Charles Clymer: I have some things to say about the Texas Shooting. It's gonna piss people off...

[Lisa0825]

EXCELLENT unrolled Twitter rant from @cmclymer, a former Army infantryman.

14/ Thousands of hours of learning how to kill other human beings. Day after day, month after month, year after year. Rewiring.
15/ I’m a flaming liberal. I’m a gun owner but don’t collect them. My idea of “fun” is singing karaoke in a tiara, not a day shooting guns.
16/ But there is no doubt in my mind that, if needed, I could kill other human beings efficiently. Tactically. Without hesitation.
17/ I haven’t worn a uniform in almost six years, but it would be like riding a bike. It’s ingrained. I doubt it’ll ever go away.
18/ That’s the point of military training: muscle memory, acting without hesitation, resorting to a part of your brain on autopilot.
19/ In April 2009, Homeland Security released a report warning of the recruitment of veterans by radical groups...

Just go to the link... I don't think I can adequately summarize this thread.

https://tttthreads.com/thread/927757855113011200

[Not Ruth]

1. Summary: Military trains people to kill then they kill, never join the military

[Lisa0825]

2. You missed a lot of it, if that's all you think.

[Madam45for2923]

17. Must read in its entirety! Surprising & clarifying.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Wish I could rec that a thousand times. Excellent thread!

Thank you for posting it.

[Lisa0825]

4. You're welcome!

I think he did an amazing job of tying together so many different aspects of the issues together...

Domestic terrorism, their effort to recruit veterans, how hatred of women related to terrorism in general, etc.

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. He really did.

The ability to do that coherently and elegantly in 50+ tweets is impressive.

[Alea]

5. Millions of Vets in this country

Yet most murders and mass murders are done by people that never served.

[Lisa0825]

7. True. But if vets are being targeted by extremist groups,

isn't that worth some investigating? To understand it, to prevent it, etc?

[voteearlyvoteoften]

8. Good read

[Hamlette]

9. excellent. Thanks!

I know what I'll be talking about this Thanksgiving. Bookmarked.

[Geechie]

10. Best thing Ive read on gun violence today.

One WM willing to examine his society’s collusion in this mess:

“I'm a white male, and I have no reason to hate that about myself. I love my country. I'm proud of my military service. I'm a gun owner.”

[NCTraveler]

11. K&R nt.

[Liberalagogo]

12. Interesting facts:

Out of the 20 deadliest shootings in the US:

4 were in Texas.
12 occurred in the last decade. The other 8 were in the 20th century.
8 within the last 5 years
16 the perpetrator died.
8 used semi-automatic rifle.
top 5 all within the last decade.
416 people killed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_States#Deadliest_shootings

[cp]

13. Absolutely excellent

Entire piece is worth one's time, and then some.

[Corgigal]

14. He was in the Air Force

When I was in for my 8 years, I only fired once. I had two office type jobs, one in a hospital the other at a Air Traffic Control facility.

I don't know what his job was, but rarely does anyone in the Air Force do a gun thing 24 x 7.

[Locrian]

15. great post - I'd exapnd that...

to include most of our culture and it's obsession with action/kill/carnage/hell-yeah/etc.

[Ligyron]

19. In almost all male action movies the problems are solved with guns (or violence).

The protagonist is alway then made into a hero.

Even losers want to be a hero.

[Locrian]

21. that's my take

It's all the wanna-be heros. Until they aren't.
Either way - it's ALWAYS the glamours "good guy with a gun". It worked for selling cigarettes, works for selling guns by the bushel.

Meanwhile - it's all normalized. Not necessarily causation, but acceptance and normalization.

[Madam45for2923]

16. Very good read that brings clarity to this subj! Not what people expect from just a small excerpt.

[Lisa0825]

22. I couldn't figure out any way to get the gist of it in an excerpt!

He tied so much together! I am not sure I am using the word right, but it reminds me of discussions I have read on intersectionalism... how all these different issues are connected... The perpetrators are connected by multiple characteristics, AND their victims as well - by things like gender, race, political affiliation, etc.

[Madam45for2923]

23. Yes I know! It's got to be taken in it's entirety. Like a story.

[malaise]

18. This

Not sure why a mass shooting inspired by hatred of women doesn’t qualify as terrorism… unless, maybe, we don’t respect women as people?
33/ Not exactly the most comfortable truth in the national discourse, particularly in a sea of “as a father of daughters” statements.
34/ The other side of that coin is white maleness. A political system and media dominated by white men isn’t eager to be self-reflective.
35/ Why would I examine a system of white supremacy that gives me unearned benefits and being forced to recognize they’re unearned?
36/ Why would I admit, despite all evidence, that my white maleness protects me from all sorts of threats and accountability? Scary stuff.

-------------------
I've been wondering about that hatred of women - why is it not terrorism?

[lame54]

20. I don't own a gun but i can admit...

That shooting guns is hella fun

That is one of the scariest things about them