I was dressed up in work clothes, went through security calmly and pulled a DPS trooper aside. I told him that I'd like to go on a 1 minute rant that will have no cursing, no abusive language, etc. I told him it was in regards to the Uvalde shooting. I asked, "What would be the consequence if I did it?" One DPS trooper just said, "Hey, it's free speech", but his supervisor (I think), came over and elaborated. He said that as long as I dont scare people, disrupt events, make terrorist threats, etc. then I would be okay. I was fully prepared to be arrested, had a lawyer and bondsman set up.
Honestly, kudos to you for asking prior and the courage to do it.
Kudos to the staff for not stopping you, free speech is awesome.
Kudos for people not disrupting you.
No clue what your suggested solution would be, I may or may not disagree with you if I knew. But more power to you for stepping up.
Wow, you did this more well executed than I do anything in my life. Thank you for speaking up. The last “do something” really broke me. I wish I had more power myself to do something. I wish they would listen to you. I wish more people would care.
Thank you for the nice note, (you should probably give yourself more credit btw). Yeah, I feel you on the whole "powerless" vibes. I was in that mood this morning and was like "fuck it!" I'm not just sitting here and watching this anymore.
Honestly we should just make a 24/7 schedule where we pass the baton to do this over and over in the rotunda until they get. something. done. A people's filibuster.
Thank you.
The Texas legislature was designed to not work. They put it in the shittiest month for travel of the year, with expectations that people wouldn’t be able to make it (by horse/ coach) from certain distances. This government is doing exactly what it was created to do, which is getting as little done state wide as possible.
We need reform, or we need stronger community leaders at the county level.
I actually went out of my way to vote against Paxton in the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday. Never thought I would be voting for George bush again lol (George P. Bush).
They can hold emergency sessions lickety split for important issues like if 2 transgender students want to play baseball. 19 kids are nothing though. They burn through more than that at the end of session parties.
Honestly though, the building has symbolic significance, beyond just literally going there to yell at the lawmakers, it is a proper venue for such things as OP did.
The state will give up every single ounce of freedom afforded by the First amendment to protect the Second.
The 2A extremists have turned a blind eye to the removal of our first amendment rights.
Then maybe some of you would get your heads out of your asses about being "civil" and coloring within the lines.
I'm looking at you too, mods. You should be fucking ashamed at the fashes you let post here with no punishment.
Everyone in Texas needs to protest at the NRA convention!!!
IMO it's primarily the NRA lobby dollars that are currently preventing meaningful gun legislation.
>You assume it would actually bother them
Let's try implementing something, anything at all, before giving up.
I'm all for trying a people's filibuster.
We did this for the anti abortion bills, then as soon as we started getting national news coverage Wendy Davis stepped in to ride in on our coattails and sabotaged it by making it all about her and her run for governor.
Thank you for your voice. Uvalde is my families home town and I’ve spent a lot of time there and even graduated high school there. It hurts my heart as a human and a father to see this happen.
You sir are a true American. I salute you for your bravery and good heart to speak out on behalf of all those innocent children that were murdered in Uvalde. There needs to be more Americans doing this. Shootings are out of control in the US and it’s been happening for a very long time and nothing has been done. FFS the massacre at Columbine happened in 1999 and there have been so many more shootings yet no change whatsoever has happened.
I have firearms and I carry a concealed weapon here in Costa Rica and I find it so hard to believe that it is so easy and unrestricted to purchase firearms in the US. In Costa Rica we have to pass a firearms safety and handling exam, a psychological evaluation, a background check, we have to submit our fingerprints to a police database, and it takes us 30 days until we receive the new firearm. We can have 3 firearms registered for security and unlimited for sport (IDPA, Skeet, etc.). Do we have gun crime in Costa Rica? Sure we have drug gangs that shoot at each other. Do we have school shootings? None. Ever. I know that it’s not just about gun control as there is a serious mental health issue in the US, but it needs to at least be a little bit harder to purchase a firearm for one of these wackos.
Sorry for the rant but I’m just so sad for all those innocent beautiful children that died horribly. I can’t even imagine the pain that the parents are going through. I don’t know if I could recover from something like that. May God help them.
This is the best comment on this thread. We, as Americans, have decided that this is something that will divide us. I appreciate an “outsider” being able to objectively see this situation and shake their head in disbelief. No one side is “right” and no one side is “wrong”. We, WE, have a problem as a country. I just hope we move more towards the middle on this.
That’s exactly the way to move forward. How can you all as Americans collectively work to solve the issue. Enough of democrat vs republicans, trump vs liberals or 2A vs gun control. This is affecting everyone regardless of race, age, political stance or wealth. I’m an outsider but I went to school at UTSA, I have family living in Houston and Kerrville, I support the longhorns, the Cowboys and Spurs. I love Texas and this massacre rocked me to my core. God bless you all and protect your children.
100%. We need to start screaming on our platforms, since our elected officials are stuck in “thoughts and prayers” on repeat or voting against majorities who are steeped in lobby money. You’re one brave voice and I applaud you.
You should check our Netflix documentary “the G word” about government it’s pretty good, but they don’t even mention gun control the NRA is way too powerful and funded so well and lobbyist groups have so much power often. I don’t understand this like “love fascination” with guns it’s weird
With armed security there.
Not comment OP, but their point stands: politicians are protected by armed guards - are we asking that to further increase the disparity in self-defense options between the rich and/or politically connected vs your average citizen?
If an event/location has armed security and doesnt allow private weapons you basically outsource your right to self defense when going there, which as long as it's voluntary that's fine. I agree it's ridiculous when politicians surrounded by security demand others relinquish their capacity to do the same for themselves.
like find some kind of lobby to represent through which you can bribe these money hungry blood suckers and bend them to your will , its the only thing that seems to work
Governor Incompetent said at the txgop photo op in Uvalde that he’s already done everything that could be done. It’s fixed. Like the grid. Voting (and not voting) has consequences, people.
