I wish I lived in a world where I could be shocked by yesterday's events

[EarlG]

Unfortunately a couple of decades of regular mass shootings has left me almost entirely numb to this sort of thing.

Thoughts and prayers
It's too early to talk about what happened...
...and now it's time to move on

I mean, we "have to get over it, we have to move forward" is literally a direct quote from Donald Trump, 36 hours after a school shooting in Iowa that left one 6th grader dead and seven wounded.

I see the Biden campaign has reached out to Trump, and that they have suspended their advertising. That's normal and appreciated.

But on the other side, I note that within an hour or two of the shooting, high-profile Republicans rushed to publicly blame Joe Biden. The Trump campaign has not stopped their advertising. And I'm sure it won't be long before they start fundraising off of this.

Republicans have built a world where easy access to firearms means this sort of thing happens to normal Americans on a daily basis. And Donald Trump specifically has built a world where violent political rhetoric has become the norm. There are dozens and dozens of examples of Trump either dog-whistling or openly advocating for the use of violence in the political sphere. This is a guy who unrepentantly started a violent insurrection when he lost an election, which caused the deaths of several people. He now calls the insurrectionists martyrs, and has promised to pardon them.

At no time has Joe Biden said anything that would prompt yesterday's shooting. At no time has he ever called for violence -- in fact he has decried it at every possible opportunity. At every step along the way, he has called for -- and tried to pass -- stronger gun control laws, and get deadly weapons out of the hands of lunatics.

And at almost every step of the way he has been thwarted by Republicans who want to make it easier for people to get hold of guns and carry them around in public places. We are living in a world which Donald Trump and the Republican party have built, which means we have to put up with this toxic brew of basically unrestricted gun ownership plus constant violent rhetoric from leaders on the right. And as soon as there IS a mass shooting, we have to put up with a torrent of bullshit from the right, where they drag out the same tired talking points and blame US for the vile culture that THEY have created.

Donald Trump just got a taste of what more than 1,200 Americans have been through this year alone. Minding their own business at a public event, or at home, or at the grocery store, when some asshole with a gun starts blasting. And at that point, it's just pure luck whether you live or die.

So pardon me if I can't muster up much emotion over this. There was a mass shooting at a public event yesterday. But there will be one today, and there will be another one tomorrow. And despite the fact that they somehow want to blame the left for it, it is the Republican party, from the Supreme Court, to GOP leadership, to the Republican rank and file, which has fought tooth and nail to make sure things like this happen, and keep happening, day after day in America.

And now they're going to proudly wave around a photo of Trump with a bloody ear, pumping his fist in front of an American flag, celebrating the fact that he got shot as if it's something we should all be proud of, like some kind of sick badge of honor.

I think the fact that I am not shocked by any of this is what's most shocking to me.

[Lovie777]

1. Also, at this day and age........................

I'm not so convinced, and my gut feeling is that this was staged.

The chaos done by the RWers to this country have gotten many sane people fearful and they will get out the vote.

[EarlG]

3. Of course it wasn't staged

One person is dead, several are badly wounded, and Trump had a chunk taken out of his ear, because of some asshole with a gun, at a public event.

In this day and age, this is commonplace -- it can happen to anyone in America, at any time, anywhere. Even events surrounded by Secret Service protection aren't immune, as we just learned.

[dflprincess]

16. Do you really think Trump & those around him would be

Bothered by "collateral damage"? The screw up was Trump getting hurt.

And now all the networks are nothing but Trump. Great publicity for him.

If something like this happened to Putin we'd be all over it being a set up, but we still can't admit we have politicians just as bad here & willing to do anything to promote their Projects and themselves.

[EarlG]

25. If there's evidence that it's a set-up, by all means present that evidence

Until then, Occam's Razor suggests that this was probably done by a lone nut with a gun, not a willing but suicidal pawn who'd been placed there by unknown forces, which backfired when the pawn almost accidentally assassinated the person he was trying NOT to assassinate... all in an effort to get Trump back in the news?

