Why are the mass shootings still going on?

Today I woke up to hear that we have had not one but two mass shootings this weekend. When will it end? How will this be controlled? Does anyone in Washington have the guts to stand up and say what is needed, or do the lobbyists control everyone? No one who is running for office again, I’m afraid.

One of the shootings was done by a racist individual who drove miles with his automatic weapon designed to kill people. His goal was to kill people. He walked into a Wal-Mart where families were shopping for school clothes and supplies and he opened fire, randomly killing men, women and children. His purpose, he said, was to kill Mexicans.

Why would anyone have such hatred for strangers, people he did not know? I would like to see reports from psychologists, psychiatrists, or any mental health people who would interview or question him. We need to understand the mind of these killers. We have seen movies and documentaries about serial killers, and their minds and motives have been explored. Why doesn’t someone give us information on people like these killers? If we knew what they were thinking and what they thought to gain, perhaps we could begin to find some way to prevent these senseless murders.

I know many of them are motivated by fear. Even people in my own family living in the Deep South have succumbed to Trump’s racial rants. One very kind man in my family says Trump is right. We must have a wall to keep out these people.

“Why,” I ask. “We have always had immigration and we are known all over the world as the place that will take in those who are hurting, who are in danger and who pursue the American dream.”

“But we can’t take in thousands of them.” And then he told me what he feared.

“What I see is all those breeders, women, coming in and producing more of them. Pretty soon they will be running our country. They will take over our government and everything will change.”

I know that most racists are motivated by fear which enhances prejudice. There is a saying in the South. “We like Black people individually. But we don’t like them as a race.”

I think that has become the thinking of many Americans regarding Latinos.

I believe that is the cause of the Nationalist fear that is exacerbated by Donald Trump’s remarks that he Tweets every day, it seems. I see him the same as many, particularly in the region where I live.

On billboards we see stores advertise gun sales with the words, “Get yours (a photo of a big gun) and be ready for the revolution.” I have heard that secret militias have been formed in this very conservative region, and it was popular to belong to them when Barack Obama was president.

Was this a fear that because he was a black man, we were going to be taken over by black people? I do believe, from those I know personally, that if we don’t have a Caucasian man in office, their fear will increase and these types of killings will continue and might even become worse. Sad but true.

On a thread on Facebook, recently, I saw a woman had defended the president. This was in reference to his comments on the four women of color in Congress. She said, “He is just saying what we all think.” That is sad. If she represents people in this country, we are headed for a bleak future.

That is why I agree with those who say the president’s remarks arouse the fear in his followers, and some feel they have to act, to do something to protect our country, to show their patriotism.

When law-abiding people, kind and caring people like my family member feels scared of having immigrants from South America come into the country because “they will take over our government,” I understand why some people who are irrationally fearful, might take up arms. Like Trump, these people would not mind white immigrants, like Trump's wife, pouring into this country.

Another conversation I had recently with a local man, a veteran, who is involved with our schools, who counsels kids in trouble, surprised me with his thoughts on the controversial wall between Mexico and the United States.

He said, “Walls work. There is a wall between North Korea and South Korea and it works.” I said that comes from having a war there. We have no war between us and Mexico.

“If we had guards standing on top of a wall with guns, I’ll bet you wouldn’t see people trying to get across the border.”

I asked, “What would the guards do if someone tried to get over the wall?

“They would shoot ‘em,” He said.

I responded, “You would not really want to shoot down unarmed and innocent people, would you?”

“Sure.”

This is the kind of person who upholds Trumps divisive remarks and feeds on his hatred for anyone who is not a white Nationalist. It is scary, isn’t it? I would imagine this is the kind of man who hoards guns, is part of the silent militia, and believes he is going to protect our country from those immigrants and others who are not what he considers “patriots.”

These are remarks by Beta O’Rourke:

"We've had a rise in hate crimes every single one of the last three years, during an administration where you have a president who's called Mexicans rapists and criminals. Though Mexican immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than those born here in the country, he has tried to make us afraid of them, to some real effect and consequence.

O’Rourke said that the president attempted to ban all Muslims from this country.” The day he signed that executive order the mosque in Victoria, Texas, was burned to the ground.” 

What do you think? I am opening comments to all today. No restrictions except I have to monitor your comment before it will be published. I would love to hear from all who have thoughts on this issue.