a kick in the ass (RANT)

*moved from tales of the red mantissa*

EDIT: the following post i wrote in the fresh, raw wake of the virginia tech massacre, and in response to several newsstories that poured themselves from that stupid, glowing box and into my stream of consciousnes. the pain that choked me as the anguish of the massacre rained upon me, and the stupid things i heard enraged the beast within me and so i wrote this angry rant ~ a sort of kick in the ass for all my american friends in blogger-landia. i physically copied and pasted the comments generated on this post’s original publication in my blogger blog so i could capture the reaction received. i admit i felt disappointed that the culture of destruction and retribution seems so endemic that, on the whole, many seemed resigned to this sort of thing occurring. anyway, comments are closed for this post.

Thursday, April 19, 2007
a kick in the ass (RANT)

the recent shooting @ virginia tech have me wondering about guns. specifically, american gun culture. and … what purpose it serves IN THE HERE & NOW. I don’t really give a shit why the ‘right to bear arms’ exists … or how it became embedded in the constitution. none of that matters to those 33 mothers … fathers … to those 66 sets of grandparents … to all those who remain behind. NOW – that’s what matters. NOW = the history of tomorrow. ARE YOU PLANNING ON MAKING IT? OR BREAKING IT? you like to call yourselves the leaders of the free world. THEN, HOW ‘BOUT Y’ALL FUCKING ACT LIKE IT?

george bush says the time to discuss american gun culture … well he says “its not now.” okay, fuckhead. then WHEN IS THE FUCKING TIME? when exactly can we take our heads out of our damned asses, and SEE REALITY?

why is it the greatest national tragedy when 33 people die in a college shooting … and its ho-hum news when somewhere 183 people die on one day, in baghdad? WTF? what’s wrong here? you see, I’m looking @ this from my perch, NORTH of the 49th parallell. and I say there’s not really any difference. same shit, different pile. human = human. destroy. destroy. destroy. well, what clue do y’all need to see that this strategy ain’t workin’ fer ya? DO WE HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU?

T-H-E T-I-M-E I-S N-O-W.

N-O-W.

the time IS NOW. its time to face the reality. GUNS KILL. THE END. no exceptions. no excuses. and don’t be a smart-ass by tellin me that trite line ‘guns don’t kill, people do.’ that’s fucking semantics, and you know it! a gun represents a desire to destroy. anyone who owns a gun, does so with that purpose in mind. killing = killing. no exceptions. hunting (i.e. that what we’re calling it when people like to shoot and kill things for sport, read: entertainment). rage killings, it all points to the same need – the need to destroy. WHY? why this culture of destruction?

are you gonna tell me that y’all can put a man on the moon, but youse can’t curb that instinctual drive to kill perceived threats? that’s a lot of BULL, and y’all know it.

THE TIME IS NOW. get the fuck off your asses and DO SOMETHING! the world watches, the world mourns …. and the world IS FUCKING TIRED OF WATCHING YOU DESTROY YOURSELVES and those select parts of the world that piss you off, that you don’t understand, that you perceive a threat. the world does NOT want to see you try to use this latest horrific tragedy to put your shit on someone else’s ass (like – oh the gun man was south korean … like, that’s supposed to make y’all feel better? screw that!) get this straight – YOU – YOU ARE A MOST FORMIDABLE THREAT, with your culture of destruction. and WE. because we just sit here and watch you, watch you, watch you … kill the world. systematically.

WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

that’s all.

wait. no. there’s more.

WAKE UP! do you need to here that song again? do I need to play it for you, once more? tell me. tell me, please. I beg you. am I the only one here, raging against the machine? is everyone else still in their blue pill stupor? did get the only red pill left? or … maybe I really am a mutant and the blue pill does not work on me.

does anyone out there GET IT? I mean, really GET IT?

please … someone tell me they do.

pssst – if this post makes you angry @ its author (moi), then you likely do not GET IT.

I would attach my usual, “not my intention to offend ….” disclaimer, but, today, right now, as I write this …. that’s a lie. I suppose, in a way, its absolutely my intention to offend. coz, if that’s the only way I can get yer attention, and get you thinking, then, as jean-luc picard says, ‘make it so’.

get angry.
get outraged.
and …

put those tears away, unless you’re ready to make sure you don’t have to cry them again. them’s just crocodile tears if ya ain’t willing to get up the courage to change the things you can.

and … oh yeah … STOP WITH THIS POLITICALLY CORRECT BS. what the world needs right now is absolutely a new country video that depicts a song all about school shootings. its NOT TOO SOON. remember – the time is NOW.

and … before you write me some angry rant here in these comments, write that angry rant to anyone who had anything to do with that very disturbed young man – deemed ‘mentally ill’ by a court in virginia – GETTING A SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON! while we’re at it – here’s a rhetorical question – why does any civilian NEED a glock?

and remember … I’M ON YOUR SIDE. that’s why I’m kicking y’all in the ass with this blog post. don’t forget that!

we have already made sure – thru our shitty-ass lifestyle choices – that our children will not live as long as we will. do we want to make sure that they make it … to middle … or beyond?

THE CHOICE IS YOURS. THE TIME IS NOW.

Posted by the.red.mantissa at 08:10

Labels: angry, gun control, massacre, rant

9 comments:
Infinitesimal said…
sigh

each state makes it’s own laws
(so far)
and
Virginia determines that outpatients like Cho can still legally own and purchase firearms.

even glocks.

yep.

that may change.

by the way, there was another shooting spree today in Texas.