[ShazzieB]

49. Agree 1000%!

I posted about this last night - even mentioned Occam's Razor!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19151570

[blm]

53. White nationalists hoping to martyr Trump to trigger the Civil War they want.

Learn from the Floyd protests. They go for dramatic targets. Dylan Roof. Steven Carrillo, Robert Bowers, and many more.

Far-right ‘boogaloo boys’ linked to killing of California law officers and other violence
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-17/far-right-boogaloo-boys-linked-to-killing-of-california-lawmen-other-violence


Far-Right Extremists Are Hoping to Turn the George Floyd Protests Into a New Civil War
Armed extremists are showing up to protests and urging a “boogaloo” — code for civil war — online.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkyb9b/far-right-extremists-are-hoping-to-turn-the-george-floyd-protests-into-a-new-civil-war

[TomSlick]

66. Do you really think someone with an AR-15 style weapon

could take a shot from 150 yards at a moving target and intentionally just nick an ear?

Back in the day, I was a fair shot with an M16 and from 150 yards I could reliably hit the center of mass of a target but I would never take a William Tell shot at any distance.

This was exactly what it appears to be, an assassination attempt.

[LuckyCharms]

19. My wife's first reaction yesterday...

She just shrugged her shoulders and said...

"Well, if it can happen to your grandmother at a Topp's market, it can happen to anyone, even a former president".

[jaxexpat]

26. No, not staged, but I'm thinking that some Republicans would have felt some relief if it had succeeded.

The hay they'd be making could feed all their sheep for months and they'd be able to put up their "real" choice. A Mitt Romney/Gym Jordan hybrid, fanatic and foolish in equal measure, I expect.

[Crunchy Frog]

62. Not staged, but how many people manage to get a photo op like that in the immediate aftermath?

I'd say he definitely got lucky. Most people in a situation like that who have a bullet come close enough to their head to draw blood, don't have a head left afterwards.

I'm not advocating a conspiracy theory, just noting that this seems to have worked out very well for him.

[betsuni]

76. That's the thing. It was real but still a performance. Can't imagine anyone else pulling that off.

And fussing about shoes. But Trump World isn't the real world.

"I bring rage out. I do bring rage out. I always have. I don't know if that's an asset or a liability, but whatever it is, I do."

Maybe it's sort of normal for him, why he didn't freak out like a regular human.

[0rganism]

46. TSF came about one inch away from a fatal head wound. NOT staged.

People died and suffered grievous injuries because of this situation -- crazed TSF worshippers but people nonetheless. Saying it was "staged" is not a reasonable take. Who goes to a public event planning to get shot randomly in a crowd?

To claim it was some pre-planned spectacle is to underestimate the chaos unleashed upon the country by under-regulated firearms and unceasing invites for stochastic terrorism from TSF and his minions. This wasn't some stage show, but rather a slice of life in today's America.

Now what TSF does with the event? That's gonna be staged as hell and marketed for maximum effect. The event itself? Another tragic consequence of irresponsible governance.

[forgotmylogin]

70. That was not the biggest and most beautiful mass shooting event America has heard of.

With all due respect to the actual victims whilst Don escapes with a shaving wound, this public shooting wasn't the most significant we've seen. Don can't even get the best assassination attempt.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. I wrote in another venue

I feel nothing.

I'm the American who felt hopeless about gun violence, and now I've just accepted it.

Those attendees were at their church yesterday praising their false God.

Now they know how and why President Obama teared up and sang Amazing Grace after the Mother Emmanuel massacre.

Thoughts and prayers. It's time to move on.

Also - 45 is NOT President Trump. If one more attendee refers to it as President - I'm going to lose my mind. If one more talking head does so - it is Ape Shit Ballistic Time.

I've had it with that cult and their demagogues.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

4. Once I found out about the shooting

I was going back and forth between the networks, and the amount of times they were referring to him as "President Trump" was unreal IMO

[EarlG]

5. Going by previous GOP solutions to mass shootings

I expect their answer to this will be that more people at Trump rallies need to carry guns. At least, that always seems to be their answer for school shootings.

