This goes beyond words to describe how I feel right now following what happened Monday in Highland Park, Illinois. Once again, a deranged individual comes out of the woodwork and using an assault style rifle shoots parade goers on our most sacred holiday.
I truly hope this person is proud of himself for ruining the lives of over thirty families, seven of which must bury their loved ones because Robert E. Crimo III, a gutless coward, kills and maims for some sick fantasy inside his twisted head.
Once more America has to bear witness to a lawless and despicable act brought on by a person so deranged and pathological that even his own parents wouldn’t have anything to do with him and his ideology. It’s a credo of hate brought to him on his cellphone through social media sites that preach this nonsense to gullible young men such as him and the Uvalde massacre killer, Salvador Ramos.
Like I said before, we don’t need more gun laws, we need something more pragmatic and more hopeful. It’s a tide of violence that comes from those who feel disenfranchised, lost and forgotten. As long as we as a society neglect and abuse and incite these young men toward a path of hate and violence through video games and social media, as well as a bloodlust to have their names forever remembered long after they are a footnote in history, we will continue to have this insanity at our feet.
Like John Lennon and Jesus Christ said, love is the answer. Love is the antithesis of hate and intolerance. We all must coexist, enjoy each other’s company, and not speak ill of others. It does sound easier than it appears now, but it must happen or we as a society are doomed to chaos and anarchy.
Jerry Schellhammer 