Welcome to America, a land that is supposedly full of promise, opportunity and the perfect example of do-nothing, top-down leadership.
Over this past weekend, the United States saw another set of mass shootings first in El Paso, Texas after a gunman, hell-bent on carrying out his racist ideologies in bloodshed killed 22 people at a shopping center.
Hours later, a gunman in Dayton, Ohio killed nine people, including his own sister in an act that investigators are still trying to discover a motive for.
In the wake of those two massacres, politicians, democrats, republicans, liberals, conservatives and so on took to social media, to pass blame, point the finger and continue to debate how shit like this continues to happen in a Country thatās boasted itself as the greatest in the World. Typically from the right, theyāll usually go on about mental health as being the primary issue in an effort to get around having to come face-to-face with the gun debate. On the other side of the spectrum, liberals will go on about needing more ācommon-sense gun lawsā in an effort to combat the ever-growing issue of gun violence in the United States that in many ways has made society numb to it. Meanwhile, given the sick legitimacy, the White House has gifted white supremacy, violence attributed to right-wing extremists had a hand in every single extremist killing in 2018 according to the ADL. That meant that right-wing extremism was in some way responsible for the 50 deaths associated last year.
And it doesnāt seem to be getting better.
šµ Racism, Guns, Mental Health, and Capitalism
Racism, guns and mental health are all systematic problems of the United States that the top-down leadership seems to think can only be addressed one at a time. Not to mention the deaths of innocent people in this Country have become nothing but partisan issues and talking points that can be brought up and used against your political opponents when campaign season rolls around.
When it comes to guns, nothing notable will be done because of the stranglehold the NRA has on GOP politicians. In a 2018 article put out by Business Insider, of the top 85 members of Congress with the most career NRA contributions, 82 are Republicans, according to aĀ databaseĀ from the Center for Responsive Politics. Furthermore,he NRA has spent $1.6 million in lobbying against expanding background checks in the months leading up to the massacres in El Paso and Dayton according to a recently released article from CNBC.
And Iām sure Iāll hear from right-wingers that Iām just some asshole leftist who wants to take peopleās guns away which couldnāt be further from the truth. Being able to own guns in a way is essential to a free society. However, the gun lobby headed by the NRA has shown zero remorse when it comes to guns being used to carry out racist atrocities and massacres in this Country. Especially when those atrocities are carried out against minorities. Theyāve also shown zero intention to try and find a solution to those problems or work with communities to help train in self defense and safety.
Bottom line, as long as thereās a gun lobby in the United States like the NRA that is buying and selling politicians on Capitol Hill there will be zero resolution when it comes to addressing the gun problem in this Country.
But as much as democrats may want to simply brand this as being a gun problem, itās not. Yeah mental health does play into all of this but for as much as republicans are do-nothing when it comes to guns, the democrats are almost equally as bad when it comes to health care as it relates to mental health care.
Sorry , but for how as much as you want to rail against the GOP for being bought and paid for by the NRA, thereās a good number of corporate democrats who are bought and paid for by big Pharma and private health insurance companies. If you donāt believe me take a look at the first two debates as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Bill de Blasio were the only candidates willing to support medicare for all. Many of those candidates who are against the idea of medicare for all try and use the talking point that people ālike their insuranceā which is some of the biggest load of bullshit youāll ever hear. People donāt actually like their insurance, they like their doctors and for a lot of people in the U.S. even Obamacare didnāt provide adequate relief when it came to trying to afford healthcare.
And finally, when it comes to racism and white supremacy, weāve unfortunately entered a time once again where it has become legitimized by the guy who occupies the White House. Iām sorry but when you have a shooter who writes a manifesto that outlines his sick, racist intentions to kill Hispanics while repeating many of the same talking points used by the POTUS, thatās a big fucking problem.
It also may not be a problem that goes away anytime soon. Not when thereās overwhelming support for Donald Trump among the Republican Party, a party that probably has been forever changed by Trumpās racially charged rhetoric. For instance, when Trump is out of office, how many republicans around the country will still run on some of his same racist and divisive platforms in an effort to hold onto power?
Dollars to donuts itāll be a good number of them.
I mean look at how Lindsay Graham ā who was once of Trumpās biggest GOP critics ā became of Trumpās biggest GOP bitches well within the POTUSā first term in office? The same could be said for a guy like Ted Cruz ā whose wife was personally insulted by Candidate Trump during the 2016 republican primaries. Now, Ted Cruz will gladly carry Trumpās jock around Washington.
Now how does this all tie into capitalism?
you canāt have capitalism without money and power two of itās driving forces. The NRAās monetary stranglehold on politicians is undeniable. To go along with and in an effort to stay in power themselves, politicians will essentially bow down to the NRAās every wish. The same could very much be said for the massive amounts of money and subsequent power when comes to private health insurance and big Pharma. Is the money involved in that aspect and the way that helps shape American politics undeniable?
As far as racism and white supremacy goes. Iām not going to go ahead and claim that if youāre a capitalist then youāre a racist. Thatās just an absurd. However, racism and white supremacy can certainly flourish in a capitalist society which weāre witnessing all too well right now. In this sense, Donald Trump has had no hesitation to use racially charged rhetoric as red meat for his base who he hopes will, in turn, help him maintain power. The power thatāll help him shape and mold a capitalist society to his liking while continuing to maintain unjustified hierarchies between the wealthy and working class.
Call me a idealist. Call me a commie. I really donāt know because what we have going right now in this Country, it isnāt working. People will continue to die and the powers that be will introduce do nothing legislation thatāll will get no movement in Congress before itās ultimately forgotten about until the next mass tragedy happens.
If it isnāt making anyone money in the United States or is a detriment to their grasp on power it isnāt going to happen. Plain and simple.
If youāre looking to support a gun organization that truly has societyās best interest in mind, check out the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), Red Neck Revolt, and/or the John Brown Gun Club.