The Next Mass Shooting

An intense young man,

unmoored, obsessed, unhinged,

divorced from reality,

assembling a high-powered arsenal

meant for the sport of killing.

The murderous rampage.

The stunned disbelief.

The white hot anger.

The unbearable sadness

of so many lives lost.

We’re shocked.

We’re stunned.

We search for a motive.

We comfort the survivors

and the families of the victims.

The fruitless debate begins.

Focus on the man?

Focus on the gun?

We will argue endlessly.

In the end,

we focus on neither.

The next crazed loner

 is out there.

The instrument of murder

 is out there.

And we will do nothing

 to keep them apart.


We will only wait for the inevitable.

 There are a few common sense changes to gun laws that will save lives.  Criminals and crazy people will still be able to get guns, but we can at least try to limit the damage they can do.  No assault rifles, no 100-round clips, etc.  No one needs these for sport or self-defense.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

This photo came from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7mwrygnRg1r64c9po1_500.jpg