Charles P. Pierce: I'm So Goddamn Tired of the Guns

[babylonsister]

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a36144741/mass-shooting-indianapolis-police-shooting-chicago/


I'm So Goddamn Tired of the Guns
I'm so tired of finding new words for what feels like the same tragedies, of the same rote reactions from politicians.
By Charles P. Pierce
Apr 16, 2021


snip//

I’m sure that it will turn out that the Indianapolis shooter was carrying some other kind of weapon of war, and I will get the “Aha!” cock-a-doodle-doo from the gun-fondling set about how I know nothing about their deadly little darlings, and that I should let them handle their own problems, just as I don’t understand why some cops have to gun down the occasional adolescent because of how hard and dangerous their jobs are. The tree of liberty is pretty well-watered these days.

I’m so goddamn tired of the guns. I’m so goddamn tired of writing about what they can do. I’m so goddamn tired of their regular manifestations of the violence that is so deep in the DNA of this society. I’m so goddamn tired of the lies, and the justifications, and the inaction. I’m so goddamn tied of living in a country that tells me the the occasional massacre is part of the price of a free society, and that the occasional teenager bleeding out in an alley is part of the price of a safe society. I’m so goddamn tired of the people who smugly make these arguments. I’m so goddamn tired of thoughts. I’m so goddamn tired of prayers. I’m just so goddamn tired.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. He says it well.

[markie]

2. I'm not tired

I'm goddamn angry... and we need a lot more people to be angry as well

[lark]

3. I am angry as fuck as the profiteering legislators for gun deaths.

They are freaking raking in money from their laws allowing people to be killed with impunity.

[3825-87867]

60. Don't forget the profiteering media!

Without these senseless murders and police BS, the media would have to run gardening spots. And there's no money in that!

[markie]

72. ...

[calimary]

17. I'm both. I still have one question: can I have my two friends back?

To all the unrelenting and unmoved gunners out there, my deal still stands:

I WILL shut up about your guns. I won’t say another word about limiting your access to guns or flat-out taking them all away. Now, in exchange for that, can I have my two friends back? They both died after an argument that went south and there was a nice little handy-dandy gun within easy reach - and it sure settled things. She grabbed it, blew him away, and then, with her mom having heard the blast from elsewhere in the house, now screaming her name in terror and dread, she turned the gun on herself.

I’ll shut up about getting rid of ALL the guns! I just want my two friends back. How ‘bout it? Deal?

[LymphocyteLover]

59. so sorry to hear that

Sadly I don't think you'll ever get that deal

[Evolve Dammit]

78. Very sorry. I lost friends as well. The country is awash with guns, since O was elected mostly.

The genie is out and there is no going back without strong federal enforcement like in the 1930's and the confiscation of machine guns. It would be bloody but I believe it is necessary. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

[wnylib]

84. I lost my only sister, 30 years ago,

and it could be yesterday with the pain of loss that remains.

[Evolve Dammit]

94. I am so sorry for your loss. No one should have to carry that pain. Take care.

[wnylib]

95. Thank you.

[LymphocyteLover]

58. I'm tired and angry

[Diamond_Dog]

4. Excellent essay

[Paladin]

5. "The tree of liberty is pretty well-watered these days."

Vintage Charlie Pierce stuff.

[Harker]

9. The tree of liberty is getting root rot from over-watering. n/t

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

6. Word.

[Botany]

7. I have hunted and owned guns* for years and I am now at a point if it would help I would give 'em up

* 2 20 gauge pump shot guns, 1 30-30 rifle (I haven't shot in years), and 1 .22 bolt action rifle
(in case a woodchuck needs to go to that farm in the country.

BTW my hunting has fallen off since Sandy Hook.

[shrike3]

18. My husband is a lifelong gun owner and feels the same way.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. A lot of it has to do with police training. . .

. . .much of it, according to the gentleman below, is over 10 years too old. . .and too many police forces are stuck on the military version of things (which is to say Stuck On Stupid)

[NoMoreRepugs]

10. That the NRA and the gun lobby control the

debate on GUNS is insane - somehow We the People have to seize control.

[Volaris]

28. Were gonna HAVE to take their toys away from them for a while.

City-level cops in most municipalities dont need to carry a sidearm. If someone needs to be dropped, I'm fine with paying taxes for them to have a tested and effective tranquilizer pistol.

