My first reaction was, “are the kids ok?” We’ve shopped at King Soopers. Not that particular one, but others not that far away. It’s a place where people go to just buy their groceries. My second reaction was, “is this racially motivated?” My third reaction was, “holy shit, is this random?” My fourth reaction was, “ban the damned assault rifles.” My fifth reaction was, “must be covid fatigue.” My sixth reaction was, “man, not nearly enough people are chilling, enjoying that Colorado Rocky Mountain high.” My seventh reaction was, “@#$!!&*!.” My eighth reaction was, “tell me again why we all need to have an armory in our homes?” My ninth and tenth reactions were, “take the damned assault weapons out of the picture!” My eleventh reaction, and the most recent, is “I need to retire and lock in my pension before the stock market collapses.”
No, the more current reaction is, “this is a sad commentary on us as a nation.” Nowhere else on the entire planet do such events unfold with such regularity. Nowhere. Not even close. What the hell is wrong with us? Is there a whole subculture of neglected, delusional, bored, emotionally dead children?
It’s a witch’s brew of maladies- people slipping through cracks, neglected; mental illness, a sick fascination with high-powered weaponry and power in general, blurred lines between fantasy and reality, a paranoid world view, and an unhealthy fixation on, a wrong-headed interpretation of Second Amendment rights.
Sounds over-simplified, but maybe we’re too engrossed in our pursuit of the almighty American Dream to really care about anyone but ourselves. What is the dream, anyway? What kind of dream is it? Maybe if we tried to put it into words, took a closer look, we’d be shocked and embarrassed by how shallow and self-centered it really is.
Nothing more than a giant distraction. Maybe even a myth. Meanwhile, people shopping for supper and getting their Covid shots are dead now.
3 Cents' 