[JustAnotherGen]

39. Yes

Because all of the "good guys" didn't have guns.

I suspect they will double down on that.

[Farmer-Rick]

10. I call him

Pedo Trump now. What with all the info about him and Epstein.

I will keep calling him that until the corporate media starts talking about the children he was abusing.

[Polly Hennessey]

6. So far I have not turned on any news channels and probably won't.

Strange that I have no interest in what happened. Just another day in America. I am getting some info from DU so am not totally uninformed. My lack of interest is a new feeling but, oh, well.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

77. I feel the same way.

[llmart]

80. I had already put myself on a news sabbatical because of the "Biden's old" schtick.

I didn't even know about the shooting until I got a text from an out of state relative. I called her because I wasn't sure if she was kidding or not and she gave me the basic details which were few. Other than that I probably wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't logged on for my daily dose of DU.

I don't even consider it newsworthy or pertinent to my life. I've lived through enough really important assassinations starting with JFK and THAT was newsworthy. Then MLK and Robert Kennedy. So big deal he got a nick on the ear.

[TrunKated]

7. What is surprising is that it hadn't happened twenty times already.

[rubbersole]

14. Absolutely.

tsf wants this to happen to his opponents/detractors every time they go out the door. Thankfully he wasn't martyred yesterday. He needs to continue leading the gop into election loss after election loss.

[Solly Mack]

8. Well said.

[npk]

9. Don't worry the solution is more guns

Somehow the GOP will turn to this into the "Secret Service heroically took out the assassin with a high caliber assault rifle". We are basically the only country where something like this could happen. I mean something like this couldn't happen in the most destabilized third world country. The fact that kids could even be harmed, at school of all places, makes this country the most dangerous place to live on earth. So sad what the Right has done to this country.

[usonian]

11. The issues remain unchanged, and once again pushed down.

https://democraticunderground.com/100219152744

Leaders can change the culture and laws that uphold equality, dignity and fairness.

And lives of all citizens.

Violence is not acceptable here and there as one chooses.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. Agreed

I'm surprised how indifferent I feel about the whole thing. I find myself feeling neither happy or sad that he wasn't killed.

[niyad]

13. Your last sentence says it all!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

15. Bring gun legislation to the floor now and make Repubs fight it...

This is a really GOOD idea. posted by onecaliberal in GD.

[Ms. Toad]

17. My guess is that the fundraising will include

Last edited Sun Jul 14, 2024, 12:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Selling squares of the air he was wearing.

ETA: this should have said "squares of the **suit** he was wearing." I plead sleep-deprived cell phone swiping - I spent the last two nights in the hospital/ER with my daughter. Not much sleep either night.

[Pinback]

42. "Selling squares of the air he was wearing."

Whether that’s a typo or not, I love this phrase and idea!

NFTs of the air that the Lord used to deflect the bullet enough to save Trump’s life! Yours for $25,000 each.

[Ms. Toad]

56. Typo -

I was half- asleep, typing on my phone, since I spent the night on a hospital recliner being awakened every hour or so by my daughter's roommate's team of doctors. The typo could have been a lot worse (or better).

[Pinback]

58. Thanks - hope you're getting some rest today.

I’ve spent a few nights trying to sleep in hospital rooms while keeping an eye on a patient's care, so I know the fatigue that can result. Good on you, helping out as an advocate for your daughter’s roommate.


Still, that was an excellent typo. But I’m sure you’re correct about them selling squares of the suit.

[Ms. Toad]

61. Not much yet.

The patient in the next bed has been in crisis, made much more complex by the d#$@ hospitalist system. Unlike most of my daughter's roommate's this past year, she knows to much to be quiet. So while I'm glad she's a strong advocate for herself, it does make sharing a room with her more challenging.

Our family also knows too much. Aside from the worst period during COVID, no one in our family who isn't physically or mentally capable of defending themselves stays alone in the hospital. (An unfortunately, sometimes that's not even enough. This is the 10th-ish hospitalization or ER visit in 10 months caused by one bad decision by the hospitalist in September, who lied about having consulted the GI specialist before giving her a medication which is absolutely contraindicated. 30 years without a single hospitalization for her ulcerative colitis - now 3 hospitalizations, and at least a half-dozen ER visits - and we are just now beginning to see the light of day.)

