Real Talk - Gun control and Sandy Hook.

Greetings,

From this point forward I will be addressing ATS on a weekly basis on Thursdays with an "episode" of Real Talk dealing with relevant current issues within the world and local news and of course, our forum of choice ATS.

While I will follow and watch these threads my intent is to create thought, inspire truth and develop thought among the better among us. These posts are not rants, they are not personal theory-craft, what they are and will be is a concise outline of my perception of events from my own perspective and of those I speak to regularly which is alot of Americans as I am a bartender at a high end, high volume bar that is exposed to all types every day and indulges them in conversation. It is a large personal sample size of the feeling of the average person.

REAL TALK: Episode 1 - Gun control and Sandy Hook.

Sandy Hook is one for the record books, it is so because of the level of atrocity of the acts that were reported to be committed. If the events of that day have been reported correctly then we have one of the worst tragedies I can remember in American history. 26 first grade children, gunned down in cold blood for no apparent reason, the thought alone makes my skin crawl, my bowls clench and my eyes wince. I as many other Americans have a family and have children, the thought of such things makes me sick from the inside out.

Now that I have conveyed how I am human and I have human emotion, I wan't to ask the question of why this particular event did not trigger an emotional response for me personally. I wan't to ask the question why the large majority of people I have talked too about this event and discussed this event with have had a complete lack of compassion about was reported to have happened. This is a very valid question because there are many smaller events in recent history I have discussed that have been far less heinousness but have elicited a much stronger sentiment from those I have spoken too.

What makes this situation different from any other tragedy that happens across the globe every day? What makes average American citizens doubt, turn a cold shoulder or outright disbelieve and or reject this completely? This is a very important question and the answer may shed some light on where we now all find ourselves not only as Americans but world citizens. All of us, may indeed not like the answers much less the implications.

We have been told and in a sense sold an idea, a concept, a story about the events at Sandy Hook. While I do not intend to get involved with the details of the case in this thread, I will say that what we have seen reported, what we have been told, the message that was conveyed to us through official sources and media at best has been horribly mis reported and at worst are flat out lies. What we must accept from this is that we were told certain things at certain times for a reason, this cannot be denied as we are seeing firearm legislation coming in rapid order from multiple state and federal government authorities already in "response" to this incident.

At the outset of the initial reports we seen not only on ATS but across all forums an outcry for the banning of assault weapons as everyone was told there was an AR-15 involved in the shooting. This made sense as the chief medical examiner stated that all wounds were caused by a long gun, that they found spent assault weapon rounds and that the victims had between 3-11 gunshot wounds apiece. Is it by accident then that the official story is now that they found 4 hand guns and no assault weapons were found to be involved?

Regardless of what happened that fateful day at Sandy Hook, the authorities knew an AR-15 was not the murder weapon if they later state to the media that the crime was committed with hand guns only. For seasoned police officers who are all familiar and have handled and shot AR-15s and for a chief medical examiner who has seen and I quote "thousands of gun shot victims" to make such a mistake is to believe the world is flat. It's just not possible or even in the realm of something that can be mistaken or overlooked.

It is no coincidence that day after this event we were subjected to our president on national television stating that "he heard us" and he is going to do everything in his power to pass legislation to appease American citizens since according to the white house we are all begging to be disarmed. This is and would be true weather you believe the OS about Sandy Hook or you do not. The fact is, if it happened the way they said it did, we would have the same response from federal authorities as if it were staged and executed by federal authorities.

Either way you look at this situation, it is a tragedy. The end result will not be to relieve Americans of there weapons and if it is. I will cease to be an American and that ATS, is..... REAL TALK.

Originally posted by Helious
...I wan't to ask the question of why this particular event did not trigger an emotional response for me personally. I wan't to ask the question why the large majority of people I have talked too about this event and discussed this event with have had a complete lack of compassion about was reported to have happened. This is a very valid question because there are many smaller events in recent history I have discussed that have been far less heinousness but have elicited a much stronger sentiment from those I have spoken too.
...

