It is easier to get a gun and body armor in America than it is to get medical care, and that is by design.
Tucker Carlson can get on TV every night, spout racist lies about a paranoid conspiracy, and inspire his viewers to commit acts of violence against innocent people. There will never be a meaningful consequence for his actions. This is by design.
Republicans have done everything possible to put weapons of mass murder into the hands of paranoid people they have agitated with racist lies and conspiracy theories.
It is not a coincidence that the latest white supremacist mass murderer is 18 and a heavy consumer of Fox News and far right online forums.
Republicans have not just made this possible. They have encouraged it. Oh, they’ll scold any of us who say it out loud, but we all know it’s true. They love it when Black people suffer and die. They love it when the people who killed them get away without any consequence.
This is all by design. Don’t let them wring their hands and offer their thoughts and prayers. This is what they want. This is the plan. This is all working EXACTLY the way they want it to.
Republicans want the rest of us — the majority — to live in constant fear of their violent, heavily-armed, racist followers. From encouraging them to brandish their assault weapons in public to allowing anyone to carry an instrument whose only purpose is to kill people. See that angry dude in the MAGA hat? See him ranting and raving at some innocent BIPOC who just wants to live their life? I’m going to think twice before I jump up to support my fellow human, because that MAGA guy is likely armed and will get away with murdering me, because reasons. Maybe I’m considering volunteering to work an election. But then I remember my neighbor who was doxxed by MAGA terriorists and had to flee for her safety because they were showing up to stand around outside her house with their guns.
Tucker Carlson shares responsibility for the mass murder in Buffalo yesterday, as do his producers and the advertisers who have continued to support his show while it has dropped all pretense of not being openly white supremacist. He’ll be back on the air tomorrow night, and somehow this will be Hunter Biden’s fault.
The entire Republican caucus in both houses of congress have even more blood on their hands today. They will experience zero consequences for their role in the racially-motivated murders they inspired and enabled. If they haven’t already, the MAGA fascists will be fundraising off of this by the end of the weekend.
I’d say don’t let them get away with this, but they already have, and they will again. And again. And again. And again. Until somehow the Democrats get their shit together and make ending gun violence a priority the way the Republicans have made controlling women a priority. It’s going to take a long time, and we need to get to work.
I believe every word of this, Wil. And what’s happening in Canada is not merely spillover effects, but I suspect is also planned. From that mosque in Ville de Québec turned into a slaughterhouse to the Convoy Coup Crowd in Ottawa to those van attacks in London and Toronto…planned by people who have a similar future planned for us Canadians. We don’t have anything like the Second Amendment up here, but there are lobby groups determined to make our governments act as if there were and will be one. And we have provincial elections in Ontario and Québec coming up within the next month or so…
Well Mr. Will you have nailed at it’s naked evil! I will forward your message to my grandchildren. ( aged 19 & 22). In college (1960’s) I was chairperson of the Young Republicans. Returning from Vietnam I co chaired the student mobilization committee and helped shut down a sleepy suburban college (Cal State Hayward, CA). All the best.
Yes. 1000% yes.
Absolutely 100% correct. Republicans are the monsters among us, from their leadership to the bloated, Fox News addict next door.
100% Will, you’re right on. And it’ll get worse without passing voting reform, and that won’t happen with the filibuster in place. The fact that –- barring these few years when the Dems control the WH and Congress – we’re so often ruled in this country by a political party that represents less than half the population, and consistently gets less votes, needs to stop. But it won’t without reform. They lie and cheat, and are rules by hate, and project that on everyone else, thinking everyone ELSE lies and cheats, too.
I’m from Buffalo, and live in a suburb here now. This community was built by immigrants, and we remember that in our history here – we celebrate it with a whole ton of ethnic festivals in the summer. We welcome immigrants from all over the world here. We’re a very inclusive society, and liberal. We have a great LGBT community. We really ARE the “city of good neighbors”. People help each other here, every day. People stop to help others on the side of the road, or to help shovel snow, or whatever. The fact this this white supremacist came HERE in OUR city, OUR community, where one of our slogans you see everywhere is BuffaLove, to do this, is infuriating.
(Btw, totally unrelated – we watched the season finale of Picard last night, and OMG you were AMAZING in it!!! And funny!!)
Too often, the message coming from the Republican side is, “Those are the people you should be afraid of”, “Those are the people you should hate”, “Those are the people that are to blame for all of your problems”. It dovetails with the drumbeat of “Democrats will destroy everything”. Recent history is showing us multiple examples of the old adage that some of the people who object loudest about a situation may be guilty of that very thing themselves.
It’s also showing us how it doesn’t take much for them to start turning on each other. When extremism is encouraged and endorsed, failing to keep increasing the extremism can lead to a one-time friend in your cause now being viewed as either working with the enemy or as being an enemy all long because it’s a false flag operation, or a plant to disrupt your cause, or anything else that lets you blame them for all your problems.