For anything less, 'patrolling' social workers would be more effective. For anything more, SWAT Teams exist (and they can then be actually the badasses they claim, intead of serving city level drug warrants with fucking long guns).

[Jetheels]

82. I like the tranquilizing pistol idea. Would that be effective I'm wondering?

[Volaris]

83. If fine with paying the taxes necessary to build one if such a thing doesnt currently exist.

[AZLD4Candidate]

11. I remember a political cartoon a long time ago

Where there were bodies of a victims of a mass shooting and instead of going to them, politicians marked GOP started consoling and giving sympathy to the gun, protecting it, and caring about its feelings.

Which explained the exact attitude. People are replaceable, guns aren't.

[renate]

62. Wow. I never saw that cartoon

But I can imagine it vividly.

[marieo1]

12. Damn the NRA

Thank you, Charles Pierce...........you express my sentiments exactly!!! I am so damned tired and worn out from the media stories about each and every massacre. Where does it end. We can thank the NRA and their supporters for all the losses we have had. I believe the law enforcement puts notches in their belts for each person they kill!!! Why can't they just wound them, if they absolutely have to - NRA has pushed machine guns so deranged people can blast many people. I am not a gun person at all and I just don't understand why people are so in love with guns!!! It's not even safe to walk on the streets anymore.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

16. Shoot to wound?

That's Hollywood fantasy, just like shooting the weapon out of a hand.
Cops are taught to aim center mass, the largest part of the body, because, well, it's the easiest part to hit while under such a stressful situation.

Contrary to popular belief, fully automatic firearms are very tightly controlled per the 1986 GCA which ban the sale of new fully automatic weapons to civilians, the ones still privately owned were grandfathered in and they can still sell them, but there are alot of hoops to jump through with the BATFE before it can be sold and these weapons are quite expensive to own.

Generally speaking, the legally owned autos are not used in crimes.

[shrike3]

19. Then why did my nephew just get an AR through the mail?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

20. Got an AR through the mail?

I think not, and an AR is not a full auto rifle, it's a semi auto designed to just look like the M-16/M-4, it operates the same exact way as every other semi auto on the market, one pull of the trigger, one round fired.

[shrike3]

22. Uh, yeah, he got it through the mail. So what if it's not a "full auto rifle?"

Is that supposed to make society feel better, when nineteen-year-olds feel they just have to own such things.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

24. If he got it through the maill,

then all kinds of Federal laws were broken, the USPS does not allow firearms to be sent through the Post Office.

[shrike3]

26. Somehow I don't think anything's going to happen to him.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

27. Somehow I think he didn't get it through the USPS, maybe he said he did,

but he didn't.

[shrike3]

34. Gee. Maybe he got it through FedEx. We can all sleep well, then.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

38. Fed Ex or UPS would be more likely, but if he bought it from another state,

then it has to, by federal law, be shipped to an FFL dealer for a background check, no exceptions and the buyer would have to physically go into the gun store, do the background check before he can take possession of it.

[shrike3]

40. For a guy who doesn't own guns, you sure know a lot about them.

And tell me again why this matters.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

42. I know a lot about them because I spent 35 years in the Marine Corps,

we were expected to know our firearms inside and out, so I have a vast knowledge.
Just because I don't have or want to own firearms, doesn't mean that I'm ignorant of firearms.

BTW, the AR in AR-15 stands for Armalite Rifle, for the company that first introduced it back in the 50's.

[Hawker123]

47. I own several

And he or she is correct.

[Jedi Guy]

71. "And tell me again why this matters."

Because facts matter even if you find them inconvenient.

[Hawker123]

46. Very true

[MarineCombatEngineer]

21. What do you think the AR in AR-15 stands for? nt

[shrike3]

23. Please explain to me what difference that makes. Sorry if I spoiled your narrative.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

25. So you don't know what the AR stands for?

I'll bet you think it stands for Automatic Rifle, amiright?"

