The Gadfly has been extraordinarily busy recently with work and other offline projects, thus the dearth of postings (a relief to some no doubt).
Having said that, there is one subject that The Gadfly feels compelled to voice his views about and it's a subject that The Gadfly has commented on frequently only because the incidents borne of this subject are so frequent themselves. The Gadfly is speaking of course about the epidemic of mass shootings in this country. And it most definitely is an epidemic - the only people arguing that point are the gun nuts, the scumbags in the armaments industry who are profiting off of America's fetish with guns and the blood being spilled in communities across the nation as a result, and the the gutless and craven politicians, who for a nice contribution to their campaign committees will, sell their souls to the NRA for some paid for tv advertising.
Let's have an adult discussion shall we? If you feel you're adultness just isn't up to snuff here - you're free to excuse yourself at this point.
Last week's shooting in San Bernardino, California, hit close to home for The Gadfly. Literally. The Gadfly lives a 25 minute drive from the shooting location. The Gadfly attended classes on a Veterans Administration program for training at a nearby school (2 blocks away) a couple of years ago and drove by the attacked building every day, 4 days a week.
Before we get in to the nuts and bolts of that shooting, let's agree on one fucking thing (and if you can't agree on this - then take a fucking hike - you're not welcome in this discussion).
The most universally accepted definition of the word "terrorism" is this:
Terrorism is the use of violence to create fear (i.e., terror, psychic fear) for (1) political, (2) religious, or (3) ideological reasons (ideologies are systems of belief derived from worldviews that frame human social and political conditions). The terror is intentionally aimed at noncombatant targets (i.e., civilians or iconic symbols), and the objective is to achieve the greatest attainable publicity for a group, cause, or individual. The meaning of terrorism is socially constructed. Terrorism is different from murder, assault, arson, demolition of property, or the threat of the same; the reason is that the impact of terrorist violence and damage reaches more than the immediate target victims (e.g., government or military). It is also directed at targets consisting of a larger spectrum of society (e.g., civilians or even society as a whole). Terrorism is distinct from regular crime because of its powerful objectives. The change is desired so desperately that the inability to achieve change is perceived as a worse consequence than the deaths of civilians.
http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/51172_ch_1.pdf
If that definition is not clear enough to you, perhaps you ought to reconsider participating in this debate.
Ok -- for you clowns who have reason deduction challenges --- terrorism is the use of violence, or the threat of violence, aimed at a civilian society, in order to promote and support one's chosen political, religious or ideological interests.
Simple right?
So - can anyone tell The Gadfly why this man's actions are not considered terrorism:?
One person who spoke with him extensively about his religious views said Mr. Dear, who is 57, had praised people who attacked abortion providers, saying they were doing “God’s work.” In 2009, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concerns for the privacy of the family, Mr. Dear described as “heroes” members of the Army of God, a loosely organized group of anti-abortion extremists that has claimed responsibility for a number of killings and bombings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/us/robert-dear-planned-parenthood-shooting.html
Ok - so the people who perpetrated killings and bombings against abortion providers are heroes by a man who idolized their actions so much that he decided to take action himself. Hmmmmm sound familiar???
Unless the point that The Gadfly is trying to make here is still a bit vague ..... the dead don't care what the motive of their mass killers were -- well because they're dead. Do the 1st and second graders in Newtown care what the motive was of their death dealer? Do the corpses from the Colorado movie theater care what their killer's motive was? Does the dead toddler in this fireman's arms care?:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing
Enough of the ideological violence. Enough of the hatred and of the ideological media hyenas egging on that hatred for ratings and advertising revenue. Enough of the ignoring reality that this country is is headed for doom if we allow the NRA's Wayne LaPierre and his cowardly ilk to rule our democracy.
FUCKING ENOUGH ALREADY!!
Wake up people -- you're children's and grandchildren's futures depend on you doing the right thing.
----TFG
