Trigger Warning: Something Fundamentally Wrong

Another school shooting....I heard about it halfway around the world.
Just from the headline I could picture the murderer. Young white male, withdrawn, down on his luck.
The presumed killer met my description to a tee. What does young, white American males have in common, which is shared between the working class and middle class?


 Generation Z is the first generation to live in the era of frequent mass killings. I was out of high school before mass killings became an epidemic in America. What has gone wrong? Three answers to start: Social media pressures, emotional infantilism of teenagers, and glorification of violence in media. More reasons?


Giving guns to dangerous people:
Young mass murders seldom buy firearms with money they earned. On top of the purchase price, boxes of ammunition are too expensive on a ramen diet. The usual story is that the killer got a gun as a gift, or got a loan to buy a gun. I would support liability insurance requirements for inexperienced gun owners.


Ostracizing and De-facto Criminalization of mental illness:
Despite health privacy laws, diagnosis of mental illness is carried on permanent records. It affects one's ability to join the military, get a high paying contractor job, own a firearm, drive a car, or even participate in civic life. With the digitalization and interstate access to records, there may be a perception that a mental health diagnosis is something to be avoided, when it is something needed to get appropriate (though stretched and underfunded) treatment. As if it were a criminal record.


It might trigger the "You can't have it" theory illustrated on South Park. When a gun ban is proposed, people rush to buy guns. President Obama, it is said, was the best firearm salesman. On a smaller, personal scale, when a person is marked as ineligible to own a gun, he has the urge to get his hands on one. That said, several killers have no significant criminal record, but a disturbing history of behavior. Courts should be able to put a clinically unstable individual's firearms in the custodianship of a responsible individual. Without rendering a person legally incompetent.




Disrespect for authority figures:
In a former time, when much of the world lived under dictators or communists, public officials were given respect for being democratically elected. While there is a place for holding authority accountable to the people, the past several years the disrespect is incredible. It occurs in the media, on the streets, and even in the halls of city governments. Then there are the government shutdowns, which is totally prejudicial to good order. As of last month, both major parties are guilty of unleashing this anarchist tactic. Violent protests are a stark contrast to MLK's approach of non-violence. How could this not translate to disruptive behaviors and grossly disrespectful behavior in the classroom?


Mistrust of authority:
  Students need to understand that safety issues can be raised without resorting to intrusive searches of the innocent. That raising a concern will not trigger full SWAT.


Deadly marksmanship:
 Columbine was shocking since that kind of violence was rare at the time. But recent events made Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold part of the JV squad of school killers.
In the inner-city, bad aim and good trauma care have given many people second chances. I have seen it multiple times on the news, which reports that a  gang member opens fire into a crowd. One dead, seven injured. Six injured. Four injured, one dead.  (It should be noted that injury by firearm can cause permanent damage). What these school shooters have today is horrific accuracy, better than on actual battlefields. If we could do one thing, keep the guns out of dangerous peoples' hands.


Soft targets:
Since 1990, we've gone from acceptance of hunting rifles in the high school parking lot to mass murder despite restrictions on guns in school. The 1990's federal school gun ban originated form 1980's incidents of one-on-one violence between ex lovers, gangs, and grudges.


That did not change policies of wide open doors and lack of preparedness in once-peaceful suburbs. Columbine was a one-time tragedy. This Florida high school was ready, and yet the Valentine's Day killer slayed 17 in 6 minutes. One dead every 20 seconds, plus the wounded. In Washington, DC the local public schools have metal detectors. A good measure, but not foolproof: armed attacks have occurred at the security checkpoints of the US Capitol, DC's Metropolitan Police Headquarters, and the Holocaust Museum in DC. As Rudy Giuliani demonstrated in New York City, visible presence is a deterrent. 


OK, OK, maybe its the guns: and how they are glorified in certain circles. In deference to 1st and 10th amendments, restrict paid advertising, of gun makers, across state lines to prevent criminally-minded people from gaining a bloodlust from reading magazines and internet pages.

