Another day, 6 more murdered, a dozen or so sent to hospital with gunshot wounds they did nothing to deserve; this time, not even thoughts and prayers from the public gun apologists.
One of the most effective images in generating public anger and action against the war in Vietnam was that of the little girl running naked from her village after a napalm attack. Second on the list was an ARVN general putting his pistol to the head of a Vietcong soldier and blowing his brains out. Pictures are much more impressive and motivational than words, that’s why fundraisers love otters, polar bears, and koalas, and that’s why the media need to start publishing pictures of the people being murdered in mass shootings. Absent those images, our Congressional “leaders” and other public opinion makers can allow themselves not to see what the families and friends of the victims can’t avoid seeing. We’d need permission from the families, and we’d need to warn kids not to look but waking up to pictures and video of the dead will bring home in a visceral way the slaughter that takes place while Congress and the state legislators worry away at library books, people’s clothing, and companion choices and whether or not the government should pay its bills on time.
There are many important issues that confront our political office holders, but the central purpose of government is to protect the citizens of the country from foreign and domestic violence and to bring violators to account. If Congress and the state legislators want the images to go away, they’ll very quickly take steps to limit the availability of high-capacity magazines, high velocity ammunition and weapons of any sort without background checks. It’s time to publish the pix and hold some political toes to the fire.
My hubby and I regularly say if they'd show the pix, the revolution would begin!
Yes!