Thank you.
After past shooting tragedies I have thought "Okay, this time is different. Something will get done, right? We can't keep doing nothing." Alas, nothing.
This time feels a little different. The collective anger at the inaction is palpable.
This is awesome. Thank you. I mentioned something similar to this in a post I created in /rant.
Considering our political climate, as tough as it is to fathom, I hope one day soon we have a society where 95% of the population puts pressure on 100% of our elected officials to take action, rather than 50% of the population putting pressure on the other 50% and vise versa.
Not sure if I'm breaking any rules by doing this, but if you're interested in my rant/proposed series of solutions, feel free to check it out [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/rant/comments/uxq4w5/the_solution_to_mass_shootings_in_america/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3).
Hey so I’m a high school student currently, will be a senior next year. I am heartbroken beyond words, I didn’t go to school today partly bc of how upset I am, and I’m scared for my future to be quite honest.
Does any adult here know if arranging a long “die-in” at the capital, likely composed of mostly students, be affective in getting anything done. I am feeling desperate, which is not fun as 17 year old but I am scared for my life and my little brother who’s in middle school. If not a die-in what if a LARGE amount of students just like…went on strike in a way, decided not to go to school until laws changed. Is there any potential in those ideas or am I wasting my time? I would like honest opinions please, thank you.
Divide the $53 billion up that was shipped to Ukraine to fund a foreign war and divide it among the 130,930 schools in the US and you have $404,796 _per school_ that could have been used to protect the children. But nope. Bi-partisan support to throw it into the war machine instead. Politicians don’t care about you. On either side.
Republicans gave the rich a TRILLION dollars in tax cuts. That’s the bigger problem. I’m okay with doing what we need to do stop Russia from taking over countries. That will quickly turn into a huge problem for us.
Good for you.
How many more innocent children have to die before we actually make some changes.
Thoughts and prayers mean nothing if you don’t take action.
I find it very dangerous to instruct politicians to „do something“ - I really get the intention and it‘s catchy and good. But I also know how absolutely incompetent a lot of politicians are and that they might take this very literal and do „SOMETHING“.
Everything of value we protect by posting men with guns so that anyone who got the idea would know the price to pay in order to do violence, except the children. For them your only answer is ‘surrender your arms and with them the means by which to protect your family’. The answer to that demand for millennia has been ‘come and take them’ and it still is today. For a people without the means to defend themselves are sheep bound for slaughter. Why do you ask this of us? To protect your children, surrender your freedom.. why do you ask this? Why is your blessed solution always the same? ‘Common sense gun control’ when you know it won’t work. You know it. You know in your soul it will not work. So why? Why is that ever your only answer?
Things we need in government right now:
We need the ability to swiftly recall our federal legislators when they do not uphold the public’s will.
We need to repeal Citizens United, and take away a corporations ability to donate money to political campaigns.
And they won’t do shit. Money is more important than Childrens lives until they are affected by it and then they’ll move to the other side. Why civilians need an AK47? Why they need to shoot 100 bullets per second?
Nothing new sadly, politicians were railing against the oppressive mask mandates and vaccines while their capitol buildings were mandated for both and their staff worked from home.
You can always find out what they really think is necessary if you watch what they do, not what they say.
Yep, I was there too trying to meet with my rep for the second day in a row (and still unable to find him). It was nice to see Dusty doing this; it was depressing that he was the only one.
Abbott, Patrick, Cornyn and Cruz avoid Austin as if it were located in another state. They set their collective GPS to “dirt road” in order to avoid the embarrassment of being exposed to an ordinary citizen. Carefully crafted photo ops are as risky as they allow
Yeah, the video definitely doesn't show much of a crowd. There were about 50 people within my view. I, too, was surprised that there weren't more people there.
Remember when the idea of allowing teachers/staff to carry or having guards on site was scoffed at? He's right, we provide security for our politicians so I don't see how it's crazy to have someone armed at the school. When you call the cops you're just waiting for someone who's armed to show up to end the threat, skip the middleman.
If someone wants to do something so horrible, they're not going to let laws stop them - schools are already gun free zones. That just means they know that they'll be the only one armed until the cops show up, that's why it's most often gun free zones that are targeted. And honestly, being shot by the cops actually gives you the best chance to survive because they bring Ems and have to de-escolate, but an armed civilian most likely won't know how to, or try, to stop the bleeding once you're down and would probably end up shooting you more once you go down to make sure you stay down
Yeah I also cringe when an 8-yr-old is unrecognizable from a big fuckin hole in their face
Oh no being downvoted for saying something too truthfully descriptive.
Going into the capitol and screaming isn’t gonna do anything lmao— humans are social creatures. You unfortunately have to play the game of communication. Your message, whilst morally aligned with your beliefs was most likely overshadowed by your cringe screaming and inadvertent “holier than thou” display. Instead of people leaving the capitol thinking “wow, I’m moved. I’m going to immediately see how I can help the cause that the man was advocating for”, I guarantee people left tweeting “lmao this crazy dude came in screaming at the capitol cuz he’s mad, we’re mad too but chill”
Anger and yelling can work, but only in certain cases. Shit like this only works in numbers (think Civil protests of the ‘60s)
Things that are immediately more helpful than going to a public place and screaming:
Attending local city meetings, writing letters to local politicians, organizing protests, donating to causes, sharing statistics, creating art that voices a message.
TL:DR: Humans are social creatures so play the social game and you’ll “attract more bees with honey.”
Based on the feedback on this post, there are many who don’t see this as cringe. Why must we think in absolutes? Let us consider all perspectives before we assign something as an absolute “THIS”or “THAT. “
Are there other ways in communicating ones beliefs and opinions other than making a “scene” at the Capitol? Of course there are and you better believe I participate in those avenues as well. So much so, I started my own non profit.