All Are Welcome, Really

One article headline caught my attention several months ago in the Christian Science Monitor: "Church revival? More liberals are filling Protestant pews". It was a jarring headline because it countered what everyone knew: Mainline Protestant Churches like the Episcopal and the Presbyterians were once associated with the Protestant Work Ethic, the Republican Party at Prayer, and the WASP establishment. After the 1970's, those churches took a leftward turn in theology and outreach, religious non-affiliation increased, and church membership declined.

Coincidentally, church-goers were returning to tradition: Jews turning to orthodoxy, Evangelicals embracing sacraments, and Catholics saying old prayers. Church attendance has become correlated with conservative views, a Pew Research poll will tell you. This may be a result of decades of culture wars, with Evangelicalism as the loudspeaker and Catholicism as the library; the pastoral aspects of Christian life, though always present, falling to the background. Talk Radio and ballot boxes made being a "good" Christian easy; Pope Francis made a few Catholics uncomfortable when he reminded us about the importance of charitable work. It was not specifically a call to increase the 2.5% quarter-tithe American citizens give to charity, on average; but a call to open one's heart, showing a bit more compassion in the ruthless world.

So what is the appeal of a progressive, liberal church to the "Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving"(1)  demographic? You may have heard of the "Third Place" idea; a place you spend time away from home and work. Starbucks wants you to make their stores your "Third Place" and many people do.
But people need a sense of community in addition to a sense of belonging in a "Third Place", and this community is what draws some people to those churches that hang rainbow flags and "Black Lives Matter" signs.

While traditional churches tended to focus on spiritual matters over earthly ones; progressive churches talk to issues that matter to progressives. With the new administration in the White House, some fear a return to the politically alienating days of corporate welfare and moral Pharisees. There is a bit of racial strife, and this year there are geopolitical crises that force people out of effete complacency. North Korea's nuclear missile program. Human rights violations in Syria.
Inclement weather from fires in the Western States to hurricane flooding in the tax havens of Texas and Florida. The need for a feeling of togetherness in these times might compel some progressives to take their Sunday morning coffee in the parish hall instead of Starbucks.


(1) Credits to Geoffrey Nunberg

One Long Week

What a week. If you're hooked to my blog, you'll see that something strange happened this week (hint: no posts!). There was a lot of play practice, a lot of assignments to pass through the chute, and SAT prep. So, here's a little story: Wednesday, second period. I settle down for ethics class, and in comes a classmate from French IV. "Doug, Atticus. Test." "Huh?", we muttered as we threw our books into our bookbags and quick-stepped to the test (uhh- those middle schoolers are so loud when they move from class to class!). But our messenger got more than us- a hysterical department head to pull him from Chem class. National Exam. French, 2010. Level 4.
The next day was the latin test (didn't take it); the Spanish (not taking it) will be next week. Homeworkwise, there was not much in the past week; upcoming SAT, school play, sports try-out, an absent english teacher (who did not forget to leave work for us!). My mantra has been, for the past busy month, "March 15". That day, I am free from the Play, free from tryouts, free from SAT prep. That day is coming soon.

DOn't forget to Spring Forward- and check your safety devices' batteries.

