There are a great many things I admittedly do not understand:
Why someone would put Ted Cruz in front of a microphone
Why anyone would pay real money to see Pauly Shore
Quantum physics
Adding to that list are two things that are pretty much at extreme ends of the Spectrum of Importance (or SOI as I like to acronym it):
1. The color coding of California County Risk Levels
Perhaps it’s my traffic light indoctrination, but red means stop, yellow means caution, and green means go, dog go; so, not that anyone asked me (although Gavin, you could use all the help you can get right now), here’s what I would do:
Widespread: Current color – Purple. Purple? Good old, gentle, life affirming purple? No. The highest risk level should obviously be red. Anyone who sees red (other than bulls who are actually color blind) immediately thinks, “Danger Will Robinson!”
Substantial: Current color – Red. I just went over this, weren’t you listening? Put that phone down. Put it down! Put. It. Down! Okay, as I said, red is extreme, so for substantial, howzabout orange? Not quite red, not quite yellow, somewhat in between, which means that the next level should be:
Moderate: Current color: Orange – Sorry, but there is an obvious color choice here – Good old yellow (not to be confused with Old Yeller). Yellow is the color of caution. Makes sense here. We have made progress, from widespread to substantial to moderate. Things are looking good, but still proceed with caution until we reach the next level:
Minimal: Current color: Yellow. As it is the least risky level of the group, I suggest we breathe some color of hope here and make it, say it with me: green. Time to go forward. Much like driving, green doesn’t mean step on it and go 150mph, it means you may proceed, while still following the rules of the road.
So there. Simple, intuitive, clear. Meaning it doesn’t stand a chance of being adopted.
Speaking of adopted …
Okay, I really don't have an appropriate segue there, just seemed like a good time for one.
2. I haven’t understood this for awhile: why on earth we continue to allow the practically unfettered purchase of guns in this country.
What the hell are we thinking? How many people have to die before we say enough is enough?
Oh wait, I forgot, the majority of Americans, even Republicans for Reagan’s sake, support tighter gun regulations – background checks, restriction of sales to those with past history of mental issues, banning assault weapon sales, or at least banning magazines that allow you to fire 30 rounds in 5 seconds.
Most of us support these commonsense measures, but there is a large portion of our citizenry that wholeheartedly blocks any and all attempts to reign in weapons of human destruction. Yes, kids, it’s your favorite group of hypocrites, the Republicans. Time after time after time some GOP blockhead has spewed the usual nonsense about protecting the 2nd amendment. By the way, careful reading of the 2nd amendment reveals that it does not promote allowing 21-year-olds to purchase automatic weapons at the neighborhood gun store.
Well, Republican non-leaders, riddle me this: who’s rights are being infringed upon by banning the sale of a weapon whose sole purpose … SOLE PURPOSE … is to kill another human being? Are you really trying to convince us that Joe Hunter is using an AR-15 to hunt deer?
First, bullshit. Second, if that were true, Joe Hunter should be locked up for cruelty to animals.
Haven’t we had enough of these mass killings? I thought after Columbine things would change, I thought after El Paso things would change, I thought after Aurora, things would change; for the love of all that is good, I thought after Sandy Hook things would definitely change.
Spoiler alert: nothing has.
There has been more public handwringing, more empty words of so-called comfort, such as "You are in our prayers." So what? You should be in our lives, living, breathing, working, playing, not shot up in a mall, a movie theater, a school, or a grocery store.
I have seen too much and yet not enough to thing that surely after Atlanta and Boulder things will change.
They. Will. Not.
Unless …
The cowards in office are voted out. Or, much less likely, they grow backbones and stand up to people who continue to advocate for the proliferation of firearms while at the same time voting against distribution of funds to help those who suffered most from the pandemic.
Self-interest, thy name is Republican … and a few Democrats to be sure, couple of Independents, the odd Libertarian, but mostly Republican.
Shame doesn’t work. They are at once both shameful and shameless. No, the only way to reach people like that is to gut their power, to lower their status, to make them persona non grata.
I hope you will join me in my ongoing efforts to reach out to friends across the country and do whatever we can to vote the bastards out of office. Next year, the following year and every year thereafter. Much like systemic racism and the fight for equality, the crusade to rid us of killing weapons will be long, arduous, and never-ending.
But I have had waaaaay more than enough. Haven’t you? The grief for those who died just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time is only exacerbated by the knowledge that nothing will change.
Or will it?