Today's column for the Daily Banter deals with yesterday's mall shooting in Portland, Oregon -- and how chances are nothing will change in the wake of it.
Here's the opening shot:
"So here we are again.
By now you probably know the drill so well you can follow the steps in your sleep: guy goes into a public place and shoots it up, killing and injuring innocent people; the police descend and the local news stations and networks begin splashing horrifying images of the armed response and frightened bystanders all over your TV; details begin to trickle out, as well as stories of terror and heroism from average people who witnessed the shooting and got out alive; the gunman is either caught, killed or takes his own life; the futile debate over gun control begins and the right immediately begins decrying the use of a tragedy to supposedly score political points; the NRA or one of its supporters in the conservative press or Congress makes the staggeringly offensive and stupid claim that if everyone in our country were carrying a concealed weapon, somebody else would’ve been able to open fire in a crowded public place and take the initial gunman — the one not using his arsenal in a responsible manner — down with a couple of well-placed shots to the head, Black Ops 2-style.
We’re so used to this crap by now that this afternoon there’s not really a whole lot of screaming, front-page coverage of the latest outbreak of indiscriminate violence that captured the attention of the country for a few minutes last night. Yes, there are updates, but for the national press life has just about gone back to normal."
Read the Rest Here
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