[Ligyron]

71. I hope your daughter finds some relief from that condition soon.

Had to look it up and it sure doesn't sound like fun.

[Ms. Toad]

72. Thanks. It's even less fun than "simple" UC

She has a rare companion disease (primary sclerosing cholangitis), for which there is no medical treatment - only a liver transplant (sometimes several).

Fortunately she has a milder version of it - so 20 years in she's still nowhere near needing a liver transplant. Also, unfortunately, she's nowhere near needing a liver transplant. Diseases that impact the liver are exhausting - sort of like having the flu all the time. So until she needs a transplant, it's one long, exhausting path.

The UC, itself, is moving in the right direction in the last two weeks, finally. We convinced her doctor to add her original medication back into the mix. It held her for 20 years - until her doctor and the insurance company forced a change. It's of patent now - so she was able to add it back in. I think the cause of this hospitalization is from the last month of near hell - but it lags the actual disease progress, so it is lagging the recovery, as well

[llmart]

81. When I read your typo I actually thought you meant "hair" he was wearing.

As long as he doesn't sell pieces of the XXXL Depends he probably filled.

[moonscape]

59. Actually, a Lebanese friend who was

talking about the corruption in his country said “they would sell the air if they could” so your typo didn’t resonate as far off for him.

[Ms. Toad]

60. That's why I didn't just delete it when it was pointed out. n/t

[wyldwolf]

18. Trump vowed there would be a "bloodbath" if he's not re-elected in November.

Remember that in the coming days.

[Hekate]

28. That is well worth remembering as we go forward

[TheRickles]

20. A great idea - Dems can rename a pending gun control act as the Trump Assassination Prevention Act.

Previously posted on DU: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219152776|

[progree]

21. What surprises me is that there hasn't been an assassination attempt on a president or pres candidate for 43 years

Last edited Mon Jul 15, 2024, 12:39 AM - Edit history (1)

If I'm not mistaken, Reagan in 1981 was the last one until yesterday. In the 2 decades before that we had JFK, RFK, Wallace, 2 attempts on Ford (anyone else I'm missing?).

Anyway, off and on for years and years I've had that thought. I had hoped Secret Service protection had gotten so good and tight and whatever (though it never really looked that way to me) that we were seemingly almost immune to that, so yesterday burst that bubble for me, even though I knew it was too good to last.

I also feel for the Congress people and Cabinet members (and down the line... e.g. election officials) among many others that have comparatively minimal to no protection.

I've long been wondering when somebody might try with a drone...

Edited to add: I Googled, and I missed one (from 1960 onward) that I never remembered hearing about:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-presidents-assassinated-targeted-presidential-candidates-111920908

Bush was attending a rally in Tbilisi in 2005 with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili when a hand grenade was thrown toward him.

Both men were behind a bulletproof barrier when the grenade, wrapped in cloth, landed about 100 feet away. The grenade did not explode, and no one was hurt.

I think this counts so that cuts my number of years without an assassination attempt from 43 to 19. Although if we're talking about assassination attempts with a gun, it's still 43 years.

Edited to add this from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Arutyunian

Vladimir Arutyunian ... is a Georgian national who, on 10 May 2005, attempted to assassinate United States President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili by throwing a hand grenade at both of them. The attempt failed when the grenade did not detonate. He was later arrested and sentenced to life in prison.

