Happy Fourth of July!

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Gloom and doom Gutter here.....

Well, besides the fact that this country sucks right now in too many ways, and in some ways its citizens are far from being "independent" in regards to our current political state.......

I woke up to discover a woman was walking her dog in front of my building with her friend/s (I was told by security it was a couple of friends) early this morning. They were "held up". One of her friends was shot. Blood still on the the sidewalk.
https://cwbchicago.com/2022/07/man-shot ... -town.html

Next, it's not clear if it was intentional or not but I learned one of my buddies died last night. His brother's words - "Rest easy little brother. May you find God’s peace & the demons you’ve been battling disappear".

Finally (for now), what started out as sunny and beautiful (weather wise), is turning in to a cloudy, hot, humid, probable severe thunderstorm/s, day - when I am supposed to be outside celebrating the holiday. Go figure.


Those of you doing your own fireworks celebrations, please be safe kids!

[KUTradition]

as “American” as apple pie

https://athleticsinside.com/olympic/gun ... plain-why/

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

as “American” as apple pie

https://athleticsinside.com/olympic/gun ... plain-why/

5 thoughts/questions.

1. Do the people in the photos realize if a person owned just a single gun they could use it to shoot and kill the people in the photos?

2. Do the "federal authorities" care that these people have their arsenals?

3. If the people in the photos were not white, would some/many/most white people feel any differently about them?

4. I'm sure many/most/all gun advocates will tell me the kids in the 1st and 3rd photos will actually be less inclined to eventually use one of the guns to either accidentally or purposely shoot an INNOCENT person because they are taught gun safety and to respect guns at an early age. Are there factual stats to support/prove this?
Here is a fact....The kids can't shoot anyone if they don't have the guns and of course the odds increase that there is a tragedy involving one (or more) of their guns by having them at their disposal.

5. 1970s Fourth of July in the USA reminded me of Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.
2020s Fourth of July in the USA reminds me of guns, guns, guns, and I live in a shithole country.
Am I the only person who is happy I don't have kids and grandkids who will witness the complete destruction of this country if we continue on the path we are currently on?

I know, I know.....

[ousdahl]

Wave that flag!

Wave it high and wide!

[ousdahl]

also, re: shithole countries, I've been reading a lot of Hunter S. Thompson lately. It helps.

[randylahey]

If you think this country sucks you can't have anything from the grill today

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

If you think this country sucks you can't have anything from the grill today

A. I don't "think" this country sucks, I know it sucks.
Yes, I also know this country is great in some ways. Problem for me is the ways in which it sucks often outweigh the ways in which it is great.

B. Thankfully, one of the ways this country is great is that I can have whatever I want from the grill today - and the 364/365 other days it's not the Fourth of July.
Unfortunately I will NOT be eating what I want. I will be dining with my mother and two other elderly women and this is the menu for this evening. Not bad but not what I would like.

Caesar Salad/ Rib Tips/ Hot Dogs & Buns/ Smoked Brisket/ BBQ Shrimp/ Corn on the Cobb/ Baked Beans/ Potato Salad/ Cole Slaw/ Watermelon/ Assorted Pie

C. One of my concerns is that I live to see the day when my freedom to ridicule my country is taken away from me.

D. This is how some morons in my city think the 4th of July holiday is to be celebrated.

https://twitter.com/PaulVallas/status/1 ... 3078750212

different incident

https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/statu ... 6989353985

[ousdahl]

holy balls.

It's a wonder the cops didn't open fire

[pdub]

This country sucks right now but it still rules and it’s the Fourth so Happy America. Go us.

[ousdahl]

"some American woke up today not realizing this would be the last day they ever wake up with all 10 fingers"

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Speaking of waking up on the 4th of July and not realizing......
As I posted on the another mass shooting thread, a lot of people in Highland Park Illinois went to a parade this morning. Supposedly at least 4 (city of HP is saying 5) are now dead and possibly 9 or more were shot. Hey, Happy Fourth of July and God Bless America! Right?

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Speaking of waking up on the 4th of July and not realizing......
As I posted on the another mass shooting thread, a lot of people in Highland Park Illinois went to a parade this morning. Supposedly at least 4 (city of HP is saying 5) are now dead and possibly 9 or more were shot. Hey, Happy Fourth of July and God Bless America! Right?

Numbers keep rising. 6 confirmed dead more than 16 shot.
Fellow Jayhawk told me his buddy was next to someone who got their head blown off.

[zsn]

Gloom and doom Gutter here.....

Well, besides the fact that this country sucks right now in too many ways, and in some ways its citizens are far from being "independent" in regards to our current political state.......

In light of what has transpired today, more prescient words haven’t appeared here!! Unfortunately……

[jhawks99]

Didn't affect mich, so it's NBD.

[pdub]

We go up the coast on the fourth and every year I’ve been up here, bout five years running, there’s a big group of campers who set up shop around a 2 bd 1 ba house and party all day.

They are loud. They drink alll day. They have cornhole tourneys. They let off fireworks when the sun goes down. Our group tends to grill at 5, have wine ( sans me ) and clean up by 7. Judge hard.

I wanna go over and peace offer bc our house generally don’t roll like that but the difference I don’t think is nearly as much as people make it. The toughest part is being humble I think. Not every time but most times.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Thanks for the post pdub! Temporarily took my mind off the shit day today. Best advice I may have ever received is to be kind to others. Probably best to try and be tolerant - and then realize tomorrow is a new day.

Had a nice dinner with 3 old ladies. One of them a Holocaust survivor who's daughter and grandchild were at the parade in Highland Park today. Thankfully THEY ARE OK but can you imagine surviving the Holocaust only to have a daughter and grandchild shot and killed on Independence Day?
Granddaughter is/was a Jayhawk and knows the shooter and is friends with his sister. Crazy shit.

Oh well, time to unwind before I go to sleep.
I could turn on the TV and watch this country celebrate as if nothing is wrong and we live in a utopia or I can watch a comedy show/movie. I'll let you guess which I will probably do.

[randylahey]

People that commit these random acts of violence are people with mental health problems seeking attention. Stop giving it to them

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

People that commit these random acts of violence are people with mental health problems seeking attention. Stop giving it to them

Right. Because ignoring it/them will make the problem go away.
I'm surprised you're not telling us we should stop paying attention to them BEFORE they commit random acts of violence too.
Which is exactly why some/many of these people act out.

[randylahey]

People that commit these random acts of violence are people with mental health problems seeking attention. Stop giving it to them

Right. Because ignoring it/them will make the problem go away.
I'm surprised you're not telling us we should stop paying attention to them BEFORE they commit random acts of violence too.
Which is exactly why some/many of these people act out.

When the media/society glorifies and obsesses with these things. It increases the chances of it happening again. Pretty simple to figure that one out

[ousdahl]

rather than bury our heads in sand and pretend it's not happening, why not address the root causes that prompt and enable mentally unstable people to commit random acts of violence in the first place?