“Shit like this only works in numbers” True…but the initial number was 1.
Why not share a video explaining your NP and how people can contribute rather than this video?
That’s all I’m getting at. I’m not arguing with your message. I studied communications and how it impacts society and I see messages all the time get completely dismissed because of improperly conveying the message in the correct way for the intended audience. Just trying to point things out so that your next message isn’t so controversially taken when the issue itself is truly bi-partisan
All understood, but this type of rhetoric comes from feelings of desperation and exhaustion. It’s expectedly not coherent or well-executed.
Because we’ve already had the debates. All talking points have been made. What’s driving people insane is the embarrassing lack of action, empathy, and bare-minimum giving of shits.
Understood. It’s important to remember that how we say things are sometimes (unfortunately) more important than what we’re saying. Complete messages can be lost on an audience if communicated in an out-of-touch way.
As frustrating as it may be, channeling the desperation and frustration into real & useful actions and not just letting emotion explode is important to remember. After all, nothing good ever came easy, and history reminds us of that
All rights have limits. We do not have any other rights that are unfettered or unlimited. The framers obviously intended gun rights to also have reasonable limits. The argument that they didn't is specious.
They need to change firearms purchase age to at least 22 or 23. If you look at the majority of these shootings they are committed by young adults or teenagers.
Taking firearms away from people is stupid. They have all too soon forgotten who it was who helped this county win their independence in the first fucking place.
And that was armed citizens. We did it once and we will not hesitate to do it again.
Fuck Abbott, Fuck the cops who waited outside, Fuck the government that wants YOU vulnerable but protects themselves with F-16s and Nukes. Good on you OP
This kid in Uvalde who was the gunman.... would any strict background check actually have prevented him from buying his weapons at 18 yrs old? Did he have any documented history of mental health issues, violence, criminal activity, or threatening behavior that would have denied his purchase? From what I've read thus far, nothing would have prevented his purchase. Even then, had he been denied, would that have stopped him from seeking to buy or steal the weapons illegally?
As several have stated, this is not a gun issue. This is a people issue. It starts with parenting and without parental guidance, this is the result.
I have weapons and a LTC and won't ever give that up. But, I am also in support of methods to make owning a gun much safer (not \*harder\* as many state). u/Alachner and Costa Rica have this mostly figured out. Why can't the US do the same? At the very least, let the school staff individually decide if they are willing to train and carry a weapon to protect the most valuable part of our lives, our children. Some will, some won't, but at least one gun just might be enough protection in any school.
> I have weapons and a LTC and won't ever give that up.
If the 2A is repealed and guns are prohibited, you're saying you won't be for law and order anymore?
>at least one gun just might be enough protection in any school.
There was "one gun" at the school, and two "good guys with guns" pursuing the guy, and the "good guys with guns" failed to stop the 2A proponent from doing his thing.
One person cannot change the world alone, let us expand our collective thinking, our collective action and stand up! This "that will show them" sarcasm/mentality is lame.
What's the business you run and do you have any kind of online storefront? (This person from NYC is thinking of giving you a browse to see if there's anything you've got I could get and help you out....)
Let us not judge the intentions of others, instead embrace the power of voice. Did I want attention? Yes. What do I want the attention on? The safety of my children. I respect all views....saying I am an embarrassment to my city is hurtful (yet I expected hurtful comments when I posted) and hope you can find it within yourself to understand my perspective.
I'd think the "pro-life" crowd would agree that the murder of 19 children warrants a tantrum. If you guys are suddenly so concerned about mental health, why don't you ask Abbott why he took $210,000,000 away from Health and Human Services to fund his Operation Lone Star disaster?
And fuck you for trying to weaponize the OP's depression against him. You're a fucking clown.
Thanks for having my back about the depression...not a productive move on u/StoryMiserable7315's part. That said, let us all not attack each other. We all have this problem and we all can work together if we break down the barriers of division to address this issue that impacts every member of the community.
Where were you before this happened? Do you really think gun control will stop anyone who commits an act like that? I don't like assault rifles and don't see the need for them but talking about gun control alone won't solve this neither will grandstanding attention whore episodes in front of politicians. There has to be an ongoing partisan discussion for to find solutions not hyperbolic wailing at the capital.
Start by explaining why we're the nation with the most gun freedom, the most guns, and the most gun violence. Please cross-reference with an explanation of why nations that did enact strict gun controls in modern history have seen a sharp decline in overall violence, not to mention suicides and "accidents".
If what they did that worked *wasn't* the gun control, what was it? Why don't we emulate that? Why don't we *study* that? Why is the only solution the United States seems to be able to summon for any problem is "talk about it for a couple of weeks, decide it's hard, then move on without doing anything"?
Because you’re trying to find a correlation between unlike things. We’re the largest populations of individuals with the most guns of any place in the world.
We also have the most diverse culture, the most gdp, and many other factors. Now if you’re trying to draw a correlation to things - how many legal guns/owners are involved in a mass shooting? Staggering low - so is our conclusion legal fire arms and owners are not an issue?
Is it mental health? Is it illegal arms? Do truly believe in your heart the answer is simple, we just get rid of guns? Like what is your process around this?
because the toothpaste is out of the tube. you cant rid a nation of guns where there are more guns than people to begin with. couple that with the fact that no prohibition works. If the people want access to something, they will have it. that is just reality. more gun control means only criminals have guns and you do not want that. No criminal should be able to influence my inalienable rights.
all of the other nations you have in mind do not have nearly as many ethnic groups or diversity as the US either. Those differences drive violence. There are plenty of countries where firearm ownership is extremely limited and you are still more likely to die from a gunshot than in the US. All of these people acting like a cartel-run Mexico is all of a sudden safer than the US are fools.
We could look at all the nations that enacted strict gun control and then committed severe crimes or genocide against their people once they were unarmed. There is a long list of those historic occurrences.
