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The elephant, or, more to the point, the large-caliber weapon in the room, is once again being ignored.
Whatever the metaphor, we witnessed another burst of public gunfire, this time in the nation’s capital, in what is being called an assassination attempt. Gratefully, no one was killed. Crime rates are generally down, but yet we seem to find ourselves here again, with gun violence headlining our days, too often.
Perhaps this latest episode startled us. Perhaps it even scared us. Eventually, though, we did what we always do: shrug and move on, content, apparently, to live in a country where gun violence continues to compromise whatever security we thought we had in public spaces.
As you know, the latest iteration of this modern distemper was at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. While the president and cabinet members were one floor and more security away, the accused’s writing indicates they were his targets.
But rather than a potentially deadly shooting forcing us to squarely address mass shootings, gun violence in general and, where appropriate, any accompanying mental health issues, we instead are satisfied to do nothing. Again.
So that’s what we did. Nothing. We did “respond,” however. A sad and unserious sampling:
Those who usually insist it’s always “too soon” to “politicize” shootings at schools, malls or even where Americans gather to worship, started “politicizing” the holy hell out of this gunplay as soon as they could.
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Investigators were still parsing details when the White House press secretary took to her podium to urge everyone, without a hint of self-awareness, to tone down the rhetoric … then blamed the shooting on Democrats, a media cabal and the “left wing culture of hate.”
Go figure. CBS News, continuing its recent acquiescence to playing footsie with the administration, broadcast an exclusive interview during which the president pronounced the media as “horrible people.” Toning down the rhetoric was going to have to wait.
Also inexplicable, unless you’ve been comatose for the last decade, is the press secretary’s notion that caustic rhetoric in the political marketplace is a one-sided proposition and not clearly a goose and gander thing. Plus, in our systems of speech and liberty, criticism of our leaders should be expected.
We also, rather than address continued gun violence and a growing mental health crisis — whose intersection continues to plague us, sometimes in the shadows and sometimes in garish glare of our brightest lights — took to bargaining for a restart of the ballroom under construction on the grounds of the White House.
Some argue such an edifice would ensure the safety of the president, his family, and staff. Such a curious take sent millions scurrying to define non sequitur.
A lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which contends the privately-funded ballroom requires Congressional approval before going forward, has halted construction. Speaking of acquiescence, South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham introduced legislation several days after the shooting to authorize $400 million of taxpayer money to continue the build. How a new ballroom addresses the overarching problem that underscored the events at the Washington Hilton remains a mystery.
Nor does a lavish meeting space few Americans would ever grace do much for the third grader or high school freshman or graduate student who shelters in place while gunshots ring out on their campuses and trauma riddles their psyches. Or for shoppers at the local grocery store. Or those in prayer on an otherwise quiet morning.
Finally, we are also once again taking up the subject of Disney’s broadcast licenses. That’s because Jimmy Kimmel told a joke on his ABC late night program that did not sit well with the president and the first lady, who called for Kimmel to be fired. While a letter from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the review is over the Mouse House’s DEI programs, the timing seems suspect given that the offending jibe ran two days before gunfire rang out at the Washington Hilton.
Once again — remember the dust up over Kimmel’s take on Charlie Kirk’s death — Carr seems to think his role as FCC chair includes editing comedic monologues to suit his political tastes.
Meanwhile, back in reality, gun violence remains an American constant. It is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-19. That’s more than cancer, more than car accidents. According to Johns Hopkins University, over 2,500 children died in gun violence in 2024. Total gun deaths in the U.S. that year was over 44,000.
Under the guise of cutting “waste, fraud and abuse,” Congress passed and the president signed legislation last summer that included significant cuts to mental health programs, especially for teens and young adults, indeed a big slash — but not even remotely beautiful.
We had another moment to open a dialogue about yet more violence. Instead we blamed, we bargained and we bullied. None of which made any of us any safer.
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