James Holmes, 24, is a household name after going on a shooting rampage at a suburban movie theater in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 people and injuring dozens. It's a tragedy shocking America to its core.
While it's natural to feel sympathy for the families and people affected by this unholy mess and at least a bit of hatred for Holmes, here I sit with mixed feelings. Yes, it's terrible and as an American it's upsetting to have a homegrown terrorist of sorts while the country continues to work towards stopping terrorism from outside forces. Loss of innocent life is always horrific, especially in a place as American as apple pie -- the movies.
Frankly, I'm tired.
As an American, I am tired of this happening, tried of worrying about shooting rampages. I worry terrorists abroad, who hate us to an almost unbelievable degree, will blow up my plane or major cities where family or friends, or myself, are visiting/living. I worry about sending my children to school and wondering if they're going to be snatched by some wolf in sheep's clothing (Jerry Sandusky) or shot by some bullied child teachers and administration ignored. Now I have to worry about some guy busting into a movie theater to shoot up the joint and getting on an airplane and biting into a needle-laced sandwich.
I'm tired of the media and people across the country focusing to ad nauseum on what happened, turning Holmes into a celebrity and making this a circus. They focus on who James Holmes is, what drove him to commit such a horrific crime. People in power across the country are commenting on how sorry they are, how it's a shame. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Stop the b.s.! You are commenting because you have to so your stupid constituents don't think you are apathetic. I am sick and tired of talk especially when the American public will forget about this tragedy in a week, maybe two, and move on to something else the media shoves down their throat.
Mitt Romney saying this. Barack Obama saying that. Half of Congress making progress and the other half getting up on their soap box to bitch and moan -- Republicans vs. Democrats vs. Independents vs. Tea Party. No compromise. Stop talking and start doing. Let's make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm a college grad with a degree in humanities and I know, from this tragedy, the U.S. should look into putting money into mental health care -- according to a 2009 USA Today article, the number of Americans using antidepressants doubled in a decade, while the number seeing psychiatrists continued to fall. Hello, anybody home? Let's work on the stigma associated with mental illness.
How about gun control in terms of this motto: Yeah, you can have a gun to hunt or protect your home but there is no need for assault rifles or b.s. like that because you don't need one.
I want to see some responsibility, some action, some problem solving. Aren't we Americans? Aren't we supposed to be doers?
So, there's an obvious lack of gun control -- screw all the second amendment nuts. There's no reason Holmes should have access to these weapons -- AR-15 assault rifles? Really? Body armor? Ordering 6,000 rounds of ammo online? He's ordering ammo online and I'm ordering K-Cups for my Keurig. Wow. Nobody in this country needs or should own an assault rifle.
You're a gun enthusiast? Go to a museum. I like dinosaurs but don't have a T-Rex skeleton in my house, moron. You want a gun to protect your home, go hunting perhaps? That's fine. Outlawing guns isn't the answer because people will find a way to get their hands on them. We need stricter laws for items like AR-15 assault rifles. According to Huffington Post, "Some versions of the AR-15 assault rifle that police said was one of three guns James Holmes carried into the movie theater massacre were outlawed for civilian sale under the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. Since then, all versions have been legal for sale and possession in the U.S." Duh. Yeah, maybe a would-be shooter would just buy a bunch of smaller, legal guns to use instead but you gotta do something! Action! If you make it harder for someone to purchase said guns, perhaps this will give them a chance to second-guess their need for killing people, give them a chance to chicken out or have a change of heart.
News outlets are busy shitting out everything they can to keep you watching their channel or reading their articles because it's all about ratings and sad-faced reporters. So, they're digging into every possible angle of this crisis instead of focusing on making sure this doesn't happen again. For the folks obsessed with why James Holmes did this -- it's a complete failure of his individual society: bad parenting (didn't care or didn't acknowledge the warning signs -- same goes for family and friends), educators who took no responsibility to keep him from being bullied if that was the case, and/or mental health being stigmatized and unavailable. Same old song and dance. Enough talk, let's work on change!
There were warning signs. There always are. Cue people who knew him discussing how they knew he was crazy. Day late, dollar short like Jerry Sandusky and Joe Pa. Were they afraid they were going to get sued if they did something? Why is it so hard? Are we all afraid of getting sued so we don't do anything? I ignore it, it'll go away, right? We won't take the initiative but we'll follow the initiative. Teachers, administrators, friends, family -- be proactive!
Let's focus on fixing the issues behind the incident. Media: Stop focusing on the b.s., the candlelight vigils, the tweets and Facebook posts, the why. People! Stand up and show outrage! Write your congressman or governor and press them for change, for progress! Take a stand! Stop being a bystander.
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