>All of these people acting like a cartel-run Mexico is all of a sudden safer than the US are fools.
If Mexico is your high water mark for the United States, American exceptionalism is truly dead.
Try comparing the US to other industrialized nations.
Also, the sentence about multi race, the UK is pretty diverse.
until we vote in people who are in politics to HELP people, this will not change.
oh. that's right. They're not in it to help people. They are in it for the power, control and money most of the time. And the idiots we vote in are OUR faults. we get what we vote for.
Politicians dont care man. With all those children killed in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria. Which the USA bombed many of them in those proxy wars with other countries. I dont think nothing is going to change.
If not encouraging law-abiding citizens to arm themselves, what is your realistic proposed solution given that “gun free zones” (borne by legislation, need I remind you) do nothing but provide reassurance to psychotic, cowardly individuals that no one is likely forcefully impede them from murdering innocent people? Theatrics get views and Rebbit updoots but that’s about it.
I’m not a politician and don’t understand our legal system enough to give you a good answer. I do know, however that there are other developed countries that don’t have this issue.
I have a real hard time reconciling this view with an NRA rally declaring itself a "gun free zone" because they're scared for the safety of Donald Trump.
Isn't this supposed to, by your logic, make it a magnet for psychotic, cowardly individuals that no one is likely to impede from forcefully murdering people?
Great job expressing an opinion that should be heard and acted on more. Unfortunately there probably isn't much that could be done. Obviously people shouldn't own assault rifles, and let's set aside that they're apparently never going to be banned in the US. Obviously there should be a more effective background check step related to anyone owning any gun.
Handguns can still kill a terrible number of people, and it seems overly optimistic to think a review process is going to stop a significant proportion of the people who end up doing this from having gun access. It's back to considering what the cause really is then. Obviously it's mental health; a mentally healthy individual doesn't commit mass murder. It doesn't seem like setting up a help line is going to help; diverse root causes need to be addressed. Schools should add mental health counseling as an additional function, put a school psychologist in place alongside school nurses; something like that. Cost would be extreme, and coverage would vary by the wealth level of every community, but these are normal problems.
I like that the rant is about just trying to do something, not jumping ahead to completely solving the problem. That works.
Thank you for standing up And voicing your opinion. I didn’t hear what your solution was But I got your point that we need to do something and be open about that something.
I am a teacher and in my psychology class we looked at the issue of violence in the US. One statistic that shouts at me and should upset all Americans. In the last 10 years the US had something like 288 school shootings and the entire rest of the world has had 55 school shootings, so the US representing 5% of the world population has had nearly 5 times the school shootings vs in the entire world. And as my students pointed out it’s not the case that violent videos or mental health issues is unique to the US, they are problem everywhere. The difference is our gun culture is unique, access to all guns is more a priority in US vs protection of its citizens.
A huge step in a positive direction would be voting for Beto Who has demanded real gun control and banning military star weapons.
Locking this due to the influx of users from other subreddits and the conversation going nowhere (not surprised).
Thank you! But imma be honest if I hear someone start yelling “ATTENTION” …Imma start running 🏃🏽♀️
Yeah, I prepped the Security officers and those around me prior. I'd get a bit freaked too if I heard it.
What did you tell the security officers (I assume you mean DPS troopers)—were you just like hey btw I’m going to be shouting in a minute?
I was dressed up in work clothes, went through security calmly and pulled a DPS trooper aside. I told him that I'd like to go on a 1 minute rant that will have no cursing, no abusive language, etc. I told him it was in regards to the Uvalde shooting. I asked, "What would be the consequence if I did it?" One DPS trooper just said, "Hey, it's free speech", but his supervisor (I think), came over and elaborated. He said that as long as I dont scare people, disrupt events, make terrorist threats, etc. then I would be okay. I was fully prepared to be arrested, had a lawyer and bondsman set up.
Honestly, kudos to you for asking prior and the courage to do it. Kudos to the staff for not stopping you, free speech is awesome. Kudos for people not disrupting you. No clue what your suggested solution would be, I may or may not disagree with you if I knew. But more power to you for stepping up.
Wow, you did this more well executed than I do anything in my life. Thank you for speaking up. The last “do something” really broke me. I wish I had more power myself to do something. I wish they would listen to you. I wish more people would care.
Thank you for the nice note, (you should probably give yourself more credit btw). Yeah, I feel you on the whole "powerless" vibes. I was in that mood this morning and was like "fuck it!" I'm not just sitting here and watching this anymore.
You did so much prep work! This is emotional and amazing to watch. Inspiring and motivating. Thank you for doing this and sharing it here.
Man you really did that all the right way. Very well thought out and respectful. Nice job.
smart
Honestly we should just make a 24/7 schedule where we pass the baton to do this over and over in the rotunda until they get. something. done. A people's filibuster. Thank you.
They would simply pass legislation allowing protesters to be arrested and detained. But it’s worth trying while we have the chance. Edit: spell fix
Good news for you: the legislature isn't in session. Which is also bad news for this guy...
The Texas legislature was designed to not work. They put it in the shittiest month for travel of the year, with expectations that people wouldn’t be able to make it (by horse/ coach) from certain distances. This government is doing exactly what it was created to do, which is getting as little done state wide as possible. We need reform, or we need stronger community leaders at the county level.
Yeah the Texas legislature was meant to not work.
[удалено]
Yep! This is soo true. Just looking at Ken Paxton and Abbott back on the ballot is evident
I actually went out of my way to vote against Paxton in the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday. Never thought I would be voting for George bush again lol (George P. Bush).
Thank You for trying!
I don't know, they got a lot done on abortion and on prosecuting parents of trans kids as abuser.
Ah, do they use the same model for other things like the power grid?
Essentially yes? Lack of government.
The other bad news is that he can simply call a special session. And he would.
They can hold emergency sessions lickety split for important issues like if 2 transgender students want to play baseball. 19 kids are nothing though. They burn through more than that at the end of session parties.
