It was a deadly Friday in a couple of places yesterday. Indeed, nothing will put the damper on a beautiful spring day quicker than pondering our taste for gun violence. We certainly have one. In fact it is our answer to just about every grievance, both real and imagined.
Yesterday morning in southeast Ohio eight members of a large and locally well known family named Rhoden were found shot to death in four different locations. Three children survived. One was a four day old new born who was sleeping in bed next to its mother. She, like the other victims, had been killed by a shot to the head.
Authorities have no clue who did it, or why. At least that is what they are saying publicly. A spokesperson told reporters there was no sign that any of the victims committed suicide, which, of course, means the killer, or killers are still out there, roaming around, presumably armed and certainly dangerous.
The Pike County Sheriff, Charles Reader instantly became a master of the obvious when he met with the press. He told the media, while there was no specific threat to the community, it appeared the Rhodens had been targeted. Later, a media wag asked if residents of the area should lock their doors and stay alert until the case was solved. Reader responded by saying, "I would."
Oh, you think, Sheriff?
Not long after the horror show some 70 miles east of Cincinnati, Mr. Wayne Anthony Hawes of Appling, Georgia went a little funny in the head. It seems a week ago his wife dumped him after a seriously contentious relationship. She'd done it before, but reports are this time she cleared her stuff out of their home. That's because when she'd previously walked away, she had left her belongings behind and he had destroyed all of them--a couple of times.
The enraged, Mr. Hawes went on a spree, shooting a 75 year old man to death, along two women, an 85 year old and another who was 31. He drove to a second location and killed a 59 year old man and a third woman who was 62. None of the victims were his estranged wife, although they were related to her.
Hawes' daughter, Lauren escaped the carnage Friday night by hiding with her child at a neighbor's house. Today she was quoted as saying, her father was, "a ticking time bomb."
Well aren't they all? And--like the rest of the crazy fucks out there, Wayne Anthony Hawes was able to get his hands on a gun a whole lot easier than you and I can obtain a license to drive an automobile.
Ultimately, Brother Hawes saved everyone a lot of time and trouble by committing suicide later that evening. Police say he tried to burn down his home before blowing his brains out, but it didn't work out for him. Hey, luckily, sometimes things simply don't go as planned. Just ask his kid and grandchild, not to mention his wife.
For those of you wondering, the gun death rate in the United States is 10.54 per 100,000 people. In comparison, the UK rate is 0.23. Australia's is 0.93, Canada's 1.97, and New Zealand's 1.07.
And what is it in Mexico, the home of all those drugged crazed murderers and rapists, Donald Trump keeps braying about? It's a mere 7.64.
Yeah, sing to me again about how this country is the land of the free.
4-23-16
I'm no expert, but it seems to me that people everywhere, in all times and places, have problems dealing with prosperity if it goes on uninterrupted for too long. In the USA, it has been 70 years since WWII and the Great Depression came to an end. I believe it is safe to say that, sure, there are the poor and disadvantaged in our country, but across the board, we have a true Land of Plenty. What am I trying to say here? I'm saying that, for whatever the reason, we have a very dangerous societal mindset, an over-medicated people filled with much anger. I feel we are experiencing a decay from the inside, much like Rome, seen especially in our love affair with weaponry and support of a man like The Donald for president. Hmm, this is a more wordy comment than you normally see from me, but I am very concerned about the state of our nation in the year 2016.
ReplyDelete