People Are Stupid

 So I'm doing what I said I wouldn't do ... reading my Facebook while on vacation.

That mass shooting in Orlando happened yesterday. At this point it appears the shooter is a self-radicalized Islamist terrorist. The shooting happened at a gay nightclub and at least 50 people were killed and that many more were injured.  The 'Islamic state' has claimed responsibility but it is not clear if the shooter was directly connected to ISIS or had been trained by them in any way.

Predictably, some people on Facebook are blaming all Muslims, which is fucking bullshit, others are blaming Obama, which is even more fucking bullshit.  While many terrorists are Muslim, most Muslims are NOT terrorists. If you want to blame a president, blame Bush. His administration is much more responsible for the global 'hate America' movement. But blaming Bush isn't fair either.

I've also seen gun control fans chiming in, blaming this shooting on the guns. On one hand, there is no fucking reason for assault rifles like the one uses on the Orlando shootings to be legal. On the other hand, the guns were the instrument but the shooter did the killing.

There is no simple answer to the complex questions and circumstances related to this and other mass shootings. Could the FBI have done more to watch this shooter when they first became aware of him in 2013?  Yes. Is that Obama's fault?  Fuck no. There are a lot of people on FBI watch lists. Can they watch them all, follow them around, do some 'George Orwell 1984' surveillance on them? Sure. Should they?  No simple answer. They could be watching a lot of us for who-knows-what reason. Scary.
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Ok, so the previous part of this post was written yesterday. This morning, there is new evidence that the shooter was mentally unstable and the shooting was more likely the result of his outrage over seeing two men kissing; so he took an assault rifle into a gay bar and killed people. Not an Islam thing, not Obama's fault, just a mentally fucked up man killing people. And the assault rifle was purchased legally. Why does anyone need an assault rifle? Feel free to debate all of this but keep in mind there is no easy answer. This particular shooting was mental health issue more than anything.

Except for posting a few beach vacation pictures, I think I'm going to stay off of Facebook the rest of this week so I don't have to read any more moronic commentary.  And I am about to block at least ten more FB friends because I don’t want to read some of their misguided crap about these shootings, the presidential campaigns or the President.  Even some of my most intelligent friends are expressing unintelligent opinions.  Generations of military men and women have died to give them the right to have and express those opinions; and for me to have mine.  Maybe the thing that pisses me off the most about all of this is that people confuse opinion and fact.


All for now, and hopefully all on this topic forever. Sorry for the negative post.  I’m at a beach house on a cool, sunny summer day trying to relax and it’s time for me to continue that pursuit of happiness.

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