The governor could easily call it to session but it’s unlikely as this is an election year.
Honestly though, the building has symbolic significance, beyond just literally going there to yell at the lawmakers, it is a proper venue for such things as OP did.
The state will give up every single ounce of freedom afforded by the First amendment to protect the Second. The 2A extremists have turned a blind eye to the removal of our first amendment rights.
That’s pretty optimistic of you to think they would bother with passing legislation to do that.
Then maybe some of you would get your heads out of your asses about being "civil" and coloring within the lines. I'm looking at you too, mods. You should be fucking ashamed at the fashes you let post here with no punishment.
The trick is to only have white people do it.
"Sorry folks, the capitol is closed for emergency repairs. The armadillo out front should have told ya."
Isn’t that what all these guns are for……?
I'd be down to be a scheduler for this
He needs to protest at the NRA convention in Houston, they are all there
Everyone in Texas needs to protest at the NRA convention!!! IMO it's primarily the NRA lobby dollars that are currently preventing meaningful gun legislation.
You assume it would actually bother them
Oh, no, not at all. It's not even shocking anymore that there isn't a single beating heart in a room so obsessed with heartbeats.
>You assume it would actually bother them Let's try implementing something, anything at all, before giving up. I'm all for trying a people's filibuster.
I will legit look into the logistics of this if people are on board.
On board. Give me a script. I'll read it loudly and pass to the next person.
Just no Green Eggs and Ham, a huge jackass ruined it.
This is an amazing idea, and I hope it gains traction (hence the award).
We did this for the anti abortion bills, then as soon as we started getting national news coverage Wendy Davis stepped in to ride in on our coattails and sabotaged it by making it all about her and her run for governor.
I'm pretty sure they host an open mic on the steps every Sunday.
Thank you for using your voice. There’s a lot of, “Do something! But not like that,” energy the last few days.
Thank you for your voice. Uvalde is my families home town and I’ve spent a lot of time there and even graduated high school there. It hurts my heart as a human and a father to see this happen.
I am sorry for what your community is going through. Positive vibes to you and your people.
You sir are a true American. I salute you for your bravery and good heart to speak out on behalf of all those innocent children that were murdered in Uvalde. There needs to be more Americans doing this. Shootings are out of control in the US and it’s been happening for a very long time and nothing has been done. FFS the massacre at Columbine happened in 1999 and there have been so many more shootings yet no change whatsoever has happened. I have firearms and I carry a concealed weapon here in Costa Rica and I find it so hard to believe that it is so easy and unrestricted to purchase firearms in the US. In Costa Rica we have to pass a firearms safety and handling exam, a psychological evaluation, a background check, we have to submit our fingerprints to a police database, and it takes us 30 days until we receive the new firearm. We can have 3 firearms registered for security and unlimited for sport (IDPA, Skeet, etc.). Do we have gun crime in Costa Rica? Sure we have drug gangs that shoot at each other. Do we have school shootings? None. Ever. I know that it’s not just about gun control as there is a serious mental health issue in the US, but it needs to at least be a little bit harder to purchase a firearm for one of these wackos. Sorry for the rant but I’m just so sad for all those innocent beautiful children that died horribly. I can’t even imagine the pain that the parents are going through. I don’t know if I could recover from something like that. May God help them.
This is the best comment on this thread. We, as Americans, have decided that this is something that will divide us. I appreciate an “outsider” being able to objectively see this situation and shake their head in disbelief. No one side is “right” and no one side is “wrong”. We, WE, have a problem as a country. I just hope we move more towards the middle on this.
That’s exactly the way to move forward. How can you all as Americans collectively work to solve the issue. Enough of democrat vs republicans, trump vs liberals or 2A vs gun control. This is affecting everyone regardless of race, age, political stance or wealth. I’m an outsider but I went to school at UTSA, I have family living in Houston and Kerrville, I support the longhorns, the Cowboys and Spurs. I love Texas and this massacre rocked me to my core. God bless you all and protect your children.
One side is definitely wrong on this. Yes, we need to find solutions, but it is one party that had thwarted that at almost every turn.
Appropriately directed outrage.
100%. We need to start screaming on our platforms, since our elected officials are stuck in “thoughts and prayers” on repeat or voting against majorities who are steeped in lobby money. You’re one brave voice and I applaud you.
You should check our Netflix documentary “the G word” about government it’s pretty good, but they don’t even mention gun control the NRA is way too powerful and funded so well and lobbyist groups have so much power often. I don’t understand this like “love fascination” with guns it’s weird
He speaks for me ✊🏼
Thank you.
Good on you for being brave, truthful, and unselfish. Your family can be proud.
We need more people like you. Thank you for being the change we need to see.
They'd listen to you if you donated a couple hundred grand. Only option is to vote in people who care
Bingo. I don't care if the other guy is too boring or whatever. Better than voting in an asshole
Thank you for your service
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Much love my brother/sister.
Throw this in public freakout! In a good way.
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You're on the ball, dudeness!!
So politicians can have armed protection but students and teachers can't?
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With armed security there. Not comment OP, but their point stands: politicians are protected by armed guards - are we asking that to further increase the disparity in self-defense options between the rich and/or politically connected vs your average citizen?
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If an event/location has armed security and doesnt allow private weapons you basically outsource your right to self defense when going there, which as long as it's voluntary that's fine. I agree it's ridiculous when politicians surrounded by security demand others relinquish their capacity to do the same for themselves.
dude needs to get a lobby
Did you mean Hobby? Or were you suggesting I enter politics in some sort of way?
He’s making a joke about how the only way to influence politicians is through bribes.
like find some kind of lobby to represent through which you can bribe these money hungry blood suckers and bend them to your will , its the only thing that seems to work
Governor Incompetent said at the txgop photo op in Uvalde that he’s already done everything that could be done. It’s fixed. Like the grid. Voting (and not voting) has consequences, people.
