There is something evil in our society that we ,as Americans, have to try to eradicate.
Dr. Janis Orlwoski, Chief Medical Officer of Washington Medical Center: the hospital that treated three of the wounded the day before yesterday.
It only took nine months and two days for us to produce another one, or at least another one who made it to double digits. On December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza ran amok in a small New England town. On September 16, 2013 Aaron Alexis did much the same thing in Washington D.C.
At least, Alexis picked a tougher target. The Washington Naval Yard has security all over the place and there aren't any babies huddled in classrooms. The body count had reached 12, less than half that of Newtown, before authorities nailed the beast. Eight others were injured, three of them by gun fire.
Aaron Alexis bought a shotgun last week from a gun store in Lorton, VA. It was a legal transaction, but then every gun sale in this country seems to be legal, so that isn't anything new. He'd been allowed on the base because he worked for Hewlett Packard as a defense department contractor and had proper ID. He used the shotgun to kill a security guard at the entrance of the Sea Systems Command Headquarters. He took the guard's hand gun and somewhere in the building latched onto a AR-15. Witnesses say he didn't utter a word as he opened fire on a cafeteria area and other locations within the building.
The rest of it is so numbingly familiar it is almost as if we could use the same background story over and over and just change the name. Aaron Alexis was 34, a former navy petty officer who had been treated at a VA hospital for a variety of mental problems, including sleep deprivation, anger issues, and paranoia. Reports are the navy gave him a general discharge as opposed to an honorable one. He'd been written up for absent without permission from work, insubordination, and disorderly conduct during his time in the service.
His father claims he was suffering from post traumatic stress because he'd been a rescuer in New York City during the 9-11 nightmare. While that hasn't been confirmed, it is known he was living in New York at the time of the attacks.
Friends are stunned, one so much so he initially disbelieved it was Alexis who did it. Another talked about how he liked to stay in his room alone playing video games hour after hour, "you know, the ones where you shoot people."
As always there were other signs. In 2004 he was popped in Seattle for shooting out the tires of a car. He claimed the owner had, "disrespected" him. Other reports say he told Seattle police he had suffered, "an anger induced black out." In Ft. Worth in 2010 a neighbor called police after Alexis fired a gun in an apartment. Prosecutors dropped the charges when they bought the excuse the weapon went off accidentally while he was cleaning it. They said he didn't appear to be reckless. A friend told the press he had a concealed carry permit for a hand gun when he was living in Texas. As late as August 7th this year, Alexis complained to Rhode Island police that people were talking to him through the walls and ceiling of his hotel room and someone was sending microwave vibrations through his body to keep him from sleeping.
Authorities claim they are still searching for a motive, as if there is one out there that will make any sense. There have been unsubstantiated reports Alexis had either just lost his job, or was in the process of being laid off because the work he was doing at the yard was being relocated to Colorado. Whatever the case, the only thing we can be sure of right now is the guy was bat shit crazy and had been for quite some time.
So, to sum up just another day in the life here in the good old U.S.A.--we have a former sailor who had discipline problems, who had anger issues, who had been treated at a VA hospital for mental disorders, who was listening to voices coming through walls, who had told police microwave vibrations were keeping him awake, and who had previously discharged a weapon on a street during a, "blackout." Then, because a bunch of bellicose twits demand there be no meaningful restrictions, or background checks on gun purchases, this demented goof was able to walk right into a Virginia store and buy a shotgun as easily as he could have bought a six pack of beer at a neighborhood 7-11.
At the end of her statement to the press, Dr. Orlwoski said, "This isn't America. This isn't Washington D.C. This isn't good."
Well, you went one for three there, Doc. Tragically, Aaron Alexis and his ability to get a gun, any gun, and his willingness to use it during a murderous walkabout is, beyond a shred of doubt, exactly what America and Washington D.C. are. A more perfect portrait cannot be painted.
If you don't believe me, I have the statistics to prove it. Or, you can just pick up a phone and call someone in Newtown. They'll explain it to you.
mors vincit omnia
9-17-13
No comments:
Post a Comment