I'm not going to try to analyze the events of that day. I am not going to try to give you an explanation. I'm not sure there is an explanation. That hasn't stoped others from putting forward their pet theories, however. One such is Mike Huckabee. Among the others are the gun-control nuts, and I mean both the pro-gun and anti-gun nuts.
1. I Hate Huckabee
Unfortunately, this kind of tragedy brings out the morons. Chief among the morons flocking to this tragedy is former Presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee. Appearing on Fox News this past Friday, he said:
"We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"
Really, Mike? You blame a lack of religion in the schools for a tragedy that is truly senseless? A madman who had no business being in the school (and no connection with the school or, as far as we know, anyone in it) walks in and opens fire, killing twenty small children and seven adults, and you think it's because the children weren't praying hard enough? This happened because God wasn't there?
Look, I don't believe in God. I make no secret about that. If I did believe, I think I would be horrified by Huckabee's assertion that God had been "systematically removed" from that school.
I'm a bit confused by Huckabee's theology. I can remember back to Sunday School, where I was taught that God is everywhere. Is that not the case, Mike? Was my Sunday School wrong? Are there truly places that are "god forsaken?" Places where evil just happens, and if you're caught by it there its just your hard luck?
I don't see evidence of God everywhere (or anywhere). But if I did, I'd see Him at Sandy Hook. You see, there was a teacher there named Vicki Soto, who tried to shield her students from the gunfire. She gave her own life for this. Mike Huckabee may not see God there, and being an Atheist I don't either, but if I did believe in God I'd definitely see Him in this. I would definitely see His hand in the actions of Vicki Soto. Her act of self-sacrifice in the face of evil was truly God-like.
If I believed in God, I would dare you to tell me that the horrible, bloody disaster that happened at Sandy Hook happened because God wasn't looking out for those children because they weren't in a place favored by Him. I'd tell you that there was no such place.
2. The Great Gun Debate, renewed
The echos of the killer's gunfire had hardly faded before this tragedy was being used by both sides of the ongoing gun control debate to try to advance their separate causes. The same old arguments were trotted out; the pro-gun forces calling for teachers to be armed and the anti-gun forces calling for the population to be disarmed. Neither point of view directly applies to this situation, but that hasn't stopped the arguments.
Actually, I'm not going to say much about this since I said my peace four years ago (A well regulated Second Amendment, 11-8-2008) and my opinions haven't changed much since then. Neither have Barack Obama's.
The President is going to be right in the middle of the current debate. It's likely that he'll be accused of "flip-floping" on gun rights and ownership, since he'll have to respond to the current calls for more and stronger gun legislation. Mostly, such accusations will come from those who have believed all along that he was secretly anti-gun. Actually, as far as I can see his position hasn't changed: he's always been pro-hunting weapons and even pro-handgun, but he's always had a problem with "assault weapons." I said so four years ago:
"Obama has come out in support of an individual's right to bear arms, be they hunting weapons or handguns for personal defense. He's somewhat less supportive of military style rifles, what are often erroneously called 'assault weapons'...." (A well regulated Second Amendment)
In that article, I explained that I didn't think we needed military weapons in private (civilian) hands, and why. I said that once upon a time we felt we had a right to rise up against tyranny, and even if we still have that right from a practical standpoint it's impossible:
"The idea that we the people could rise up in opposition to the government wasn’t a reasonable one. Isn’t a reasonable one. We might have rifles and ammunition but we the people were always way short on tanks, artillery, fighter jets, stealth bombers, destroyers, aircraft carriers, ant-ballistic missiles and stuff like that....Makes the possession of an 'assault rifle' seem kind of pointless."
It's still rather pointless; more so, since truly military hardware has become so much more specialized and "high tech" in the four years since I last addressed this issue.
Conclusion
Certain things can be reliably predicted in the aftermath of something like Sandy Hook. Idiots will appear and will say idiotic things. Old issues will get dusted off and debated anew. Pundits will go on-line and either agree with one side or the other or complain that nothing ever really changes in the cloud of misery that something like Sandy Hook kicks up. The best that we can hope for is that whatever new legislation, new attitudes, and/or new ways of relating to each other and to the violence we live amidst, they won't be any harder to live with than what we have now.
The Blues Viking
The opinions here expressed are mine and if you don’t like them you can get your own damn blog.
Sandy Hook massacre: New details, but few answers (Washington Post)
Mike Huckabee: Newton Shooting No Surprise, We've 'Systematically Removed God' From Schools (Huffington Post, 12-14-2012)
Sandy Hook First Grade Teacher Victoria Soto Remembered as Hero (CBS New York)
Gun Control Laws: After Sandy Hook, Poll Finds Bump In Support For Greater Restrictions (Huffington Post)
Sandy Hook Massacre Changes Gun Control Conversations (NPR)
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