.... When Bush began speaking, Arutyunian threw a Soviet-made RGD-5 hand grenade, wrapped in a red tartan handkerchief, toward the podium where Bush stood as he addressed the crowd. The grenade landed 18.6 metres (61 ft) from the podium, near where Saakashvili, his wife Sandra Roelofs, Laura Bush, and other officials were seated.[5]

The grenade failed to detonate. Although original reports indicated that the grenade was not live, it was later revealed that it was.[6] After Arutyunian pulled the pin and threw the grenade, it hit a girl, cushioning its impact. The red handkerchief remained wrapped around the grenade, and it prevented the striker lever from releasing. A Georgian security officer quickly removed the grenade, and Arutyunian disappeared.[5][7]

Arutyunian later said that he threw the grenade "towards the heads" so that "the shrapnel would fly behind the bulletproof glass".[8] Bush and Saakashvili did not learn of the incident until after the rally.[9]

... Arutyunian was shown on television admitting from his hospital bed that he had thrown the grenade. He said that he had attempted to assassinate both presidents because he hated Georgia's new government for being a "puppet" of the United States.[11]

So it's a non-American in a foreign country (a Georgian national in Georgia, the Black Sea Georgia). If we restrict the count of assassination attempts on American presidents and candidates to Americans or foreign nationals on American soil, then Reagan is still the last American assassination attempt until yesterday.

[Kali]

22. good rant

[58Sunliner]

23. The only surprise I had was the level of utter contempt I feel for Trump and his enablers.

The lies and gaslighting are over the top while people are dead due to their violent grooming and easy access to guns.

[LeftInTX]

24. I was on DU because I was following my Friday post and I still have a broken toe.

I caught up on DU. Went to play word games. Came back and DU was lit. Site had slowed due to high volume traffic. The shock lasted about an hour.

[FailureToCommunicate]

27. Thanks EarlG for a thoughtful post.

[Hekate]

29. Yes, yes, yes

[debm55]

30. Agree with you, EarlG

[patphil]

31. The usual "time to move on" meme doesn't apply here.

This will be part of Republican campaign commercials for the rest of the summer. Never mind the AR-15 and the 20 year old white male Republican registered shooter, they will make Trump and the people who were shot martyrs to the cause.
I doubt that many Republicans will call for gun control as a result of this shooting.
They'll be too busy blaming Biden and issuing a call to arms to their loyal, gun crazy base.

[discocrisco01]

32. Mass Shootings Committed by White Young Men

How many mass shootings have been committed by young white men with guns? There have been numerous mass shootings. The profile of the shooter often aligns with a trend indicating the demographic, in terms of sex and race, that is most likely to commit mass shootings.

[paleotn]

34. Doesn't take an FBI expert to figure out that profile.

[paleotn]

33. Amen to that.

[MiHale]

35. K&R...EarlG you covered it all for me...Thanks

[Think. Again.]

36. The trump rally shootin was the 335th mass shooting in the U.S. so far this year...

...surpassed just hours later by the 336th.

[CrispyQ]

37. An excellent commentary!

I've avoided all TV news. It's been two weeks of Biden bashing & now it will be weeks of Trump worship. He'll make a big deal of this at the convention. The whole thing will be vomit inducing while the daily shootings are ignored.

[ucrdem]

38. I'm shocked by how fast they politicized it in a really ugly way.

But then, that doesn't really shock me either.

[Martin Eden]

40. President Biden and other Dems have warned that Trump is a threat to American democracy

They would be irresponsible if they failed to articulate this undeniable truth.

It is not inconceivable that a horribly misguided or mentally unbalanced individual would respond to this very real threat by attempting to assassinate the villain.

I'm not saying that's what happened here.

Nor am I making a "both sides" argument. No Democratic leaders have blown the dog whistles of stochastic terrorism. No so with rhetoric coming from the right, especially the former president who not only explicitly encouraged violence at his rallies and has repeatedly vowed retribution, he incited a mob of supporters to launch a violent assault on Congress to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

Donald Trump IS an existential threat to our Constitutional republic, but making a martyr of him will only add fuel to the deadly fire of fascist ideology he embodied.

No, we need this villain alive, disgraced, and thoroughly rejected on Nov 5.

[Justice matters.]

50. The choice is clear: More chaos and violence of a lawless Dictatorship OR

More stability, progress and security of a lawful Executive preserving and defending the Constitution's Rule of Law.


Vote BLUE up and down ballots for the second option.