Why?
Because it wasn't your kid/s, daughter, wife, mother, etc...that was violated.
That statement does not presuppose "an official storyline".
You and I and We are sitting in our kettle of warming water...
Everything around us (and in us) is becoming more and more agitated...
We hear screams and commotions from kettles on the other burners...but we're not there to see them...
And all the agitation & excitement we're sitting in doesn't subside for even one moment...
So - it's almost as if what happened outside our particular pot...didn't happen.
...Might have been a dream.
It's like an action/adventure film that doesn't know how to elicit the greatest emotional responses from the audience...and builds the exicitement to fever-pitch, but doesn't let it recede enough to allow for the climax.
Might have been a great climax, otherwise - but just blends in with all the emotions that preceded...

...Maybe?

reply to post by WanDash


Nothing you said makes any sense and sounds like a drunken rant. I will refrain from commenting for now.

reply to post by Helious

I wan't to ask the question why the large majority of people I have talked too about this event and discussed this event with have had a complete lack of compassion about was reported to have happened.

I would not say it is a lack of compassion, but instead an internal defense mechanism that kicks-in when we are confronted with situations and news that we have a hard time comprehending.

Also, many people have tried to get me to talk about the issue, but I simply blow it off. It's not that I don't care, but I refuse to be part of the national "knee-jerk" reaction. These sorts of things are going to happen from time to time and arguing about guns, violent video games or whatever doesn't ever seem to make a difference.

We no longer address the human aspect, we attack everything else. It does no good and our children are not any safer.

So please do not mistake the lack of desire to discuss the issue with a lack of compassion. Some things are just better left unsaid and we would have been better off if many people would have shut their mouth on this issue.

reply to post by sheepslayer247


There are certain points in your post I would argue but I think overall, you are very much on point and I agree with what you said.

reply to post by Helious


Please point out what you disagree with. I have refrained from discussing the "ins-and-outs" of this issue because of the sensationalism, but I am willing to engage if the situation is right.

reply to post by Helious

According to the Parents Television council the average American will witness 200 000 acts of violence by 18 years of age including 16000 murders a reasonable percentage of this will be real violence on news and documentaries,add video games,dvd's and movies and its pretty obvious why there is a lack of empathy-we are numbed out of our brains with violence exposure.

reply to post by sheepslayer247

I would not say it is a lack of compassion, but instead an internal defense mechanism that kicks-in when we are confronted with situations and news that we have a hard time comprehending.

I do not have a hard time comprehending this news, while it is tragic and horrible, I lump it in to the news world wide. I do not see the violence as isolated to a "small town" in Connecticut, I see it as another daily tragedy on the world stage that is disgusting and awful but I do not put it ahead of other atrocities that happen to children across the globe every day just because it happened inside my "borders".

Also, many people have tried to get me to talk about the issue, but I simply blow it off. It's not that I don't care, but I refuse to be part of the national "knee-jerk" reaction. These sorts of things are going to happen from time to time and arguing about guns, violent video games or whatever doesn't ever seem to make a difference.

I agree, it is exhausting to get into this conversation with almost anyone and I know this better than most as I see probably 250 random people a day that want to talk to me. That said, my own girlfriend will not speak to me about the incident and to be honest I can't say I blame her. In my mind, no matter what happened, children.... Small innocent children died that day and we have kids around the same age, I will not subject her to forced discussion if it will hurt her in any way.

We no longer address the human aspect, we attack everything else. It does no good and our children are not any safer.

I agree. We have become lost and don't really know what is the next step at this point, even I grasp and flounder at this...... Who does know what is the right thing to do and where we should go next? Its not exactly an easy questions and certainly not one I have a definitive answer for, although, I wish I did.

So please do not mistake the lack of desire to discuss the issue with a lack of compassion. Some things are just better left unsaid and we would have been better off if many people would have shut their mouth on this issue.

There are things that need to be discussed about this tragedy and I hate that there are because much like you I can barely stomach to do so but I feel obligated because maybe my stomach is a little more solid than others and there is something to be learned here. I don't agree with most of what has been said about this incident but I will say now and in the future, it's not our fault some of us cant believe in the lone wolf, single shooter, crazed gunman aspect of the case. We cant believe it because it obviously isn't true.

Originally posted by Helious
Nothing you said makes any sense and sounds like a drunken rant. I will refrain from commenting for now.

Might as well refrain from commenting from now on if that's how you perceived it.
And, yes, that was me that starred you.