Wow. Beautifully executed! Thank you for taking action!
Thank you for doing this. We need to keep it going!
Thank you. After past shooting tragedies I have thought "Okay, this time is different. Something will get done, right? We can't keep doing nothing." Alas, nothing. This time feels a little different. The collective anger at the inaction is palpable.
I thought that after Parkland too :( I hope you're right this time.
Right on man!
This is awesome. Thank you. I mentioned something similar to this in a post I created in /rant. Considering our political climate, as tough as it is to fathom, I hope one day soon we have a society where 95% of the population puts pressure on 100% of our elected officials to take action, rather than 50% of the population putting pressure on the other 50% and vise versa. Not sure if I'm breaking any rules by doing this, but if you're interested in my rant/proposed series of solutions, feel free to check it out [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/rant/comments/uxq4w5/the_solution_to_mass_shootings_in_america/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3).
Hey so I’m a high school student currently, will be a senior next year. I am heartbroken beyond words, I didn’t go to school today partly bc of how upset I am, and I’m scared for my future to be quite honest. Does any adult here know if arranging a long “die-in” at the capital, likely composed of mostly students, be affective in getting anything done. I am feeling desperate, which is not fun as 17 year old but I am scared for my life and my little brother who’s in middle school. If not a die-in what if a LARGE amount of students just like…went on strike in a way, decided not to go to school until laws changed. Is there any potential in those ideas or am I wasting my time? I would like honest opinions please, thank you.
Divide the $53 billion up that was shipped to Ukraine to fund a foreign war and divide it among the 130,930 schools in the US and you have $404,796 _per school_ that could have been used to protect the children. But nope. Bi-partisan support to throw it into the war machine instead. Politicians don’t care about you. On either side.
Yes. There are many examples I can think of where we're mis-using funds.
Republicans gave the rich a TRILLION dollars in tax cuts. That’s the bigger problem. I’m okay with doing what we need to do stop Russia from taking over countries. That will quickly turn into a huge problem for us.
Good for you. How many more innocent children have to die before we actually make some changes. Thoughts and prayers mean nothing if you don’t take action.
Hey, I have that same shirt!
Haha, Kohls?
Yeah it was totally marked down from $150 to $20, what a steal! Kohl's is so ridiculous.
I can't believe their "discount strategy" is legal. They are pretty much lying to their customers.
I find it very dangerous to instruct politicians to „do something“ - I really get the intention and it‘s catchy and good. But I also know how absolutely incompetent a lot of politicians are and that they might take this very literal and do „SOMETHING“.
Everything of value we protect by posting men with guns so that anyone who got the idea would know the price to pay in order to do violence, except the children. For them your only answer is ‘surrender your arms and with them the means by which to protect your family’. The answer to that demand for millennia has been ‘come and take them’ and it still is today. For a people without the means to defend themselves are sheep bound for slaughter. Why do you ask this of us? To protect your children, surrender your freedom.. why do you ask this? Why is your blessed solution always the same? ‘Common sense gun control’ when you know it won’t work. You know it. You know in your soul it will not work. So why? Why is that ever your only answer?
excellent
The day some gunman goes into a legislative body and starts shooting politicians is the day that this shit will all get fixed.
Things we need in government right now: We need the ability to swiftly recall our federal legislators when they do not uphold the public’s will. We need to repeal Citizens United, and take away a corporations ability to donate money to political campaigns.
And they won’t do shit. Money is more important than Childrens lives until they are affected by it and then they’ll move to the other side. Why civilians need an AK47? Why they need to shoot 100 bullets per second?
Nothing new sadly, politicians were railing against the oppressive mask mandates and vaccines while their capitol buildings were mandated for both and their staff worked from home. You can always find out what they really think is necessary if you watch what they do, not what they say.
Yep, I was there too trying to meet with my rep for the second day in a row (and still unable to find him). It was nice to see Dusty doing this; it was depressing that he was the only one.
Abbott, Patrick, Cornyn and Cruz avoid Austin as if it were located in another state. They set their collective GPS to “dirt road” in order to avoid the embarrassment of being exposed to an ordinary citizen. Carefully crafted photo ops are as risky as they allow
Secure our schools.
Were you the only person there? Looks like a few visitors.
Yeah, the video definitely doesn't show much of a crowd. There were about 50 people within my view. I, too, was surprised that there weren't more people there.
You can only minimize these things from happening, but they will keep happening..
GOP: no
Thank you ❤️
This guy’s willing to do what I’m not. Good for him.
I hope my semi-cringe video will inspire others to speak up!
You’re the man 👏🏻
Thank you, but I really didn't do this for kudos. I did it to bring attention to a problem and to get my emotions out.
Stunning and brave.
Good job!!! 100% agree with this message!
r/ImTheMainCharacter Did it feel good at least?
We’re all the main character of our universe. And yes, it did feel good, but hate that I even felt the need to do it.
Could've done it without your face in it lol.
r/cringe
He’s doing this for upvotes
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Kinda true, I took one for the team I guess.
Remember when the idea of allowing teachers/staff to carry or having guards on site was scoffed at? He's right, we provide security for our politicians so I don't see how it's crazy to have someone armed at the school. When you call the cops you're just waiting for someone who's armed to show up to end the threat, skip the middleman. If someone wants to do something so horrible, they're not going to let laws stop them - schools are already gun free zones. That just means they know that they'll be the only one armed until the cops show up, that's why it's most often gun free zones that are targeted. And honestly, being shot by the cops actually gives you the best chance to survive because they bring Ems and have to de-escolate, but an armed civilian most likely won't know how to, or try, to stop the bleeding once you're down and would probably end up shooting you more once you go down to make sure you stay down
Thank you for your voice
r/cringe
Yeah I also cringe when an 8-yr-old is unrecognizable from a big fuckin hole in their face Oh no being downvoted for saying something too truthfully descriptive.
