Prep’d
Well everything is prep’d for the End of the World on Friday, we should be arriving in Arizona about that time so it will be prefect.
Crossed a major hurtle Thursday as I was able to write a pivotal scene in Pilgrim’s Trail and now I can ‘see’ the direction that the novel is going to take.
In the writing process, mine anyway, the story has no beginning or end. I start in the middle with something I have visualized and write backward and forward from this point. Often times I will get stuck on a story, not writer’s block but indirection. If this is a form of writer’s block I don’t consider it one. To me writer’s block is when you just can’t write. Nothing is coming out, and if anything is coming out it is real crap!
I have also revisited some old friends by reviewing Capitulation and pushing forward some thoughts as to what is going to be in the sequel, Reciprocity. I think that this will be complete next summer.
Pretty depressed about the events Friday in Newtown. Prayer for those suffering loss.
So someone that is known to be mentally unstable took firearms that were not his, killed his mother, went into a Gun Free Zone and killed innocents. Those willing to face him did so empty handed because they honored the law. People that thought he may be trouble reported it to no one because with our insurance industry there is no money in mental health. And don’t forget the rights of the mentally ill being protected by anonymity. What about everyone else’s right? But it is the guns, the evil guns. No he would not have locked the doors and burned the place to the ground or waited for the children to be lined up for the buses and driven a car through them. But who can say? That is not what happened.
The press coverage has been horrific! “Could have been worse because of all the ammunition he had.” But no one can say how much he had when he died.
Somehow an “arsenal” consists of 3 guns now?
I will forever remember the name Victoria Soto because at the critical moment she stood her ground, unharmed, faced what would be her executioner and told him that her class was not present. I will never know this woman but I believe no matter how far ‘left’ her thought process or religious beliefs may be, if she had a gun at that moment she would have used it. Not for herself but for those children.
What is a “Gun Free Zone” and why they exist?
Gun Free Zones are a romantic idea that children will be safe in that area because no guns are allowed in that designated zone. Insurance companies picked upon the idea because statistical evidence shows that absence of firearms in an area makes them safer for the individuals. This is a correct number because it takes into account all injuries and fatalities created by firearms, including self-defense and suicide. If you remove these numbers as I have seen done on the FBI statistics in the ’90’s it is safer to have a firearm in your home. These numbers also included police shooting scumbags. But who has to pay for all these incidents? Insurance companies!
Businesses, like theaters and malls, get a break on insurance if they post that they are Gun Free Zones.
Do we need firearms? Were the Founding Fathers correct in insisting on the rights of citizens to arm themselves?
Ask our enemies. Ask the Japanese in 1942, ask the Russians during the Cold War. The reason both of these countries did not make an attempt to invade the U.S. is that we have an armed citizenry. The Founding Fathers had just thrown off the yoke of oppression and did not want us to fall under it again. None of the other Amendments to the Constitution are NOT worth the paper they are written on without the citizen’s resolve to enforce them by force of arms as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment. If we have lost this resolve as individuals then we have lost the intent of the Founding Fathers when they established this Great Nation. The experiment that this nation was in tended to be is a failure.
What can we do?
Don’t patronize businesses that have declared themselves “Gun Free Zones” and let them know that you are going to spend your money somewhere else because mass murderers frequent places like that.
Report people to the police that you think are mentally unstable, co-workers, family members, etc. As humans we suffer from the bystander complex were we think that someone else will do it. FACT: The more people that witness and act of violence the less likely it is to be reported because everyone assumes someone else in the crowd will report it. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!
Be vigilant, national average for a police response is 6 minutes and they DON’T rush to places that they know guns are at! Ever see the footage of the Sheriff’s Deputy at Columbine? He ran out to his car in the parking lot and took up a defensive position!
Be prepared if necessary to stop the act yourself. You don’t have to shoot anyone but if you see a guy getting out of a car with weapons in their had and they are not wearing a badge RAM THE CAR! Your car is an outstanding weapons and as has been shown when confronted with force these people crumble.
It hurts my heart, David is 6, this could have been his class, his classmates, it could have been him.
Who is responsible for this? Each of us, each time we don’t say something or want to get involved because it may be a hassle.
Outside of work I have pulled my gun out 3 times but been able to de-escalate the situations by using a command voice. I can not count how many times I have run through the neighborhoods where I have lived with a rifle or shotgun in my hands responding to screams! Often times it is people scared by some noise or something silly but each time they have appreciated my reaction.
I am not a member of the NRA as they are a bunch of fear mongers but I will not give up my right to protect myself, my family and the ideals of this Grand Experiment that created this Great Nation.
If I could give up all my guns and bring back those children I would do it in a moment! I would have to replace the guns however because bad guys still exist!
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