Mile for Life

It was a surprise. I would have brought my running shoes if I were had been forewarned. But why now? It had to happen before it got too cold. The ground was wet, and the temperature was chilly. I wondered about if the reduced friction would help our speeds. My heart rate was fast, considering I had run a democracy run to fetch mock ballots, stuck in the upper building, an hour prior, plus all the anxiety of the next 8 minutes. Seconds after the 'go' was given, I had taken place halfway between the front runners and the laggers, having not sprinted. Yet, after the first half-lap, of 3-1/4 laps, I was already panting like a dog. Hypothesis wrong. Wet grass is a detriment. Friction helps propulsion, I thought for a brief second. "2:12"- first lap. It's all a matter of breath control. Pags (freshman) does this well, I was informed, and managed a 5:40. I don't. "4:55" end of lap 2- I was pacing, keeping Joey B. within view, while the head runners were still dashing. We were separated by half the perimeter of a soccer field. Lap three- even the head runners were losing steam over the wet turf. I gave up chasing Abe, he had a sizeable advantage. 3/4 through the 3rd lap- Abe was slowing down a little, perhaps tired. I saw Joey B. coming up from behind. I rounded the last corner, into the final segment, now in as best of a sprint as I could furnish. Joey B.'s longer legs propelled him past me for a two second lead, as I could hear him call out Abe's final time of "7:02". Joey's time was 7:09, mine 7:10. The coach was distracted, or maybe my brain was running time slow. So close to breaking 7, I was. Then I think of Abe. At the end of the 3rd lap, with a little clock, he would have mustered a full sprint to make it under 7. It's all relative. I had cut 1:05 from my previous time, averaging 8.4 mph (I'll recheck the sheet- yes, photographic memory), up from 7.1 mph on ideal conditions. What a difference one year can make. The leader, at 5:45, averaged 10.5mph. Impressive. I tried hard not to collapse to the ground. I had to lean on the soccer goal to stay up, as I took shallow breaths and felt delerious, and watched the trailers come in. Yet, 6:30 was the average time. Everyone was like that, 6:30. Anyway, the kid who I sent to hell in my Dante paper, he proclaimed that he knew CPR. I wouldn't let him become the proudest fellow, so I didn't pass out. Lots of replenishing water, and some indoor 2-ball soccer. Yes, we won. And yet, afterthree hours, my heart rate was still in the 110 range, definately aided by candy. But by Orchestra, another hour later, my cardiopulmonary had recovered, and my legs were starting to get sore.

So, I don't want to do that for another year. Make that "I'll never have to do it again in my life", because this is my last year of Phys Ed. So be it.

Then today, I come across a pair of handcuffs, made I never tried them to see if they were legit or not, but they looked like they were, even though they were made in China. Yes, EST is keeping us up. Even though I've switched my clocks, it still feels as if I were always given an hour by mercy- I have to get used to 6pm sunsets. Before I stay up until 10pm, or my body's 11pm, ciao for now.

Day 4

Today, I was again put out, like a dog, to do jogging. This repetitive routine consists of a few, fairly easy steps. 1. Access Pennsylvania avenue, and jog westbound. 2. Scurry down cloverleaf ramp to sea-level, and jog along waterfront path to Lincoln Memorial steps. 3. Up and down the 40-something steps, 12 times. 4. Return on path to Kennedy Center, and follow gentler path northbound to home. Took and hour. At home, I ate breakfast, languished, took a shower, and went out to buy household stuff- stereotypically called "women's work."

Had lunch, headed out to the Ortho-man for picking up the retainer, as well as adjustments to the lower jaw's teeth's braces. The nurse explained the retainer. Wear it always, except when eating. It costs $235 to replace. What? Three years ago, during my first round of braces, it was $150. Then the nurse fitted the tight-fitting retainer into place. Then the big dog came in, and tightened the wire on the remaining set of braces. Then he lowered the mirror, and I saw. The retainer was one of the invisible types. He gave instruction on how to remove and replace the retainer. Yes. I did. But the thing is- the retainer resembles invisalign. So was it invisalign used as an orphan drug? Maybe. After all, he is one of the most proliferate seller of invisalign. Anyway, these invisible retainers are much cooler than the wire-and-mold type. Now everyone will think I have a lith (onomatopoeia for lisp) . I say, let's start a Facebook support group. Early this evening, I was put out on a LONG walk, up to U+14, and back. More on than midcity adventure later.
g'night, y'all, is 'bout time we's o't t' bed.

Ortho update: It's not really the tightening that gives me pain, but rather more the retainer.

New Product Solutions

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Wasabi Peas and DIY Bubble Tea.