Be the Positive You Want to See in the World

Politics & Policy

My Reaction to the Las Vegas Massacre I / Fail

I posted this on Facebook today, and as I read it, I’m not convinced I was right it or that I was wrong. I’m also not sure my post helped any more than the posts I was criticizing, and some of my friends took umbrage for very legitimate reasons.

What I continue to feel is that we are failing. We are failing to address the opportunities we have and the moral imperatives we face. We convince ourselves that if we just keep at it, if we just keep hitting that damn nail with our wonderful hammer, we’ll eventually get it right. But more often than not, we just bend the nail. This is delusion, not progress.

So I’m going to call this post on Facebook a fail not because it was wrong, though it might be, but because it was ineffective. I would rather be wrong and motivate true change than right and fail to do so. 

In that sense, this was a total failure. 

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Hi there!

I just wanted to thank you for taking this opportunity to make the deaths of 50+ people and the injury of hundreds into an opportunity for you to express your political opinions.

It can be hard to care about the death and misery of others. I mean, damn, enough already! True empathy is hard because it doesn’t let other people know how great you are. But if you can somehow make it all about you, it’s a win-win! I’m amazed you came up with this strategy all by yourself.

You are super amazing and unique and you’re covering the bases like a champ!

Guns are bad ban them. Check

Concealed carry would have saved lives. Check

White dude killed called Lone Wolf is White Privilege. Check.

I applaud your consistency, predictability and sheer disregard for the fact that actual human beings actually died. That takes a special kind of soulless narcissism. Well done!

Here is a way to make it even better.

“Did you know that _____ [victim’s name] died because nobody listened to my opinion on ______ [insert opinion]? If only more people listened to me, ____ [another victim’s name] might still be alive today. Please share this to make me feel better about me, myself and I. We really appreciate it.”

Keep up the great work, and good luck out there!

#YourPainMyOpportunity #ItsAllAboutMe #ActuallyIDoHaveAnOpnionOnEverything #YouHadItComing

http://www.cnn.com/…/…/las-vegas-shooting-victims/index.html

What if we acted like decent human beings and had a 24 hour moratorium on self-absorbed, agenda-driven bullshit so families could actually learn the names of who died before they had to like your pre-packaged political post?

#24HourMoratorium

Seriously.

***

See? Not exactly inspiring. Now for the next try…

Main image courtesy of the Daily News.

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