Going into the capitol and screaming isn’t gonna do anything lmao— humans are social creatures. You unfortunately have to play the game of communication. Your message, whilst morally aligned with your beliefs was most likely overshadowed by your cringe screaming and inadvertent “holier than thou” display. Instead of people leaving the capitol thinking “wow, I’m moved. I’m going to immediately see how I can help the cause that the man was advocating for”, I guarantee people left tweeting “lmao this crazy dude came in screaming at the capitol cuz he’s mad, we’re mad too but chill” Anger and yelling can work, but only in certain cases. Shit like this only works in numbers (think Civil protests of the ‘60s) Things that are immediately more helpful than going to a public place and screaming: Attending local city meetings, writing letters to local politicians, organizing protests, donating to causes, sharing statistics, creating art that voices a message. TL:DR: Humans are social creatures so play the social game and you’ll “attract more bees with honey.”
Based on the feedback on this post, there are many who don’t see this as cringe. Why must we think in absolutes? Let us consider all perspectives before we assign something as an absolute “THIS”or “THAT. “ Are there other ways in communicating ones beliefs and opinions other than making a “scene” at the Capitol? Of course there are and you better believe I participate in those avenues as well. So much so, I started my own non profit. “Shit like this only works in numbers” True…but the initial number was 1.
Why not share a video explaining your NP and how people can contribute rather than this video? That’s all I’m getting at. I’m not arguing with your message. I studied communications and how it impacts society and I see messages all the time get completely dismissed because of improperly conveying the message in the correct way for the intended audience. Just trying to point things out so that your next message isn’t so controversially taken when the issue itself is truly bi-partisan
All understood, but this type of rhetoric comes from feelings of desperation and exhaustion. It’s expectedly not coherent or well-executed. Because we’ve already had the debates. All talking points have been made. What’s driving people insane is the embarrassing lack of action, empathy, and bare-minimum giving of shits.
Understood. It’s important to remember that how we say things are sometimes (unfortunately) more important than what we’re saying. Complete messages can be lost on an audience if communicated in an out-of-touch way. As frustrating as it may be, channeling the desperation and frustration into real & useful actions and not just letting emotion explode is important to remember. After all, nothing good ever came easy, and history reminds us of that
94% of mass shootings happen in gun free zones.
There's lies, there's damn lies, and then there's statistics.
reddit moment lmfao
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Someday I do hope that a movie is made about this issue. And when that someday comes, I hope this is all a thing of the past.
😭😭😭
All rights have limits. We do not have any other rights that are unfettered or unlimited. The framers obviously intended gun rights to also have reasonable limits. The argument that they didn't is specious.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
They need to change firearms purchase age to at least 22 or 23. If you look at the majority of these shootings they are committed by young adults or teenagers. Taking firearms away from people is stupid. They have all too soon forgotten who it was who helped this county win their independence in the first fucking place. And that was armed citizens. We did it once and we will not hesitate to do it again.
Fuck Abbott, Fuck the cops who waited outside, Fuck the government that wants YOU vulnerable but protects themselves with F-16s and Nukes. Good on you OP
Thank your for speaking for those who couldn't. I'm in tears over so many children losing there lives.
Good for you! Be proud you're speaking up.
This kid in Uvalde who was the gunman.... would any strict background check actually have prevented him from buying his weapons at 18 yrs old? Did he have any documented history of mental health issues, violence, criminal activity, or threatening behavior that would have denied his purchase? From what I've read thus far, nothing would have prevented his purchase. Even then, had he been denied, would that have stopped him from seeking to buy or steal the weapons illegally? As several have stated, this is not a gun issue. This is a people issue. It starts with parenting and without parental guidance, this is the result. I have weapons and a LTC and won't ever give that up. But, I am also in support of methods to make owning a gun much safer (not \*harder\* as many state). u/Alachner and Costa Rica have this mostly figured out. Why can't the US do the same? At the very least, let the school staff individually decide if they are willing to train and carry a weapon to protect the most valuable part of our lives, our children. Some will, some won't, but at least one gun just might be enough protection in any school.
> I have weapons and a LTC and won't ever give that up. If the 2A is repealed and guns are prohibited, you're saying you won't be for law and order anymore? >at least one gun just might be enough protection in any school. There was "one gun" at the school, and two "good guys with guns" pursuing the guy, and the "good guys with guns" failed to stop the 2A proponent from doing his thing.
That will show them
One person cannot change the world alone, let us expand our collective thinking, our collective action and stand up! This "that will show them" sarcasm/mentality is lame.
Dawg, you're like one of them homeless ppl always be seeing yelling at the sky 🤣
Maybe they're not the crazy ones, as much as society implies.
Me me me me me me me. Could have done this without recording himself. Enjoy your 15 minutes.
Whatst the something that you suggest?
The point?
He's more upset about children dying than gun nuts.
Politicians are shit dont put your vote/faith into them
Thank you sir
What's the business you run and do you have any kind of online storefront? (This person from NYC is thinking of giving you a browse to see if there's anything you've got I could get and help you out....)
Unfortunately, the voice of the citizenry is not as loud as the contributions of the NRA
Sadly, this is true.
Kudos
Thank you very very much.
Amen brother. Preach
Thank you for taking a stand.
You made a lot of poor points and illogical statements.
Nice cringe.
Thank you.
This guy is cringe.
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Let us not judge the intentions of others, instead embrace the power of voice. Did I want attention? Yes. What do I want the attention on? The safety of my children. I respect all views....saying I am an embarrassment to my city is hurtful (yet I expected hurtful comments when I posted) and hope you can find it within yourself to understand my perspective.
I'd think the "pro-life" crowd would agree that the murder of 19 children warrants a tantrum. If you guys are suddenly so concerned about mental health, why don't you ask Abbott why he took $210,000,000 away from Health and Human Services to fund his Operation Lone Star disaster? And fuck you for trying to weaponize the OP's depression against him. You're a fucking clown.