Nobody was hurt.
(I don’t think)

Friday, April 20, 2007 10:09:00 PM PDT
Gary Baker said…
RM: When someone legally markets a gun that arms itself and actively goes in search of victims, I will agree that we have a gun problem. Until then, we have a people problem. If that were not the case, then Washington DC, with it’s horrendously restrictive gun control laws, would have almost no gun violence. As it is, the situation is horrid. Your advocating treating of a symptom. That can have it’s place, but I don’t think destroying a right is the way to address it.

Oh, and it really isn’t productive to ask “Who needs a (fill in the blank).” There is almost no one in America (and most of the world for that matter) that does not have more of something than they need, whether it is food, money, stuff, etc.

Sufficiently free of PC BS?

Saturday, April 21, 2007 1:31:00 PM PDT
the.red.mantissa said…
gary -

i ask the questions i ask. its my mind, my blog. please – do not come here judging the ‘productivity’ of a blog post i described ‘rant’ in the title. i suppose i could say what i like to call ’smart ass’ comments do not seem productive to me – however thats seems pointless.

as far as needing. well, that man who lives in rural south africa needs that uzi stashed under his bed, because he’s going to blow someone’s fucking head off if they walk thru the door unannounced. that’s the environment there. kill get killed. no other choices.

is that the sort of culture americans embrace? kill or get killed? if americans need that glock or if they think owning something with the capacity to produce instant death/maiming is ok … then that answers my question.

you speak of semantics, with your quip of a gun that goes in search of its victims. and … miss my point. the gun SYMBOLIZES the destructive force in the culture. and its one among many symbols of destruction in said culture. however, one that lately, has gotten much screen time.

why is it that other western countries, with no such right (as if its truly a right in any sense, other than some delusional one … IMHO) have such violence and destruction embedded into their culture?

switzerland, a country in which every male between the age of 18 and 45, owns a firearm and knows how to operate same, has among the lowest violent crime rates in the western world. interesting, ain’t it? quite, i think. the difference btw usa and switzerland is that desire to destroy …. either directly, or thru the media … does not exist.

i don’t expect you to get my point of view. in fact, i don’t expect most people. but … i express it anyhow.

Saturday, April 21, 2007 6:12:00 PM PDT
the.red.mantissa said…
infini – utterly amazing. a mentally ill person, who has expressed homicidal ideation of the mass kind in writing gets a semi automatic weapon. what else … but a mass shooting spree … could be the result of such an event? i mean … honestly? or – maybe i am not supposed to be asking that question?

so — do y’all let pedophiles work in toy stores, too?

yup. i heard about the one in houston, in the nasa complex. shots fired, never heard anything about if there were any casualties.

Saturday, April 21, 2007 6:23:00 PM PDT
Gary Baker said…
RM:
Your blog. Your questions. Quite right. Are you saying that you post these because you don’t want comments? I know some people do. If that’s the case, I won’t comment on anything else listed as a “rant.”

Sunday, April 22, 2007 1:58:00 PM PDT
she said…
“ya’ll”?!

grrrherhaha

Sunday, April 22, 2007 5:20:00 PM PDT
the.red.mantissa said…
she … grrrherhaha, indeed

gary – just don’t like the feeling i get when someone comes to my blog to judge me. i think differences in opinion can be expressed without antagonism … is all.

agreeing to disagree … often its the best course of action. believe me, i have learned this the hard way.

regards …

Monday, April 23, 2007 9:14:00 AM PDT
Gary Baker said…
RM: I truly was not trying to be judmental of you, but of the words you expressed. You seem to place a lot of in symbols. I do to an extent, but I would much rather evaluate someone by their words, and your words seemed a challenge to me to everyone who believed that guns played little part in the outcome, or who believed that the presence of students armed for their own protection could have made a positive difference.

You said that you thought this was the time for questions. What do you think would help the situation? Do you believe we should base national gun policy on the actions of a disturbed individual? These are not intended as “smart ass” questions. I really want to know.

Monday, April 23, 2007 9:40:00 AM PDT
Gary Baker said…
words you expressed. You seem to place a lot of in symbols. I do to an extent, but I would much rather evaluate someone by their words, and your words seemed a challenge to me to everyone who believed that guns played little part in the outcome, or who believed that the presence of students armed for their own protection could have made a positive difference.

You said that you thought this was the time for questions. What do you think would help the situation? Do you believe we should base national gun policy on the actions of a disturbed individual? These are not intended as “smart ass” questions. I really want to know.

Monday, April 23, 2007 9:40:00 AM PDT
Gary Baker said…
RM: In the spirit of fairness, I don’t think you should complain out being judged when your blog features lines like:

“GUNS KILL. THE END. no exceptions. no excuses. and don’t be a smart-ass by tellin me that trite line ‘guns don’t kill, people do.’ that’s fucking semantics, and you know it! a gun represents a desire to destroy. anyone who owns a gun, does so with that purpose in mind. killing = killing.”

A more judgemental line would be very difficult to find. For some people, guns represent memories of family times together. For others, even in America, a gun represents the ability to protect themselves and their familes. The courts have ruled time and time again that we have no “right” to government protection. If that’s the case, then basically it is on each of us to be able to protect themselves, and in some areas of the country that means a gun. (BTW – I don’t own a gun, don’t hunt, am not a member of the NRA. I simply believe in the constitution.)

If you don’t want to feel judged, that’s fine. But when you come out imposing judgements, don’t be offended when others return comments in kind.

** [28.7.07] i did not bother to respond at that point. but now i will just add that i think its sad, indeed, when we humans think that our own self protection (and that of our family) necessitates the taking of someone else’s life. why the mutual exclusivity? has life in america suddenly become a game of chicken ~ a string of mutual exclusivities?

IF NO ONE HAD A GUN, THEN NO ONE WOULD NEED A GUN AS PROTECTION, WOULD THEY? WHAT A NOVEL THOUGHT!