[llmart]

82. K&R for your last statement.

Let's do it up and down the ballot also. We need to give the GOP a resounding defeat.

[Emile]

41. Great rant!

[Demobrat]

43. People are shot and killed every day.

In most cases I’m supposed to just accept it and move on.

But this guy gets his ear nicked at one of his hate rallies and I’m supposed to care?

I’m sorry for the innocent victims. Innocent does not apply to Trump.

[LudwigPastorius]

44. The only thing that will change is...

they will move Trump’s rallies to indoor venues only. And, he’ll probably get a poll bump.

Otherwise, the country’s slide into authoritarianism will continue unabated.

[calimary]

45. Really got there with ya, EarlG.

And I CANNOT help thinking something about this just doesn’t smell right.

After all, it involves Donald Trump. How could there not be some sort of stink in there somewhere.

“… and, somehow, some way, he LIVED!!! Must be some message from God…”

CAN’T help it. I apologize for where my suspicions are taking me. But with a guy like the Donald, there’s ALWAYS some ulterior maneuvering. He’s gonna ride this like a champion surfer in Hawaii.

[Iggo]

47. Absolutely.

“American Exceptionalism” ain’t what it used to be.

[Warpy]

48. I think we were all a little shocked that it happened to TFG

since so many of the loonies are his ragtag army of fascists and malcontents.

I wish I could live in a country where we'd all be shocked by any mass shooting. Here in the good old US of A, it's just a wearh "Oh no, not again" and we move on entirely too quickly, bracing ourselves for the next one.

[Mosby]

51. KnR

[Kid Berwyn]

52. Uncomfortably Numbed

Thank you for a great OP and thread, EarlG! From police work to international relations, Americans need to learn new ways of solving problems. Hatred, bloodlust and guns are endangering all we have built over the last 248 years.

[Botany]

54. Well said Earl

The bottom line is it is the guns and the more guns that are “out there” the more
people that will be shot.

[orleans]

55. years ago mike malloy had a compliation of talking points

and commentary by bush on his illegal war/s

malloy would play it over the bowie/pat metheny's song and i'd be sometimes hysterical or sometimes just in tears as i listened to it

we're not the america we used to be

and we are not the people we once were

This is not America
Sha la la la la
A little piece of you
The little peace in me
Will die

-bowie & metheny

[Dear_Prudence]

57. Meh.

I remember where I was and the disorienting shock when I heard Malcolm X, JFK, John Lennon, and the Pope were shot. I remember the gut punch when President Reagan was shot. Yesterday, learning of the violence at the Pennsylvania rally, I experienced no gut punch and no disorienting shock. I was reasonably skeptical as to the accuracy of the early news reports, anticipating energized conspiracy theorists, and hoping no bystanders were hit. EarlG, sadly, no shock here either.

[Skittles]

63. YUP

just another day in gun humping America

disgusting that THIS is what it takes to get repukes outraged by any violence

[dlk]

64. When someone foments violence and advocates for unlimited guns

Violence, sadly, is guaranteed

[Cha]

65. Well Done.. Mahalo, EarlG.

[Evolve Dammit]

67. The shooter was a registered Republican, bullied loner and a gun enthusiast. That is what we know.

[BumRushDaShow]

68. "something we should all be proud of, like some kind of sick badge of honor. "

Remember when he had COVID and had the SS drive him around the White House a few times in the limo so he could wave at people?

Same thing.

[crickets]

69. You said it all, EarlG. Thanks. nt

[shanti]

73. When Trump feels pain

he wants everyone to feel the pain. Didn't he pull a clump of Ivana's hair out because his scalp reduction/hairplugs were hurting him? Vindicative, he is.

[blogslug]

74. I might be screaming more if I weren't so exhausted.

I'm trying to take breaks and find things to enjoy when I can because, soon, we've got to g e t o u t t h e v o t e

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218885532

https://votefwd.org/

[applegrove]

75. Right on Earl G.

[raccoon]

78. Great post. And thanks for all you do.

[PunkinPi]

79. Numb is the exact word of how I'm feeling. Thanks for the OP, EarlG! nt