[shrike3]

32. You know, gun people would gain a lot more allies if they would just acknowledge,

every time there's a mass shooting, that people are hurting, that families will never be the same. That responsible gun owners would never do things like this. Instead, their focus is on guns. Instead, as in this conversation, they spout arcane weaponry details that mean nothing when it comes to a very serious problem. Who cares what AR stands for? . Who cares what any pf these gun details stand for? Guns were originally created as a weapon of war. They were designed to kill people and nothing else. Now, I probably have as many guns in my house as you do in yours. My husband is a lifelong gun owner and hunter. I grew up in a rural area and everybody had a shot gun. Every year, deer hunters hunted on our property. I've known people with guns all my life. Only recently though, have I dealt with people who attempt to give lessons on guns in the wake of a mass shooting. It's bizarre. Who cares? I doubt any of the loved ones of the people who died in Indianapolis care about all the fine details, re auto and semi-auto.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

37. First things first,

I'm not a gun person, whatever the hell that is, after 35 years in the Armed Forces, I have no desire to have any firearms in my home or truck, so, yeah, you would have more firearms in your home than I do in mine, who cares?

You made some pretty false statements upthread, I just corrected you on them.

Have you figured out yet what the AR in AR-15 stands for yet?
Here's a free clue, it doesn't stand for Automatic Rifle or Assault Rifle.

[shrike3]

39. With all due respect, who the eff cares? AR stands for Armalite. Everyone in America should know

that, and all will be well. Thanks for sharing an NRA talking point. It's on their website. Why don't you pass that tidbit along to the grieving families in Indianapolis. It'll really brighten your day.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

44. Ahhh, now the emotional card.

I am just as horrified by these senseless killings as just about every other person on this planet, however, I use logic instead of emotionalism to get my point across.

Please have a great and wonderful day.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

53. Ahhh, now the personal attack

I guess when all else fails, fallback on the personal attack.

You have a great day.

[Hawker123]

45. Need specifics

Private sale in the same state that does not require a background check? If it was from another state the law says it has to be shipped to an FFL and background check performed. I have done this a few times with my bolt action rifles.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

50. That's why I'm calling bullshit on her cousins claim that he got an AR-15 through the mail.

He may have told her he got it through the mail, but he didn't.

[EX500rider]

54. Or if he did many laws were broken. nt

[MarineCombatEngineer]

55. Exactly!!!!!! nt

[Hawker123]

65. The question is will she report him if

Laws were broken? If not she is part of the problem sadly.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

68. I seriously doubt she will,

and I have my doubts about her and her husband owning numerous firearms but yet don't know firearm laws.
But, hey, i could be wrong, wouldn't be the first, nor the last time I've been wrong.

[Mr. Steve]

13. I am tired of profiteers

Let us not forget the manufacturers, importers and dealers in these instruments of death. They are all in it for profit. Human lives mean nothing to them when weighed with profit. These are the real villains, even more so than the dupes who do the acts.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

80. I'm tired too.

I'm tired of so many folks expecting the US federal government to solve a problem that they're part of.

While private gunrunners continue to thrive, the world's biggest arms suppliers are the U.S., U.K., Russia, France, and China. They are also the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

From the final scene of the movie Lord of War.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

14. Right wing death cult

Between the never ending gun humping, and their gleeful embrace and spread of Covid-19, the right has become a death cult.

[llmart]

15. I wish I could recommend this bolded paragraph a gazillion times.

He states how I feel and have felt since probably 1990. I'm sick of people tip toeing around the issue of just who is responsible for almost all of the mass shootings and that is ANGRY WHITE MEN. WTF is wrong with men? Who's raising these men?

Go ahead and pile on if you'd like, or start posting about the minority of incidents which involved a woman and a mass shooting, but I'm all out of fucks to give on this issue.

[LittleGirl]

49. Ding, ding, fucking ding

I’m goddamn tired of the senseless murders, day in, day out.
Make it stop!
Goddamn tired of the macho mentality.
What is wrong with these young men? What is it?

[llmart]

70. Exactly!

I raised a son (he's 50 now) and from day one I made the decision that he was going to be raised to be kind, empathetic, educated, with none of that white male privilege that was so prevalent in or society. He turned out to be one of the kindest, caring, intelligent, good citizens of our country and a hundred other things I could tell you he is. But, I set out to do that and all along the way the messages he got from me was that I would not tolerate any toxic masculinity. Oh, and he has said to me that he can't stand men who are loud because they think being loud makes them sound like they're more intelligent or their point of view is right and someone else's is wrong. He's has a very calm, quiet demeanor but someone who is extremely well-rounded and a genius level IQ.

Oftentimes when a couple have a boy they just sort of make the unconscious decision that the father will have more affect on what/who he turns out to be, but I think women need to take a bigger role than some of them do in parenting sons.

