Philadelphia was the site of two shootings, but failed to make the national news. One happened late Thursday night, the other in the early morning hours of Friday morning. One person died and four were seriously injured.
The Media Fails to Report Most Mass Shootings
It should be no surprise to anyone that very few Americans heard about these tragic and preventable events, situations like these have become more frequent than days on the calendar. Leaving your home has become a “clear and present danger” to your life. Welcome to the United States of America.
Shootings are so commonplace that the mainstream media ignores most of them unless the deaths and injuries total more than a dozen.
The accurate definition of a “mass shooting” is four or more individuals injured or killed in a single incident. With this as a guideline, there are more mass shootings in America than days on the calendar. And it is a fact that most of these incidents could have been prevented.
The first quarter of 2023 is nearly complete. This year is shaping up to be the most violent in our nation’s history. On February 15, USA Today reported that there had been 71 mass shootings in the first 45 days of 2023.
The Mainstream Media Is in Collusion with the NRA and Right Wing Politicians
In deference to the right wing, the mainstream media refuses to discuss this fact. However, they spend hours discussing high altitude balloons, Fascist actions by Ron DeSantis, and anything done or said by a pathological liar who claimed to be your president between 2017 and 2021.
The NRA Is Just Another Criminal Organization
The NRA gun lobby loves their misleading slogan: “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I have my own: “without access to killing machines, far fewer people would die from gunshot.”
Fact: handguns and assault rifles were created for a single purpose; to kill people. My tolerance for the inaction of politicians who gladly accept huge campaign contributions from the NRA, which represents gun manufacturers and gun sellers, is over. I am positive that if these two killing machines were banned, the majority of the loss of about 40,000 lives would end immediately. However, one entire party is more concerned about corporate America losing a few million dollars than the lives of innocent women, children, and men.
About 10 percent of all Americans are obsessed with their guns. This is another example of how ignorant our nation has become. Here’s another slogan: “people with guns kill people.”
A Government and the Media Failing the American People
Once again, I place the majority of the blame on our government and the mainstream media.
One party and their propaganda outlets masquerading as legitimate news agencies, incite anger, hatred, and violence every day. These are the same groups which hide behind the somewhat ambiguous and poorly written Second Amendment. They are also the same people who denounce the First Amendment rights of everyone who is not an affluent, white, male. It is a travesty that every man and woman who claims to be an “American” does not fight to ensure that every citizen receives equal protection under the law. Ten percent of all Americans own 90 percent of all guns. It is disgusting that right wing politicians are more concerned with the imagined rights of gun owners than the 90 percent who become targets for some of these gun nuts.
It is fair to claim that gun manufacturers, gun sellers, and the NRA gun lobby are all guilty of murder.
Written by James Turnage
My nine novels are available on Amazon’s Kindle
Sources:
ABC 6 Philadelphia: 1 dead, 4 injured in 2 separate shootings in Philadelphia
USA Today: There have been 71 mass shootings in the US this year – in just 6 weeks
USA Today: Three days. 10 mass shootings. More than 50 victims. US sees worst weekend of 2023.
Top and featured image courtesy of Maxim Hopman‘s Unsplash page – Creative Commons License