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# CityWatch Today: It's Always the Proper Time to Speak Seriously about Evil
October 05 2017
Written by Bob Gelfand.
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GUEST WORDS--FDR speaking about the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941: "Today we pray for the dead and for the swift recovery of the survivors. It's not the time to talk about Japanese aggression.
George W. Bush speaking about the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001: Today we pray for the dead and for the rapid recovery of the survivors. It's premature to talk about Al-Qaeda's aggression.
Donald Trump when asked about gun control on October 4, 2017: "We're not going to talk about that today. . . . We won't talk about that."
Which of these three quotes is accurate?
Here's another Trump remark about the Las Vegas shooting:
"My fellow Americans, we are joined in sadness, shock, and grief."
I wasn't shocked. I wasn't even surprised. It was just one more massacre in a long line of recent massacres. The only thing I was a little surprised about was that some people claimed to be surprised and shocked.
The treatment for this deadly ailment was available to us long ago -- outlaw the sale and ownership of semiautomatic long guns in the U.S.
I suspect that someday this will come to pass, and that this understanding is also held by those who are obsessed with gun ownership. That's why they go out and buy more guns in the immediate aftermath of every mass shooting. They seem to be saying that the more such guns are held by Americans, the harder it will be to outlaw them.
I suspect that they understand, deep down, that something will eventually be done.
*(Bob Gelfand writes on science, culture, and politics for CityWatch.)*
*-cw*
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