"Can we please focus on the issue of mental illness instead of the left dragging us back to gun grabbing?"
That was the first one. And I knew that for the next several days that that's all it would be: one group of friends posting all the same old memes supporting the killer's right to own a gun a particular interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, the other group of friends posting all the same old memes supporting the victims' right to live decrying a deadly lapse in policy concerning a public health and safety issue. Nothing new. We saw them all the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that, and... well, you know. Endless supposedly clever arguments explaining why the other side was just stupid. And I suddenly felt tired.
And I decided not to participate.
I participated. A little.
Honestly, I wish I could be as eloquent as Jim Wright, who wrote a twelve thirteen part series on the subject. (I sent the link to the first one to a couple of friends, but I don't know if they read through the whole series.) I respect my friend Todd, who decided to dive right into the melee, but I spent little time reading the content of his debates. The straw man arguments, false equivalencies, and the ad hominems drive me up the wall. I have to admire Todd for sticking with it.
Hands down, the absolute most exasperatingly stupid straw man argument (and yes, I see it over and over and over in a variety of forms) is that "the left" (whoever that is) "blames the gun" for whatever the current tragedy happens to be. Which is silly because I left my gun on the porch and... Tomi Lahren tried that argument via Twitter Sunday morning, prompting another twittererer, to respond, "She takes absurdo reductam to positively Icarusian heights."
Icarusian is my new favorite word.
Glancing at Todd's discussions, it seemed to me that the straw man he had to deal with most was that "they want to take away our guns." I actually responded to that myself on a few people's posts with the seat belt cartoon. Todd took the time to try and explain actual real life positions to his various brick walls. Of course, no one was convincing anyone. I saw that he was getting a lot of ad hominem comments involving the word liberal or some variation thereof.
"You really are true life dummy. Owning a gun is a right. While driving cars is a privilege. You liberals are so fucking stupid. You should google United States Constitution, Bill of Rights on your government phone. Maybe you can learn something. Doubt it. But worth a try."
Personally, I don't understand what this issue has to do with being liberal, as it has nothing I can see to do with New Deal/Keynesian economics or equal treatment under the law regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin. I also don't understand why one has to be on the left to regard public health and safety to be a critical issue. But I digress.
Oh, he also got a death threat, which he forwarded to the FBI. That was fun.
Let's see... other things on the list. There's the fantasy that they, or their designated other, such as a teacher, is somehow the hero in an action movie.
There's the failure to notice that this is a uniquely American problem, which undercuts the idea that this is all the fault of video games or rap music or movies and TV (they have those things in other countries too.) Or that the problem is a godless society (which statistically would make Japan one of the most godly nations on earth, and the US one of the most ungodly.)
A while back, I found Gun Nut Bingo. I teased my friend Jason with it.
When I noticed that Hannah was having a discussion with someone who said something similar to the second block, N column, I had to post it on her wall as well. I told her I had gotten eight so far, but they didn't line up. She replied, "BINGO! I got the whole first row. What do I win?"
"Oh, wait. It's a headache, isn't it? I got a headache."
Yep. That's all you win. Thanks for playing.
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