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Fred WI's avatar

My eyes well-up, my heart churns, as I imagine what those third and fourth grade children were experiencing as they waited to have the play that is their life coming to a violent, hurtful, shattering end when their eyes closed for the last time and the pain ended. The last idea they had. The last scream that welled up in their throat. The last grain of love as it left. The last look of hope toward their teacher. The reality that mom won't get here in time. I died in some gun-show as the collateral damage to the main character, the subject of this drama, the venerable AK-15. And now. The subject and lead sits in its removed perch, ocassionally moved off set so as not to interfere with how this classic tragedy plays out, so predictably. How could it happen, who is to blame, why wasn't the site hardened, what should the police response have been, who are the guilty parties, the irresponsible, the poor policies, the heros, the guilty by-stander, the sadness of those little lives written as motifs, and how can the script be brightened up so we who bought tickets to the show will feel as though we got our money's worth or bites to support our view on what someone else should do to prevent or respond to the next opening of this tragedy in someone elses town somewhere in the Unitd States? While the tragedy is Gun, the narrative and critique we work ourselves up about all deals with anything but the subject. We won't change anything in the tragedy, except staging and location, because this tragedy is us. So, I weep. So, we become the hardened site hoping that we are safe enough.

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TCinLA's avatar

That's truly excellent, Fred. Thank you - I couldn't have written that.

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FERN MCBRIDE (NYC)'s avatar

🤝🏼 TC, I would like us to clasp hands in person as I believe our hearts are doing now.

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TCinLA's avatar

You'd have to travel to LA, since I can't travel anywhere these days.

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FERN MCBRIDE (NYC)'s avatar

🚶🏼‍♀️

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FERN MCBRIDE (NYC)'s avatar

Fred, We work to leave our personal NO EXIT. Satre, knew we had self-inflicted prisons. Now, of course, we are right to blame the American-Fascists, the weak-kneed Presidents of the Democratic Party, the D Party, Mark Zuckerberg... for our 'hardened sites' … Americans - we have been well primed for this. We must not forget Mitch McConnell along with the Koch bros and the rest of the Gang. We will stop talking ourselves silly and sitting in the 'hardened sites', now? Did it take the killing of 21 innocents? The CHILDREN, the CHILDREN! Do we always think after a mass murder Americans will wake up and we never, so far, do? Fred, you heartful comment set me up, unleashed a real response. With appreciation for you.

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Fred WI's avatar

Yesterday's Mess by TC on the shooter is really good. Personal

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FERN MCBRIDE (NYC)'s avatar

More about himself. It was good that Tom got there, more than good, an opening, beyond the fury and condemnation of another, one completely destroyed soul named Salvador.

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