As an outsider looking in, I’ll never understand US gun culture. I often read arguments that guns make things safer, but the facts suggest the opposite. Nor can I understand why Republicans stoke so much racial tension.
Me neither. A couple of years ago, I was on the plane from Zurich to BGG Spring Con in Dallas. Beside me was sitting some random guy chewing tobacco and drinking all the time. Don’t get me wrong: He was a nice and kind guy, we chatted a bit and he told me he was flying home from his work at some oil drilling site in Saudi Arabia to Oklahoma. He then asked me if I do have a gun. As a European, I told him that I am not a soldier and no cop (and no hobby hunter or biathlete), so I don’t know why I would ever need one. “I never leave home without it”, he told me. What he was using a gun for, I asked him. “To shoot rattlesnakes and coyotes”, he answered. I do not know if this is an actual safety need in maybe some rural areas, but to me, this was far more than ridiculous to justify running around with an instrument to kill people. I guess I’ll never get it, because guns might make YOU feel safer, but all the others around you not!
The moment I realized that my family of origin doesn’t know me even a little bit was when my brother-in-law casually asked me, “you pack, right?” I didn’t even understand the question. I blinked a few times, finally realized what he meant, and then said, in a confused voice. “No?” I’m American. I live in Texas. I don’t own a gun. The details of the conversation don’t matter, but suffice to say they thought I should have one for the situation I had been in (one that was diffused other ways, by the way, and no one died – yes, it was scary, but no one died). I did…not. But it made me think hard about if there was any reason whatsoever I would own a gun. And I couldn’t come up with one except possibly if I moved to true bear country. Wildlife encounters are literally the only reason I could come up with. Because I’m not scared of the imaginary boogieman home invader or whatever these people are so nervous about. But a buddy did have to shoot a moose recently because it was killing his dogs. So, yeah. Wildlife. I know how to use guns. I learned they are for killing animals in the rare case when you need to. That’s all. That’s it. These people are nuts.
Have we passed the point of no return?
Sadly, perhaps. Wil, you are dead right. This is intentional, and it will never stop. I gave up after Vegas. I just…couldn’t engage anymore, because we won’t even try to fix this. I hate that I gave up, but I did. I vote, I march, etc, but…will it ever matter? I just don’t know.
Wil,
What you describe is a minority of Republicans. Most old school Republicans are simply conservative (they don’t do anything to make the news). The Republican leaders (not the extremists) care about only one thing – – – the party’s POWER. They will support anyone who brings in more votes and/or money than opposing them does. They don’t hate blacks; they support people who hate blacks because they need the votes and money.
These leaders are evil for different reasons than the extremists
“They don’t hate blacks; they support people who hate blacks because they need the votes and money.”
And the difference is?
Thanks for stating the obvious question on all our minds. Yikes
I have a hard time believing that anyone who went through the last few years with Black Lives Matter could continue to think that the only people that should be armed are the police. I agree with the person who said that far too often people see things with an Us vs. Them viewpoint. There are powerful forces trying very hard to polarize this nation. Don’t make it easier on them, don’t let them take the power of the people away. Don’t play into their hands. If you have questions about why this is needed just ask Pink Pistols.
Love you Wil, came here from amazing TFO podcast!
Just letting you know I’m a conservative, red-state, Republican who strives to love everyone, works for non-binary and minority victims of domestic violence, never watches fox news (or msnbc), is for immigration reform and gun reform, is pro-life (but, seriously, has nothing to do with controlling women, just honestly, genuinely protecting early life, fully understanding there are many difficult individual situations to be navigated) and is a foster parent. (and I love board games) Yes, the political landscape is Awful now and the murders are horrific and inexcusable.
Please, I just want you to know there are many, many more people like me out there who are trying to make a difference where we are, but you won’t hear about us on the news because it’s not popular or comfortable for either major party’s narratives and you won’t hear about us on social media or protests because most of us are too busy for that.
Yes, things are broken and change is needed, but please, please don’t buy into the “us vs them” rhetoric… History shows the result of that is even more pain, violence and division… Hang in there and try to love each other!
I feel it’s systemic. As I listen to the music of the world today, I find so much love and energy. This gives a mother hope.
Children are growing up with a deep-rooted history of “never-quite-enough.” And sadly masks come in all kinds of guises. It makes Moms nervous.
Sometimes we break on each other, and ourselves. Sometimes we do it because “so and so” “said so.”
We have to unite to heal.
I just wanted to spread some agapē
It’s like the simulation is set up for the USA to have another revolution but the majority of people are trying to find a hack to work around it. Like the solution people are constantly presented with is: go to war with each other. It even tried starting something on Jan 6 last year but people keep managing to avoid this inevitable endgame that has been pre-programmed in for America.
I don’t recognize this country anymore and I don’t understand how we have fallen so for back away from science and common decency. I don’t know how in 2022 this is okay for half of the US population. I live in Texas, born and raised, the only time I left was when I was in the Navy….I loved Texas and Texans. Part of me wants to give up the fight and pull up stakes and move to Greece and the other part screams HELL NO WE WONT GO!!!