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Editorials/Columns
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The Continuing American Nightmare
n the wake of what is
being described as the largest mass shooting in U. S. history, where a man (64- year-old Stephen Paddock) gunned down almost 600 concert goers (killing 59) from a hotel room in Las Vegas, the question everyone seems to be consumed with is "why did he do it?" But what I'm trying to figure out is, if the shooter was indeed a "lone-wolf" as authorities have classified him, why his motive even matters?
The fact of the matter is that there's no way to make sense of insanity. We would only drive ourselves crazy try- ing to unravel the madness that exists inside of the mind of someone capable of com- mitting this kind of atrocity.
And, even if it's discovered that there was a trigger event that caused Paddock to en- gage in such a senseless slaughter, there's nothing we could learn from his lack of mental well-being that would help prevent the next so- ciopath, with his own set of is- sues, from committing an equally horrific episode somewhere in the near future. So, outside of giving the pub- lic a tidy explanation to satisfy their insatiable curiosity, what real benefit is there to
gain from knowing that he killed innocent people be- causeofx,yorz?
For the families of the vic- tims of previous massacres that occurred in places like Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora Colorado, Sandy Hook, Orlando, Charleston, etc., the "why" didn't make their loses any easier to han- dle. And, I'm sure it won't make a difference this time around either.
The main cause for con- cern right now should center around why these types of in- cidents have recently become such an integral part of Amer- ican culture?
The irony being that, while this country has been brainwashed into fearing Mexican "rapist," Black "criminals" and Arab "terror- ists," the group that continues to pose the greatest threat to public safety seems to be delusional white males who appear to viciously snap in this fashion at least once a year.
While I hate to instill a racial element into such a ter- rible tragedy, I can't help but imagine how difficult it would have been for a Black, His- panic or Arab man to pull off such a stunt without raising suspicions. There is little
doubt that, if Paddock fit one of those descriptions, someone would have taken serious notice of the guy car- rying ten bags filled with guns and ammunition who also happened to install surveil- lance cameras outside of his hotel room. But, unfortu- nately for those who lost their lives, Paddock was able to camouflage his nefarious in- tentions behind his perceived light-skinned normalness.
As the conversation now turns towards blaming the presence of assault rifles as the main culprit in this sce- nario, Americans will, in- evitably, look over the fact that the problem isn't as much about the powerful weapons as it can be attrib- uted to the people being trusted to purchase them.
As these violent occur- rences regularly show, a per- son having a clean rap sheet isn't enough to ensure that he'll do the right thing once a firearm is in his possession.
And, until those who make the laws figure this out, the only thing I can suggest going forward is that every munici- pality continue to stock up on body bags because I don't think it will be long before we'll, once again, find our- selves watching another news broadcast and wondering why in the hell does this keep hap- pening?
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can write to Mr. Barr at: Clarence Barr 43110-018, Oakdale F. C. I., P. O. BOX 5000, Oakdale, LA 71463.
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‘What Happens In Las Vegas...
. . . Stays in Las Vegas.” But, not this time! As a mat- ter of fact, what has happened in Las Vegas in the past 48 hours will remain in the conscience of America and the world for the remainder of the human race . . . if not longer.
What happened in Las Vegas?
Hell happened in Las Vegas.
A middle-aged, white male, who by sheer boredom
became a multi-millionaire in a sea of nameless multi- millionaires decided to write his name in bullets and bloodmore than 600 times on the bodies of country music lovers.
This unassuming 64-year-old, hard worker who was a stranger to his brother; who had an Asian lady- friend who was in Tokyo when her boyfriend commit- ted murder on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel; and who had a penchant for all things pertinent to gambling, decided to re-invent himself.
In truth, 60 lives were lostlast week and two of them belonged to the same person: shooter, Stephen Paddock.
The new name that probably only he knew . . . the secret domestic terrorist name of the man who craved high-precision firearms, who was addicted to gam- bling, probably saw himself as a modern-day Ameri- can James Bond, and who felt a deep resentment to all other human beings who thought they were his better.
Only time will tell the secret, if ever, what happened in Las Vegas when a gunman massacred 59 people.
Local
Fire At Lee Elementary School Ruled Accidental
On Wednesday, the Tampa Fire Marshal re- leased the cause of a fire that destroyed a historic elementary school. Fire Marshal John Reed said the cause of the fire has been determined ac- cidental. It was due to a failure in the building’s electrical system which was most likely damaged during Hurricane Irma.
Shortly after power was restored at an ele- mentary school Tuesday, September 12th, the fire erupted. The three-alarm blaze devastated the Robert E. Lee Elementary School, 305 E. Colum- bus Drive.
Fire Marshal Reed said the fire most likely originated in the attic space above room #208. However, because of the extensive damage, the exact point of origin could not be determined.
The fire started immediately after the power was restored, and the building had already sus- tained extensive water and physical damage as a result of Hurricane Irma, he said.
According to the Hillsborough County Prop- erty Appraiser’s Office, the building was valued at $2,700,000 and its contents were valued at $2,275,000. The damage to the school was esti- mated at $4,975,000.
The building was vacant at the time and no in-
A fire caused major damage at the historic Lee Elementary School last month. (photograph by Julia Jackson).
juries were reported.
New Location
The 49 staff members and 329 students have been attending class at Lockhart Elementary School, 3719 N. 17th Street, in East Tampa since the fire.
Lockhart has space for nearly 300 more stu- dents. The older children will attend class at Young Middle Magnet School, which is adjacent to Lockhart Elementary, until portable classroom are established.
U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor To Hold Academy Day
U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) will hold her annual Academy Day on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 at MacDill AFB (Davis Conference Center, Bldg. 359, 2101 Florida Keys Ave.), where she will connect high school students with rep- resentatives from the U. S. Service Academies.
Because MacDill Air Force
Base is a closed base, each person
who wishes to attend, including
student, parent, guardian and
others must RSVP to U. S. Rep.
Castor’s office by Oct. 10, 2017 at
813-871-2817 or by RSVPing at castor.house.gov.
U. S. REP. KATHY CASTOR
I
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