US Killings : CrumblingInstitutions?
Sporadic incidents of violence in the US do not see any pattern as such. Does it zero in on rampant gun culture or collapse of institutions in the face of anti-Trump rhetoric ?
Lajpat Lakhanpal
Just a month rolls by and we have yet more senseless massacres in the US. Since the Las Vegas shooting Oct 1, there have been two more tragic incidents—one in New York where an “Allah-hu-Akbar” shouting terrorist mowed down 8 people by a truck, and recently in Texas, where an ex-Air Force person, dishonourably discharged, killed 26 and wounded more than two dozen.
It is indeed hard not to miss the increasing frequency of such events even as inexplicable are the motives in the recent cases. While the New York city shooting clearly was a violent expression of the Islamic terrorism, the Texas shooters’ motive is not so clear. The motives for the Las Vegas shooter are still murky and there are a lot of disconnects between what authorities have stated and what witnesses claim.
The Texas shooter is portrayed as a looney, who committed domestic abuse for which he was court- martialed, and later discharged from the Air Force. It is said that he wanted to kill his mother-in-law, and therefore went to Church and instead killed 26 persons who had assembled for prayer. Not the sort of mayhem
someone causes to kill one person.
Nearly 900 people have been killed and almost 2,000 injured by gun violence in the US since the deadly Las Vegas shooting at the beginning of October last. According to a media report, “Data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive shows that 896 people have died as the result of shootings since Vegas, with 23-year-old Ellie Becote of Pamplico, South Carolina, the first fatal victim listed after those at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival,” the New York Daily News reported. |
The internet is swirling with rumours that he wore black (an Antifa dress), and had an Antifa flag in his profile picture. His Facebook was taken down soon after the killings, and that the massacre date Nov 5 is same as Ft. Hood Islamic terrorism date. UK’s daily mail reported that he was “a creepy, crazy, and weird outcast who preached atheism online”. As per NYT.
As a newspaper report quoted from his account, “Friends said on Facebook that in recent years, Mr Kelley had become vocally anti-Christian, to the point where many stopped communicating with him. His Facebook page, which has been deleted, listed that he liked a number of atheist groups. “He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism,” one of his Facebook friends, Nina Rosa Nava, posted on the site, saying she unfriended him because of it. Law enforcement stopped short of saying religious views may have influenced Mr Kelley.
Gun Culture
The Left, as expected, is using this to go after gun control. However, in the Texas case, it was “a good guy with a gun” who stopped the killer and chased him away. There are way too many laws on the books for gun control. The problem is that they are not enforced, while lot many loopholes also exist.
The Texas shooter’s record of domestic abuse in 2013 and dishonourable discharge from the Airforce 2014 should have been entered into the NCIS database. Both were disqualifying offences and he could not have purchased a gun legally.
It is, however, another matter that a person bent on killing will find ways to buy weapons illegally anyway. There are plenty of signs saying “no guns allowed” on college campuses, it has not prevented killers from entering and mowing people down. People are proposing taking away all guns (goes against the US Constitution), and fast forward to having only self-driving cars to avoid the type of truck attacks that the New York city witnessed.
Juxtaposed to these killings is news that frequently overshadows them. Immorality prevalent in Hollywood since decades surfaces (Bollywood may not be much behind), N. Korea, Middle East, Mueller’s Russian collusion probe, and the like.
What has remained constant, in the foreground and background, is the incessant anti-Trump rhetoric coming from the Main Stream Media (MSM). As ex-President Jimmy Carter said in an interview, “Trump has been treated worse by the media than any other President he can remember”. Furthermore, “I think they feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything else without hesitation”. On Russia’s attempt to influence the election—“I don’t think there’s any evidence that what Russians did changed enough votes or any votes”. On NFL kneeling controversy—“I think they ought to find a different way to object, to demonstrate. I would rather see all the players stand during the American anthem”. Instead of focusing on investigative reporting and getting to the bottom of the massacres, the media continues to focus on their anti-Trump reporting.
Is there more to these killings than meets the eye? These are not random killings, that some recently fired
worker or looney with a grouse against someone goes out and does. If so, he would kill perhaps 5-10 people. These are premeditated massacres, done with the intent to harm as many as possible, with an unclear motive, muddied/incomplete investigations, even less conclusive conclusions. Is there an undercurrent of something else, something else under the hood, that is causing society to break down?
Perhaps it is moral rectitude of people and/or the effect of too much violence in movies/TV. People in Hollywood lecture Trump on (Meryl Streep) morality, but don’t have much of it themselves. They overlook it for their own kind—even though they had prior knowledge about the sexual harassment incidents, they never spoke up against Weinstein, Hoffman, Spacey.
Perhaps it is that the very institutions like the Media, Congress, Senate, that America stood strong on, and that stood strong for Americans, that have failed us. How difficult it is for lawmakers to create a national ID and create a database of people not allowed to possess guns? How difficult is it for the media to stop their divisive agenda, their obsession with political correctness, their incessant anti-Trump rhetoric, and to truthfully report on events, not 99% obvious biases disguised as news? The right perceives most Media and Hollywood to be anti-White, anti-South, anti-Christian/
religion, pro-atheist, pro-illegal immigration, in bed the left/Democratic party. Rightfully so in many cases as their reporting reflects these perceptions.
Huge Polarisation
There has been a huge polarisation in America since the last Presidential elections. The MSM, entrenched and left-leaning politicians have only made matters worse by their incessant divisive words and actions even after the elections. This may not be the sole reason, but surely a society divided, with constant anti-Trump, anti-white, anti-religion, rhetoric fed to them by Media can cause even normally rational people to become irrational. I recall chatting with this seemingly normal, intelligent, White woman who points blank stated, not once, but twice “all whites are racist”. She was obviously brainwashed by the media or her party’s now discredited strategy of identity politics. Could the killers have become a victim of some hate propaganda, become irrational, and committed these massacres? Someone like President Carter may be needed to bring some semblance of sanity to the left, the right, and the media. Otherwise, we remain stuck in the “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle and will reach the point of no return soon.
(The writer is a California-based Electronic Engineer)
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