[LittleGirl]

75. Thank you for raising a good human.

I agree completely.

[LymphocyteLover]

66. and remember Republicans keep letting them get away with it

[sanatanadharma]

29. A sane society does not accept blood sacrifice as an integral aspect of safe and free.

I too am tired and appalled by the justifications and the inaction of a country that accepts increasingly-frequent massacre and kids bleeding out in the schools and streets as part of the price of a free and safe society.

This is not a SANE society.

[SYFROYH]

30. I don't anyone who is invigorated by these deaths.

I’m angry at the shooters.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

31. I'm angry at the politicians who won't pass even the simplest of gun control

bills, along with the shooters

[Hawker123]

48. Me too

[DENVERPOPS]

63. Good to hear from you MCE

I am sorry that they sucked you into their bullshit.........

In many cases these commenters just showed the world their supreme ignorance.........

I've learned the best way is to not waste my breath on these type individuals who are 100% devoid of any knowledge or facts concerning guns.........(as well as a ton of other things they tend to think that they are authorities)

Be well, and stay safe.........

[MarineCombatEngineer]

67. Thanks DENVERPOPS.

Good to see you, figuratively speaking.

I know I shouldn't engage them, but sometimes the execrement is so bad that I just have to jump in and correct them.
I do try my best to keep it civil, even in the face of personal attacks, which, to the credit of DU members, are few and far between.

Haven't been around much as my business has kept me very busy, but
now, I'm down for a week or so while my Lucille gets a new clutch and her B service.

Be well and stay safe also.

[DENVERPOPS]

74. Enjoy the relaxation......

I really miss the good old days.....You know, when one of us would take the school bully or jerk behind the school and have
a "discussion" about civility and other "pertinent issues".....LOL

[jaxexpat]

33. Every news cast should start off with "guns have killed ___ today".

Laying the blame on the weapon because it does actually play the most impactful role in the killing process. It may seem subtle but after a few steady years of reminder it will make a difference.

Cronkite did that with a war. He started the newscast with the number of combat dead for the day. Every day until there were no more killings because the people wanted to abandon the war. He had been giving the enemy "body count" until he stated, on the air!, that the numbers he'd been given by the military were intentional lies and mathematically impossible. It was years before the fact that the military was shooting essentially anything that moved was acknowledged. That delay begot forgetfulness which evolved into "liberal traitor lies" for an aspiring Limbaugh, et al.

The current refusal of leadership to hear their constituents, to right wrongs by real legislation is the bedrock of conservative's justification for everything anti-government. As usual, conservatism is based on lies and sustained by denial of the truth. Enough of that with your Wheaties and you walk around half cocked and crazy all day.

We are a truly sick nation, we tolerated Trump for 4 years, critically ill. Healing, if/when, will require we all come to recognize that QOP lives, both those currently in blue and those playing war in cammo, do not believe the rest of us matter.

[Stuart G]

36. Great Idea...I hope your idea will come to pass. Yes, we are a .."sick nation."

But....deep inside...I think Biden will do something about ...guns...and the "availability of guns.".

Why do I say that?...Joe Biden cares about people...that is why

[jaxexpat]

41. To your health.

[AZ8theist]

79. I'm old enough to remember those newscasts.....

At the end, they had a scrolling list of all the soldiers killed that day.
I believe it had an effect on ending the war.

I think your idea has merit.

[rickmoen]

35. Perhaps,

all gun victim funerals should be open casket. Let the repubs defend the damage bullets do human bodies. (Sorry if this has been expressed before - I haven't read all of the comments.

[raccoon]

56. Thom Hartmann Said the US needed an Emmitt Till moment.

Let people see graphic pictures of the damage done to people by guns.

[BobTheSubgenius]

43. Despite the subjects he is so frequently required to write about, I always love his writing.

Charles Pierce brings more eloquence to this article than the subject deserves. Maybe we will one day really see the pen being mightier than the sword.

Or, as Brian Wilson soberingly phrased it "The pen may be mightier than the sword but it's no match for a gun."

[bronxiteforever]

51. Kick and recommend.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

57. I'll kick and recommend your kick and recommend.

[LymphocyteLover]

64. I'm so goddamned tired of Republicans, who let's face it, are the root cause of all this

[colsohlibgal]

69. Ditto

I will never understand the gun culture at all. I have a good idea why a lot of men do but that doesn’t, at least totally, explain it.

