As I watched the news unfold on the latest, greatest “man-on-man” national tragedy, I wondered, could James Holmes, a 24-year-old former doctoral candidate, and all around nobody, be conspiring with CNN and the NRA? First, there was the new CNN tragedy driven soundtrack, custom made for a ratings spike (I guess Wolf Blitzer gets to keep his day job). Followed by, the endless spool of eye witness accounts and a host of security professionals selling everything from bomb detection to armed guards…these security “bad-asses” call these locations “soft targets”, I thought we call them movie theaters? Ah, and then there’s the NRA with their second amendment, flag waving, freedom seeking enthusiasts fronted by Wayne La Pierre unwilling and unavailable to accept responsibility. Wayne and his friends in government and industries that build assault weapons, Kevlar piercing ammo, large capacity magazines and body armor, for over-the-counter retailers, would rather you believe that these 12 innocent victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. A tragedy that any law abiding, gun toting, NRA card carrying member could have put down had he been enjoying a family night out at the movies…not.
Who is Wayne LaPierre? Typically, when one serves their country honorably through a branch of our military or in the ranks of a local, state or federal law enforcement agency, this would be prominently and conspicuously posted to one’s bio and occupational background. So the guy who lives day-to-day to serve politicians and agendas that support less gun control and more gun ownership, has never had to look down the barrel of a loaded AK-47 Assault Rile, never had to bury a colleague who had died in the line of duty, never had to visit a co-worker paralyzed or blinded by a gunman’s bullet.
Blink and you will realize that the story in Aurora, Colorado is simply the updated version of the old story, Tucson, Columbine, Virginia Tech. The killers name changes and so do the tragic victims, and we get to add another pin dot on a map.
