ISN’T THERE A TIE-IN BETWEEN MASS SHOOTINGS AND THE MILITARIZATION OF THE U.S., BOTH HOME AND ABROAD?

ISN’T IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL DEBATAE ON VIOLENCE?

After the Sutherland Springs, Texas incident (and many more before it) a national debate is very much needed. But the corporate media, true to form, fails to facilitate it. After reading or listening to reports on the incident, most people simply conclude that this was just a nut case. And it was, but the question is, why is a rash of these incidents occurring now in the U.S. and not at other times and places. There is a terrible incongruity in the right wing reaction and that of Trump in particular, as well as media reporting and the pro-establishment narrative. When the assassin is a Muslim, the right immediately calls for policy measures in the form of immigration restrictions. When the assassin is white, then they call for prayers, while any discussion of policy is considered “premature.”  

Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now” has opened a necessary discussion about domestic violence. In many cases, such as that of Devin Patrick Kelley, there is a tie in between mass shooting and domestic violence. 

But I believe there is another key issue that needs unpacking, and that is the militarization of the United States with manifestations all over the place. The starting point of the discussion has to be U.S. military presence throughout the world. We have military bases everyplace, we deploy soldiers in hot spots all over the world and the Pentagon tells us that this is a war that is going to take half a century to win. To begin with it’s an undeclared war, since at no point did the Pentagon or the White House, get consent from the U.S. people or even from Congress. It’s not a coincidence that many of the assassins, from Timothy McVeigh to Devin Patrick Kelley, had experience in the U.S. military. The media never underlines or sheds light on this fact. But militarization is the real issue and it has to be dealt with. It’s not going to go away.