I am not overly optimistic about the near future....hope I’m wrong.

[elias7]

73. At this point, a pro-gun stance is just not acceptable

I don’t care how responsible you are or you think you are; I don’t care if you think this will only leave guns in the hands of criminals (bullshit argument since criminals don’t mass murder, sociopaths do), I don’t care if you think there should be background checks or other regulations, because it has been proven time and time again that we can’t pass shit. I have no time for anyone at this point who is defending guns at all.

[quakerboy]

76. We need to fix it. Im tired of it too.

But its low on my priority list at this moment. For all that people killed with guns by police shooters and other citizens get the headlines, Im under the understanding that a lot more people die due to the combined effects of poverty and the neglect of our healthcare and educational systems.

Issues that are more complex and less glamorous than guns. And issues that, in my opinion, the RW would far rather have us distracted by the gun fight than have to face. And I suspect an unfortunate number of non republican elected politicians would rather focus on than doing the hard work of fixing the more complicated problems facing our nation.

I decline to be distracted, shunted into this particular "wedge issue".

[Ferrets are Cool]

77. Ditto

And to rip off a verse from Lynyrd Skynyrd

(ALL) guns are made for killin'
They ain't no good for nothin' else
And if you like to drink your whiskey
You might even shoot yourself
So why don't we dump 'em people
To the bottom of the sea
Before some ol' fool come around here
Wanna shoot either you or me

[Aussie105]

81. If you own a hammer long enough

everything around you starts to look like nails.

If you own a gun long enough, everyone around you starts to look like a target.

Got a problem? Spouse problems? Financial problems? Job problems? Drug induced paranoia?
Disrespect or bullying at school, in the workplace? Cafeteria service lacking, bad food, and not to your liking?
Your takeaway coffee too hot?
Neighbors too loud?
Life in general getting you down?
Don't like that foreign religion church down the road?

That hammer will help . . . it's going to be fine, just oil up the hammer handle, load it, and plan how to set things right.
Works every time!

Thoughts and prayers will work (or do they?) . . . now is not the time to talk gun control! (It never will be! That time passed about a century ago.)

[billh58]

85. +1000

Many of us (except maybe the Second Amendment absolutists) are equally Goddam Tired of guns, and all the harm they do.

[jcboss]

86. Second amendment

Second ammendment does not say we have the right to bear ammo!

[Tiger8]

87. What would happen if we melted every last gun down?

Outlaw guns worldwide. They’re evil. They kill living things - most of whom never hurt anybody.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

88. And just exactly how is that going to happen?

You think Russia, China, N. Korea, Iran, etc are going to melt their weapons down?
You think that there wouldn't be mass non compliance among the American people along with rural and suburban PD's?

[Tiger8]

89. There is a way to do it.

I don’t know what the way is. It would take millions of dollars to research and come up with a plan to do it world wide. Maybe it would take 100 years to do it, but we have to start someplace.

Guns have been marketed & sold as “protection” but most living things killed by a gun never hurt anybody - and societies with fewer guns have less crime, less killing.

You think you are safer because you have the “freedom” to bear arms. But this is an illusion, because everybody else has that same “freedom” too.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

90. For that to happen,

you would have to get the world's worse despots to agree to disarmament, which isn't going to happen.

What about hunting rifles? Would you ban them also?
If so, then what would you do about the overpopulation of, oh say, deer?
And what about those that rely on hunting to supplement their diet?

These are things to think about before some pie in the sky proposal.

[Tiger8]

92. I would consider buying a gun for myself

I can picture scenarios where my freedom to own a gun as a worthy (and legal) solution to many problems, such as predatory animals, home intruders, etc. I understand the benefits.

But that “freedom” comes at a cost. How many people....even just this week....paid for that “freedom” with their lives?

Dig deeper into how the human mind works. During an unexpected event, our higher brain shuts down, and our lizard “fight or flight” brain takes over. Watch an armed man go to a movie theater. He doesn’t intend to kill anybody, but then somebody accidentally spills soda on him...he gets angry, and his brain goes into fight mode. Now you have the scenario that has killed thousands or millions of innocent people, all because of a bruised ego in the heat of the moment.

The objective reality is that a gun is too efficient of a killing tool for humans. It’s not impossible to eliminate guns, even within dictatorships. We just need to set our minds to it.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

93. Ok, good luck with that. nt

[Stuart G]

91. K and R