Thanks to the coronavirus, The Onion didn’t have much of an opportunity in 2020 to retweet this classic headline over a photo of a recent mass shooting site:
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens https://t.co/c1FEE0smko pic.twitter.com/u0TucOuQ71
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 23, 2021
As the pandemic recedes, mass shootings will likely tick up in a perverse spin on the “nature is healing” meme. President Biden came out strong for reinstating a ban on assault rifles, and good for him. But it’s hard to image enough lawmakers coming on board to end our country’s gruesome indulgence of gun fanatics, especially since virtually every elected Republican is or at least pretends to be a gun fanatic. Here’s one of them on a Sunday show:
"I own an AR-15. If there's a natural disaster in South Carolina where the cops can't protect my neighborhood, my house will be the last one that the gang will come to, because I can defend myself." — Lindsey Graham pic.twitter.com/PYTkLzvK1J
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 28, 2021
Could be Graham is telling a politically convenient lie about his plans to protect his collection of John C. Calhoun and Strom Thurmond memorabilia from hordes of South Carolinians who are lying in wait until the next hurricane triggers their insatiable desire to lay unclean hands on those priceless artifacts. But lots of people, mostly older white dudes, share those lurid Rambo fantasies, and until the rest of us say enough with this bullshit, nothing much will change.
I think we will get there eventually, and Republican intransigence in the face of hideous events will make the blowback stronger than it would have been if they’d just accept the simple shit virtually everyone, including gun owners, agrees should be done, such as closing background check loopholes. But that’s how American democracy seems to function. Republicans get away with obstructing stuff most Americans want done until suddenly, they don’t get away with it anymore, and they lose decisively.
Anyway, that’s what I tell myself to keep despair at bay, and sometimes it’s even true. Open thread!