My heart goes out to the survivors and the families of the survivors and victims of the shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers, as well as Mr. Jim Adkisson. I do not understand the depths of despair and derangement that drove him to open fire inside a church, but it had to be the act of a desperate and damaged mind. There really are no words to describe how terrible I find this event.
Mr. Adkisson heard words of hatred and intolerance from a wide variety of sources inside the ultra-right-wing world. Congratulations to Fox News, because their broadcast has finally brought about the sort of tough action they have wanted all along. The world would be a better place without all the vicious talk and hate mongering, but I won't count on any organization in Rupert Murdoch's portfolio working to make that happen.
More after the flip.
The world needs more heros like Greg McKendry, who died shielding other people from the blast of Adkisson's shotgun. What can anyone do to comfort his grieving family? John Bohstedt and Terry Uselton also deserve praise for their courage in tackling Mr. Adkisson. So far as of this writing the only other fatality was Linda Kraeger. She lost her battle to hold onto life yesterday evening, for the crime of being present at a rehearsal for a children's musical.
This crime apparently happened because the church advocated gay rights. Anyone who thinks the world is a better place with gunmen shooting up churches please speak now. Gay people are so bad even God has no place in the war against them, right? I can plead and scream at the top of my lungs to bring justice back into our nation, but all I seem to get in response are stories like these.
The good guys really do suffer a disadvantage. Good people don't resort to the sort of tactics that drove Mr. Adkisson to this crime, nor do good people do the sort of things Mr. Adkisson did. Good people don't torture other people, regardless of the reason. Good people don't murder innocents. Good people don't run roughshod over the law. Truly this was another depressing moment in our nation's history, one of so many in recent months.
I understand that Mr. Adkisson "may have avoided shooting at the children" who were present in the church. Somewhere inside of him there was still a conscience guiding his actions. I have little doubt that prosecutors will seek the death penalty, adding more wrong to an already horrific story. I would urge them to consider that the man could have done much worse. I urge them to value the life of the murderer just as they value the lives of everyday folk, for whatever my urging is worth.
For my part I would like to apologize for any of my less tasteful rhetoric in the past. I certainly hope everyone understands that I do not advocate violence of any kind, unless it be in self defense. I try to lace my bitter ramblings with humor, and when I fail the words seem very hateful. I do not seek to spread hatred in this world, only a redress of my grievances. I just want everyone to know that.