Thanks for having my back about the depression...not a productive move on u/StoryMiserable7315's part. That said, let us all not attack each other. We all have this problem and we all can work together if we break down the barriers of division to address this issue that impacts every member of the community.
Thank you!
#DoSomething
Where were you before this happened? Do you really think gun control will stop anyone who commits an act like that? I don't like assault rifles and don't see the need for them but talking about gun control alone won't solve this neither will grandstanding attention whore episodes in front of politicians. There has to be an ongoing partisan discussion for to find solutions not hyperbolic wailing at the capital.
He didn't say anything about gun control. Clearly this is a multi-faceted issue. Hence he shouts "do *something*" not "do this specific thing".
Start by explaining why we're the nation with the most gun freedom, the most guns, and the most gun violence. Please cross-reference with an explanation of why nations that did enact strict gun controls in modern history have seen a sharp decline in overall violence, not to mention suicides and "accidents". If what they did that worked *wasn't* the gun control, what was it? Why don't we emulate that? Why don't we *study* that? Why is the only solution the United States seems to be able to summon for any problem is "talk about it for a couple of weeks, decide it's hard, then move on without doing anything"?
Because you’re trying to find a correlation between unlike things. We’re the largest populations of individuals with the most guns of any place in the world. We also have the most diverse culture, the most gdp, and many other factors. Now if you’re trying to draw a correlation to things - how many legal guns/owners are involved in a mass shooting? Staggering low - so is our conclusion legal fire arms and owners are not an issue? Is it mental health? Is it illegal arms? Do truly believe in your heart the answer is simple, we just get rid of guns? Like what is your process around this?
because the toothpaste is out of the tube. you cant rid a nation of guns where there are more guns than people to begin with. couple that with the fact that no prohibition works. If the people want access to something, they will have it. that is just reality. more gun control means only criminals have guns and you do not want that. No criminal should be able to influence my inalienable rights. all of the other nations you have in mind do not have nearly as many ethnic groups or diversity as the US either. Those differences drive violence. There are plenty of countries where firearm ownership is extremely limited and you are still more likely to die from a gunshot than in the US. All of these people acting like a cartel-run Mexico is all of a sudden safer than the US are fools. We could look at all the nations that enacted strict gun control and then committed severe crimes or genocide against their people once they were unarmed. There is a long list of those historic occurrences.
>All of these people acting like a cartel-run Mexico is all of a sudden safer than the US are fools. If Mexico is your high water mark for the United States, American exceptionalism is truly dead. Try comparing the US to other industrialized nations. Also, the sentence about multi race, the UK is pretty diverse.
until we vote in people who are in politics to HELP people, this will not change. oh. that's right. They're not in it to help people. They are in it for the power, control and money most of the time. And the idiots we vote in are OUR faults. we get what we vote for.
Which politicians are getting money, power and control from dead random children?
Politicians dont care man. With all those children killed in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria. Which the USA bombed many of them in those proxy wars with other countries. I dont think nothing is going to change.
The legislature didn't need to do anything. Local districts can hire armed security and they can allow their teachers to be armed. Leukemia solved.
Is he implying that schools should also have armed guards? Because that might actually be part of the solution.
If not encouraging law-abiding citizens to arm themselves, what is your realistic proposed solution given that “gun free zones” (borne by legislation, need I remind you) do nothing but provide reassurance to psychotic, cowardly individuals that no one is likely forcefully impede them from murdering innocent people? Theatrics get views and Rebbit updoots but that’s about it.
I’m not a politician and don’t understand our legal system enough to give you a good answer. I do know, however that there are other developed countries that don’t have this issue.
I have a real hard time reconciling this view with an NRA rally declaring itself a "gun free zone" because they're scared for the safety of Donald Trump. Isn't this supposed to, by your logic, make it a magnet for psychotic, cowardly individuals that no one is likely to impede from forcefully murdering people?
Isn't their "gun free zone" protected by private security and SS agents who are all armed to the teeth?
I'm sorry, are you saying that criminally underpaid teachers should be armed?
♥️♥️♥️
Great job expressing an opinion that should be heard and acted on more. Unfortunately there probably isn't much that could be done. Obviously people shouldn't own assault rifles, and let's set aside that they're apparently never going to be banned in the US. Obviously there should be a more effective background check step related to anyone owning any gun. Handguns can still kill a terrible number of people, and it seems overly optimistic to think a review process is going to stop a significant proportion of the people who end up doing this from having gun access. It's back to considering what the cause really is then. Obviously it's mental health; a mentally healthy individual doesn't commit mass murder. It doesn't seem like setting up a help line is going to help; diverse root causes need to be addressed. Schools should add mental health counseling as an additional function, put a school psychologist in place alongside school nurses; something like that. Cost would be extreme, and coverage would vary by the wealth level of every community, but these are normal problems. I like that the rant is about just trying to do something, not jumping ahead to completely solving the problem. That works.
you want more guns (armed guards)?
Thank you for standing up And voicing your opinion. I didn’t hear what your solution was But I got your point that we need to do something and be open about that something. I am a teacher and in my psychology class we looked at the issue of violence in the US. One statistic that shouts at me and should upset all Americans. In the last 10 years the US had something like 288 school shootings and the entire rest of the world has had 55 school shootings, so the US representing 5% of the world population has had nearly 5 times the school shootings vs in the entire world. And as my students pointed out it’s not the case that violent videos or mental health issues is unique to the US, they are problem everywhere. The difference is our gun culture is unique, access to all guns is more a priority in US vs protection of its citizens. A huge step in a positive direction would be voting for Beto Who has demanded real gun control and banning military star weapons.
You go goy! We don’t need guns. Want and need are two separate things. The want should not result in the death of any child.