tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post5231000845242808448..comments2018-07-15T00:14:54.349-07:00Comments on mapHead: Angrynatcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18058664776852941599noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-80825797369993719852013-01-28T15:00:28.021-08:002013-01-28T15:00:28.021-08:00...we don't want to sound like the hounds of t...<i>...we don't want to sound like the hounds of the right. We want to be reasonable, loving, fair, and kind....</i><br /><br />True, Nat. And because of how we liberals/progressives/activists don't want to sound, we put ourselves in a box, gag ourselves, and let others create the narrative of "Second Amendment rights," yadda yadda.<br /><br />One important thing I learned during the marriage amendment stuff here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is that when we take the time that's needed, we can find not only a question or two that can disrupt a person's automatic thinking, but also a story of our own that points to the values cherish.<br /><br />In the narrative of gun control and the right to bear arms, I think about asking people, "Do you know someone whose life has been changed by a gun?" Or "Have you ever seen a gun drawn on you or someone else? What was that like?" (I have stories that address both questions. One that involves a friend; the other that involves me.)<br /><br />And then I have to wonder, should the children in America be able to <i><b>expect</b></i> a home free of guns, a neighborhood free of stray bullets, and a school free of murder? Would you support measures to protect our kids...?<br /><br />But if we never start having these conversations, then it's left to those in power, those with the loudest voice and the most money (and the most guns) who will shape the story that the media tells and the legislators vote on...<br /><br />Writing this out to you, Nat, it makes me wonder why I myself haven't started asking people in my life these sorts of questions. Glad I took the time to read your post...<br /><br />Blessings,<br />Liz Opp, <a href="http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">The Good Raised Up</a>Liz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-27404466533718097132012-12-17T21:53:24.269-08:002012-12-17T21:53:24.269-08:00Dave: Thanks, but this seems like where I want to ...Dave: Thanks, but this seems like where I want to say what I said. Please feel free to share, but I'm not putting this piece further than here, at least for now.<br /><br />Hystery: "It is as if my words gave up and went away." Exactly. I wrote this because I just couldn't stand it anymore, and I couldn't figure out what it was I couldn't stand. It's bottled up. All I had to do was open the tap and start listing. I think the reason I haven't before is that I hate sounding angry. But the fact is, I am deeply angry. I think a lot of liberals are really really really angry. And we don't want to sound like the hounds of the right. We want to be reasonable, loving, fair, and kind. But you can't be reasonable and kind in the face of a pile of children's corpses. You can only wail. And then when you can stand up again, you can remember that wailing, what it too out of you, and you can clearly state why this will not — ever — stand.natcasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18058664776852941599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-71665590135455680492012-12-17T14:09:47.221-08:002012-12-17T14:09:47.221-08:00Your post speaks to me powerfully and helps me org...Your post speaks to me powerfully and helps me organize my feelings. I'm so tired and frustrated and sad and angry. But I have not been able to write about it at all for months. It is as if my words gave up and went away.Hysteryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02044678910937934731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-3652402752278819932012-12-17T09:37:48.203-08:002012-12-17T09:37:48.203-08:00Nate, your first thoughts here are strikingly put,...Nate, your first thoughts here are strikingly put, would you consider sending to both TC newspapers as letters to the editor?<br /><br />Dave DugganDave Duggannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-23348947661720837722012-12-16T05:49:28.918-08:002012-12-16T05:49:28.918-08:00I read an interesting oped yesterday, by the fathe...I read an interesting oped yesterday, by the father of a son who was gunned down at his college in 1992. And he said that he worked for years to make gun violence a public health issue before giving up. He came to the conclusion that in essence, this country has come to the conclusion that we want unfettered access to ANY guns more than we want to prevent something like this. And I think he's right.<br /><br />I feel sick at the packaged quality of the national mourning of this tragedy. The same balloons, teddy bears, candlelight vigils. <br />I feel like there is an air of inevitability about these mass killings, and that as much as obituaries of famous people are written in advance, so too is the news coverage. They just cut and paste from the last one while we pull out the candles and kleenexes. Again and again and again.<br /><br />Our selfishness and our paralyzing inability to do anything about this means that over 20 families are wondering what to do with the presents they have hidden away in the closet. Toys that will never be played with and clothes that will be worn only at a funeral. <br /><br />We apparently live in an age where a mother doesn't think twice about having four hand guns, an assault rifle, and hundreds of special tissue-destroying bullets in the same house as a mentally ill son. We can say that our hearts are broken, but until we find some way to get from under the thumb of our own selfishness (and the vast sums of money dumped into elections by the NRA) I don't see a way to change this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com