Caution: This One is Depressing
Somehow yesterday I stumbled upon this article about the shootings of the little Amish girls in September. I couldn't get to the New York Times article it referenced (because it costs money and I'm in favor of a free press), but I did read this article which contained excerpts of the New York Times article. While the Pennsylvania police went out of their way to emphasize that the school was "a target of opportunity" and that the gunman probably did not have anything against the Amish, the author of the Times article, Bob Hebert, describes the attack as a hate crime because one group was singled out for terror: little girls.
Hebert states that the lack of in-depth media response, extensive coverage, or outrage was due to the fact that the victims were
Maybe he is right, I never considered that point of view. I assumed the toned-down coverage had something to do with trying not to exploit the Amish or because it didn't happen in Aruba, but maybe it was because it was "familiar news". Honestly, I didn't care that the lifespan of that story was short and that the details were spotty. Not because I didn't care about the victims and their families, but because I have lost all hope that there is anything that can be done about it.
What solutions could possibly be proposed? Better gun control? That could never happen, regardless of the opinions of average Americans. Cozying up to parents trying to protect their kids does not bring financial rewards. Why would an elected official listen to us when the NRA is available with open checkbooks? More security at the schools? Obviously the Amish are not going to install metal detectors, and even if they had them, this attack would have likely transpired in exactly the same way. Since the Amish problems had no easy solution, the discussion of school safety seemed to die even quicker than the story of the shootings. Our kiddies had a "stranger danger" drill shortly after the incident, but if someone was determined to harm kids at that school, he'd likely gain some measure of success. A politician can find no money in upgrading school safety, and no money for upgrading school safety, because all of it is getting kicked back through tax cuts.
If I had to pick an overwhelming emotion for the past year, it wouldn't be sadness or loneliness or even anxiety, although I've had my share of all three. What I feel most often is helplessness. What happens in Washington never intersects with what goes on in my life. Articles like this and this and this and this only reinforce my feeling that our elected officials are not only unconcerned with the problems of average Americans, but contemptuous of us. They think we're stupid. Politicians assume that if they tell us the problems we see with our own eyes aren't there or that solutions are coming, then we'll believe them.
I used to have some hope that in November, if Congress changed hands, something might improve, but I don't feel that way anymore. After John McCain signed off on terror, I finally admitted to myself that politics is only about the power. I have bored my family with this sentiment before, but to me, God spoke right to John McCain and said, "You know what happened to you. You can keep it from happening to someone else. What are you going to do about it?" And John McCain answered, "I can't worry about that now. I'm trying to get elected president."
While I have always been an optimistic and idealistic person, now it is obvious even to me that politicians will do anything to get power and then hold onto it, regardless of their rhetoric or intentions on the way in. Even with the internet and blogs and all the mainstream and fringe news, no one is accountable. The average voters will never find out whether their congressperson actually tried to do what he/she promised. The motivation to fulfill the wishes of the voters probably evaporates quickly.
And so the sad conclusion of my train of thought from yesterday is: I realize that I can't waste any more hope on politics and I'm out of optimism for the future of the country. I have to narrow my focus to my own family and find my happiness and hopefulness there. Luckily, the kiddies are smart and cheerful and optimistic(and cute). Maybe someday they'll find a way to change the things that the HP and I must protect them from now.
Hebert states that the lack of in-depth media response, extensive coverage, or outrage was due to the fact that the victims were
"just girls, and we have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that violence against females is more or less to be expected. Stories about the rape, murder and mutilation of women and girls are staples of the news, as familiar to us as weather forecasts. The startling aspect of the Pennsylvania attack was that this terrible thing happened at a school in Amish country, not that it happened to girls."
Maybe he is right, I never considered that point of view. I assumed the toned-down coverage had something to do with trying not to exploit the Amish or because it didn't happen in Aruba, but maybe it was because it was "familiar news". Honestly, I didn't care that the lifespan of that story was short and that the details were spotty. Not because I didn't care about the victims and their families, but because I have lost all hope that there is anything that can be done about it.
What solutions could possibly be proposed? Better gun control? That could never happen, regardless of the opinions of average Americans. Cozying up to parents trying to protect their kids does not bring financial rewards. Why would an elected official listen to us when the NRA is available with open checkbooks? More security at the schools? Obviously the Amish are not going to install metal detectors, and even if they had them, this attack would have likely transpired in exactly the same way. Since the Amish problems had no easy solution, the discussion of school safety seemed to die even quicker than the story of the shootings. Our kiddies had a "stranger danger" drill shortly after the incident, but if someone was determined to harm kids at that school, he'd likely gain some measure of success. A politician can find no money in upgrading school safety, and no money for upgrading school safety, because all of it is getting kicked back through tax cuts.
If I had to pick an overwhelming emotion for the past year, it wouldn't be sadness or loneliness or even anxiety, although I've had my share of all three. What I feel most often is helplessness. What happens in Washington never intersects with what goes on in my life. Articles like this and this and this and this only reinforce my feeling that our elected officials are not only unconcerned with the problems of average Americans, but contemptuous of us. They think we're stupid. Politicians assume that if they tell us the problems we see with our own eyes aren't there or that solutions are coming, then we'll believe them.
I used to have some hope that in November, if Congress changed hands, something might improve, but I don't feel that way anymore. After John McCain signed off on terror, I finally admitted to myself that politics is only about the power. I have bored my family with this sentiment before, but to me, God spoke right to John McCain and said, "You know what happened to you. You can keep it from happening to someone else. What are you going to do about it?" And John McCain answered, "I can't worry about that now. I'm trying to get elected president."
While I have always been an optimistic and idealistic person, now it is obvious even to me that politicians will do anything to get power and then hold onto it, regardless of their rhetoric or intentions on the way in. Even with the internet and blogs and all the mainstream and fringe news, no one is accountable. The average voters will never find out whether their congressperson actually tried to do what he/she promised. The motivation to fulfill the wishes of the voters probably evaporates quickly.
And so the sad conclusion of my train of thought from yesterday is: I realize that I can't waste any more hope on politics and I'm out of optimism for the future of the country. I have to narrow my focus to my own family and find my happiness and hopefulness there. Luckily, the kiddies are smart and cheerful and optimistic(and cute). Maybe someday they'll find a way to change the things that the HP and I must protect them from now.
posted by Shannon at 10:35 PM
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