I'd also be just as happy to punch most members of Congress in the face right now, starting with my own senators, McConnell, and Ryan.

Let's do that! That would be gratifying!

But even more, I want the culture to say NO FUCK YOU THAT IS NOT AN OKAY WAY TO BE PISSED OFF. USE YOUR FUCKING WORDS. OTHER CULTURES HAVE SAID "OH SHIT NO WE CAN'T KEEP GOING DOWN THIS PATH". We keep... not.

I feel like it goes even deeper than that. Like, we have to change an entire mindset that teaches that masculinity is supposed to be aggressive, authoritative, arrogant, and all-knowing.

It's only February, too. The number of people dead by gun violence in this country is already higher THIS YEAR than other countries see in multiple years.

I'm so angry and sad and so disgusted with our lawmakers I don't even have words anymore. If what's already happened isn't enough to change things, what will it possibly take?

an entire mindset that teaches that masculinity is supposed to be aggressive, authoritative, arrogant, and all-knowing.

And entitled. Oh-so-entitled to everything. To *everyone*. But when men who buy into that model of masculinity don't get what they believe is rightfully owed to them just for being male, then they turn deadly.

If what's already happened isn't enough to change things, what will it possibly take?

When nothing happened after Sandy Hook, that was it. If the shooting deaths of children couldn't move Congress to act, nothing ever, ever will.

I'm totally behind taking away all the guns. My motto for the last two years has been "Disarm Law Enforcement." ALL the guns. No cop is going into an iffy neighborhood umarmed without some training and dedication to conflict negotiation, some compassion, and common sense. Give a cop a gun and you take all of that away. Hell, give *anybody* a gun and you take all that away.

All the stuff my kid was telling me his friends were telling him ended up being confirmed by news reports. No one was surprised because he was expelled for bringing knives to school. He bragged about his weapons and killing animals all the time. EVERYBODY KNEW this kid was going to end up being a mass murderer and yet he had guns and did it.

And I promise you some of those parents yesterday were all about the "2nd Amendment" and today they aren't. These "gun rights" are absolute bullshit.

Yes, I weep for the families and loved ones, and I weep for all of us.

ION, DH came home from his HS basketball game last night covered in pepper spray because he was restraining a fight participant and got inadvertently sprayed. Teen basketball players fighting, hell no, adults from the stands!!!! I forgot to ask him if they won his game.

The world has gone mad.

eta: he won his game - the men fighting were two huge loudmouths from another game altogether

Oh, great, Trump's going to "address the nation" at 11AM Eastern. He'll either be a complete asshole or he'll manage to read shit off a teleprompter and people will call him "presidential."

No way I am listening to that. My family is safe and yet this tragedy manages to affect my life in odd ways. Ripple effect.

My stove top shorted out due to an unfortunate soy sauce spill and the owner of the appliance place called DH to tell him they were closed today because they have a couple employees with kids at that HS and they are just closing so they can be with family rather than at work. Also, the whole regional and state basketball playoffs and so forth are on hold until they figure when they can reschedule because Broward is a major county. The school isn't in contention, but the whole county has postponed the games.

It's a mess. And it is every day that tragedy strikes in this country in large part because of our insane gun culture.

I wish there were a snowball's chance in hell of a Constitutional Amendment to modify the 2nd and get most combat-usable firearms out of public hands, but it's not going to happen in any of our lifetimes. (I do still support hunting, but no sane person is hunting with an automatic assault rifle.)