Parallel universes: My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many...

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

sisboombaa

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

There is a lot of t***h in what you say. Much the shame on all of us. One would hope we would rise above the animals but collectively we don't.

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

Good post. I share your concern about the increasing trend to resort to violence in response to any real or perceived slight, injustice, or difference of opinion. It is unfortunate that most of our political leaders on both sides of the isle fan the flames of the partisan divide. Instead of trying to unite all Americans to join together to solve our common problems, various forces seek to exploit our differences, and keep our focus away from the real important issues. Each of us, in our own way, should attempt to become more of the solution rather than contributing to the problem.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

Unfortunately, sad but true.

working class stiff Loc: N. Carolina

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

Good post. And sad.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

Sad... Violence does appear endemic to our species..

Gatsby

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

Time for a reality check! Your allegation:

"Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war."

The Reality IS: More than 600,000 "Americans k**led each other" in the Civil War, over 150,000 per year.
The Reality IS: The population of the U.S. in 1861 was less than 32 million people.
The Reality IS: The "Americans k*****g each other" rate in the Civil War was about 468 per 100,000.
The Reality IS: 17,284 Americans "k**led each other" in 2017, 5.3 per 100,000.

Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic.

The Reality IS: Rates of murder and violent crime remain at historic low points,
almost 50 percent below their early-1990s peaks.
The Reality IS: A preliminary analysis of 2017 crime rates in the nation's 30 largest cities
projects that the overall crime rate and the violent crime rate will decline
to the 2nd-lowest levels since 1990.
https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/crime-rates-america

The Reality IS: 70,237 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in 2017 (21.7 per 100,000),
more than four times the number of "Americans k*****g each other", for the same year.
An increase of 9.6% from 2016 (19.8 per 100,000).
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html

The Reality IS: You've got your "facts" bas aackwards.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Gatsby wrote:

Time for a reality check! Your allegation: br br... (show quote)

Really, this is your takeaway? Yep, there's no gigantic elephant in your house.

Gatsby

lpnmajor wrote:

Really, this is your takeaway? Yep, there's no gigantic elephant in your house.

Nope, but I know where that "elephant" does live!

Murder Rates per 100,000
Americas.......16.3*
Africa.........12.5
World...........6.2
United States...5.3
Europe..........3.0
Oceania.........2.9
Asia............3.0

* Includes 18 of the top 20 nations for murder rate.
El Salvador.........…......….61.80
Jamaica...............………...57.00
Venezuela...............……...56.33
Virgin Islands......……….....49.26
Honduras.........……….….....41.70
Belize...............……………...37.90
St. Vincent & Grenedines...36.46
St. Kitts & Nevis...…...….....34.23
Bahamas............…...……...30.90
Trinidad & Tobago...….......30.88
Brazil...............…………......30.50
St. Lucia.........………..........29.60
Anguilla...............……….....27.66
Guatemala............……......26.10
Dominica...............…….....25.70
Columbia..................……..24.90
Mexico...............………......24.80
Montserrat............……......19.88

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Gatsby wrote:

Nope, but I know where that "elephant" d... (show quote)

what ever it is, keep smoking it.

Gatsby

lpnmajor wrote:

what ever it is, keep smoking it.

If that's the best you can do, you have my sympathy.

Wonttakeitanymore

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

Satan is a roaring lion looking for someone to devour! End times! Be ready!

Louie27 Loc: Peoria, AZ

lpnmajor wrote:

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today in a blaze of gunfire. He k**led his murderer, but that is small comfort for his family and community. Like so many other in law enforcement, the Deputy was a combat Veteran. What are the odds, living through multiple firefights, only to die at the hands of a fellow natural born American? Surprisingly, the odds are better than even.

Whether it was climbing out of trenches into the teeth of a Maxim machine gun, crawling through hedgerows, sloshing through rice paddies trying to avoid bobbytraps, or walking down streets full of IED's, suicide bombers or worse, death stalks the war fighters every step. What do you suppose the damage to a youngsters psychological health could be, never knowing where, when or by whom death comes, day in and day out, days upon days upon days?

Here, in our own country, kids never know when a nutjob will invade their school and shoot/stab them to death. Cops never know when a welfare check ( such as in today's tragedy ) or a traffic stop will turn into a fight to the death. Factory and office workers never know when some disgruntled fellow employee will show up with a shotgun and take as many lives as they can. Tell me, what's the difference between the daily slaughter here in America, and the slaughters that have/are occurring in foreign battlefields? The answer is; no difference at all.

We seem to be at war with half the world ( or more ), but the real tragedy is......................we're at war with ourselves. Americans are k*****g Americans at a faster rate than in any war in our history, including the Civil war. This epic violence has little to do with firearms, since we'd obviously beat each other to death with a rock if that's all we could find. Worse by far than the opioid epidemic.....................is the violence epidemic. We don't seem too troubled about admitting that we have a National drug problem, while pretending not to see the gigantic elephant that invades our lives much more profoundly, that elephant being - America's love/h**e relationship with violence.

My State lost another fine Sheriffs Deputy today i... (show quote)

This is a growing problem across all spectrums of our society. I believe there is too much time spent on the phone or computer for one to engage in a normal conversation with anyone and that leaves all of us in danger. When these people remove themselves from the normal conversations with others that seems to put them at odds with the rest of society. Why do you think the people in the silicon valley refuse to llet their children have an mobile phone. There must be some reason.