Photo: Mamma CandyAs seen on America The Not So Beautiful
August 28, 2014
By Mike Caccioppoli
What kind of country are we living in? No, seriously, I want to know. A nine year old girl just accidentally killed her shooting range instructor! I remember when kids had piano teachers instead of Uzi teachers. I think I’m going to start my own GoFundMe page where I ask for donations so I can move to Canada. I’m tired of living in a country where too many people love guns more than children. I’m living in a country where twenty little kids can be blown to bits and nothing, I mean nothing is done about it. Nothing to destroy the organization that time and time again allows this shit to happen. So we have shooting after shooting (mass and just ‘minor’) and for a week or two we talk about it and then we move on to the next story. Which of course this being the USA no doubt has something to do with guns, police brutality, or a place we want to bomb. I’m fucking tired of it.
I’m tired of hearing stories about nine year old girls at shooting ranges putting a bullet in their instructors head. It happened at a place in Arizona named Bullets and Burgers. I shit you not. I have to say that even a true cynic like myself who hates most American tradition and culture, was still shocked by that name. I wasn’t shocked that it happened in Arizona, no that did not shock me. I can only imagine what those in civilized nations think about that kind of name or concept. Hey, bring your kiddies to Bullets and Burgers where they can grab a cheeseburger, fries with your choice of sides…a pistol, a rifle, or an Uzi. This is real folks, not satire. I’m sure the founding fathers were imagining a place called Bullets and Burgers when they wrote the Second Amendment.
It’s real American life. ‘Murica baby! In places where gun violence is rare (ie every other civilized nation) when something like this happens (even though something like THIS never does) the entire country is paralyzed from it. Here in the USA we just shrug and go back to texting about our latest meal or blow job. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of seeing young lives taken or in the case of the girl, traumatized for life. This little girl killed someone. She will have to live with that forever. Her innocence is gone and who is to blame? So many people.
The NRA is to blame. They tweeted right after the incident about “7 ways children can have fun at the shooting range.” Actually it was “NRA Women” that tweeted it. Now I understand the reason so many men love big guns. It makes up for what they are lacking in the manhood department. Why women? Someone needs to explain this to me. Please. Yes this was an actual tweet right after this girl killed her instructor. The guy who runs the range is also to blame. He was on “All in with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC and as I was watching I was looking for a hint of humanity in this man, trying my hardest to understand why he allows kids to shoot guns at his range.
The humanity wasn’t there. Sure he said something about the guy that was killed being a close friend or like a brother or something but that was about it. The rest of the interview was about how much money he makes from letting kids eat burgers and shoot Uzi’s. It a big business in Nevada and Arizona, part of the gaming industry. As always it’s about money. Money and guns going together like a bullet in the brain. It just seems to fit together well in the USA.
When Hayes, who looked totally shocked and almost paralyzed by what this man was saying, asked him what changes might be made, the guy actually said this, “maybe we will have to do what they do at Disney Land, you know, when you can’t go on a ride if you aren’t ‘this tall’ (he used his hand to show height). Yeah that’s it! That’s the change that might be made. I mean shooting a high powered weapon is just like going on the “gravitron”. Ain’t this America for you and me baby!
Hayes had the look on his face that you have right now as you read this. If you hadn’t seen the interview. If an 18 year old has sex with a 16 year old we go ape shit in the country, we want the 18 year old to do life in prison. But it’s OK for a nine year old to shoot a gun. It’s not OK for a 17 year old to vote but it’s OK for a nine year old to shoot a gun. It’s not OK for a 20 year old to have a beer but it’s OK for a nine year old to shoot a fucking gun!!
This is the story in the news now, but I bet most of you don’t remember or probably haven’t heard of this one from 2011. I mean that was 457 news cycles ago. An eight year old boy killed himself when almost the exact same thing happened as his father was showing him how to shoot. A bullet in his own brain. But we didn’t talk about that story, or we did and just moved on as usual.
Which brings up the people who are the most responsible. The parents. This is child abuse or at least it would be in most other countries. You see, these people (mostly men but not always) want their kids to ‘grow up tough’ and be able to ‘defend themselves’. The father doesn’t want his son to be a ‘pussy.’ The ones with girls always wanted a boy so they have to transfer their psychological bullshit over to their poor kids. This is what it means to grow up in America these days. Some of these same people will deride their kids if they want those piano lessons or voice lessons or ballet lessons.
We have become a sick nation. Cancer ridden. We are obsessed with guns and money and violence and killing. It stinks from the head down. From a government that creates (literally and figuratively) boogeymen that need to be bombed to the cops who see an immediate threat when a black kid is walking down the street to the parents who instill this sick idea into their kids heads that if you don’t shoot a gun you aren’t ‘tough’ or a ‘real American’. The range owner that Hayes’ interviewed said “some of these nine year olds are pretty big.” It sounded as disgusting as those guys who say “Hey, she might have been 12 but she looked 18 buddy!” We detest the latter but we excuse the former. He also said the little girl “wanted to shoot a gun.” Nah, we know the truth. Her parents made her want to shoot the gun, it wastheir idea. No nine year old girl wakes up one day and says ‘I’d really love to shoot an Uzi today daddy!’ They caused the death of that instructor and the grief and guilt this little girl will feel for the rest of her life.
The NRA loves this shit. They eat it up. More kids growing up to love guns, to buy guns, to pass that along to their kids and so on and so forth. The politicians do nothing because the gun lobby contributes big money to their campaigns. The few who might want to stand up to Wayne LaPierre, know they will probably lose the next election when the NRA and supporters give millions to a pro gun challenger.
Yes this is the USA.
Bullets and burgers and guns and money and power and deaths.
Who wants to help me with that GoFundMe campaign?
@CaccioppoliMike
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