people do not obey the law
snapperhead says
You would think Illinois would be high among states with gun deaths per capita since Con-servatives love to cite Chicago anytime a massacre occurs. Its actually 30th out of 50 states. Top 10 states for gun deaths per 100,000 population .
1 Alaska 2 Alabama 3 Montana 4 Louisiana 5 Missouri 6 Mississippi 7 Arkansas 8 Wyoming 9 West Virginia 10 New Mexico
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
Like usual, red states are a failure on gun deaths…and education,income, poverty,divorce, obesity etc etc
They really need to start draining the swamp in their own states. Trump 2020..let’s make Red States Great.for a change. Murica…Git R Dun
jake says
“The POINT that many are completely missing here is that although racism and prejudice has sadly always been with us, the vast majority of past Presidents did NOT fan the divisive flames of such bigotry. ”
@sherry, Obama fanned those flames more than any President in recent history.
“President Barack Obama bears responsibility for the lethal spread of that narrative. In a speech from Poland just hours before five officers were assassinated in Dallas on July 7, Obama misled the nation about policing and race, charging officers nationwide with preying on blacks because of the color of their skin.”
“Then five Dallas officers were gunned down out of race hatred and cop hatred. Did Obama shelve his incendiary rhetoric? No, he doubled down, claiming that black parents were justified in fearing that their children could be killed by a cop whenever they walk “out the door.” This rebuke was stunning. Obama was fully on notice that the hatred of cops was reaching homicidal levels. And yet his commitment to this crusade against phantom police racism trumped considerations of prudence and safety, on the one hand, and decent respect for the fallen, on the other.” July 2016, the Dallas Morning News.
CB from PC says
I wonder if any of the Anti-Trump commenters accusing The President to inciting the shootings, including the one by Dayton Democrat Connor, have bought their tickets to “The Hunt” film.
Once more, when it is The Left dishing it out, it is acceptable.
Mark says
@ Sherry,
The only fear and hate Fox shows is from liberals. When has Trump supported hate and fear? Calling illegals criminals? Or was it when he called the squad idiots? Please clue me in with some facts.
Mark says
@ Sherry,
Which words from Trump are fanning the flames of “white supremacy”? The ones about securing our border? Liberals keep saying this stuff, racist, sexist, etc, but provide no examples. All we ever hear is Trump is bad and shouldn’t be president. Guess what, he was elected. Live with it or change it. I have heard it all, he’s gonna start a war, he’s gonna put us i camps, he’s Hitler, he hates all others, he’s a Russian agent, he’s this, he’s that and his supporters are the same. Well it’s all BS. He has done more good for this country than any democrat and many republicans. He has done more for blacks, hispanics and women than Obama did. Trump attacks anyone and everyone that deserves it. Get a grip. Or give me some facts.
Mark says
@ snapperhead,
So Alaska had how many deaths? 5? and they are number one? Statistics can be skewed to show whatever you want. 300 by Aug beats Alaska hands down. I wonder how many guns Alaska has? How many legal guns? How many illegal guns? How many deaths per gun? I’l bet Alaska ain’t #1 anymore. How about deaths per million or deaths per 10 million? I’ll bet Alaska ain’t #1 anymore. Let’s do cities with a pop over 1 million. How many cities with a pop over 5 million are governed by conservatives? What the kill rate? I’ll bet none are in Alaska.
Mark says
@ palmcoaster,
The military doesn’t use the AR 15 or similar rifle. They use an automatic (machine gun) weapon. Closest you may get is a semi-auto sniper rifle. And these haven’t been used in these shootings. The military doesn’t normally use extended magazines either. So try again.
Alphonse Abonte says
Imagine you gave 25 years experience in your job. A new guy comes in with no experience and begin running circles around you . You had your boss convinced there were no legitimate reasons for not getting stuff done. The new guy does it anyway. Imagine your resentment , fear and bitterness over potential loss of job and power.
Now you know why Washington D. C. Hates President Trump.
Richard says
As usual those that are making comments about blaming Trump for the mass shootings under his watch refuse to respond as to why they have conveniently forgotten about all of the mass shootings and killings on American soil BEFORE he became POTUS. Hypocrites and bigots!
Geezer says
Every time there’s a mass shooting, there’s a run at the gun shops.
Ka-ching, ka-ching, cash registers wearing out…
I’ll bet that business has spiked yet again.
Test my theory and pop into a gun shop today to take a look-see.
After the Beltway shootings, people sought out the Bushmaster XM-15 rifle–
the same rifle John Mohammed was using out of his Chevy’s trunk.
Heck, it was proven accurate and effective!
That’s where we’re at as a society.
I’d better go buy some ammo today before stock runs out.