Skip to main content

How stupid are they?

 In the US dozens of children are killed every month by guns and hundreds of people in total, and yet lawmakers, mainly Republicans, doggedly stick to their mantra of their right to bear arms.  When the Constitution was written there were no rapid fire rifles, machine guns and the myriad of other weapons that are now to be found everywhere in the States.  In addition, the right to bear arms was intended for men to come to the help of law enforcers and even military, in time  of need.  It's intention was not for every person in the country to hold multiple weapons in their homes or for the children to be the targets.  A Senator this morning said that it is the fault of people with mental health problems, get them identified and the killing will stop.  When they can't accept their own mental incapacity to see that they are aiding and abetting the killers by refusing to take the necessary steps to curb gun ownership, then how are they any better than the killers?

The States is the only country in the world where children in school are mown down on a regular basis, and I hear the same pathetic responses from Senators and Congressmen alike, 'our prayers and thoughts are with the families,' 'it's not the guns that kill people,' 'citizens need more sophisticated (read powerful and deadly) guns to protect themselves', 'it's our human right to own guns.'  Tell that to the children.  They don't need thoughts and prayers, they need to be safe, to feel safe.  

My children went to school in New York.  It was a violent time with race riots and killings every day but they didn't gun down innocent children at school and ordinary citizens didn't own assault rifles.  I am glad I don't live there now and that is a  sad reflection on a city I love.

While the protesters were out in France yesterday friends and I were enjoying wine tasting at the Chateau de Targe.  What a contrast.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Playing by ear

My father could play the piano.  Not an unusual skill but he was deaf.  He lost his  hearing fighting in the army in India in the 30s so he was an adult when he lost it and therefore remembered tunes, even though he couldn't hear him.  However he didn't have the skill to learn anything new so  either you liked the old music or you didn't.  He used to say that he played by ear and then would roar with laughter.  He would have struggled in many ways with modern living but most of all during the pandemic, he would have lost his ability to communicate as he always lip read.  There must be thousands of people like him today who still rely on reading lips to understand,  in fact all of us do it to some extent, so please be patient if someone is struggling to communicate while you are wearing a mask. I went to the supermarket today and at the check out, the cashier asked me to move the trolley into a particular position.  As I manoeuvred it ...

Mondays

 Last Monday my son and daughter in law were due to catch the 8.15am ferry from Portsmouth to Caen.  It was 6.45am when I stepped out of the shower and heard my phone  going.  I snatched it up.  It was a video  call.  'Mum, we have big problems here,'  and before I could speak he thrust the phone into the hands of a Brittany ferries' staff member and said, 'Talk  to my mum.'  Barely conscious of my wet, tangled hair and trying to cover myself up with a  towel which thought gravity was fun, I asked what the problem was.  Apparently they had the wrong vaccination certificates and were being refused passage.  I asked what I could do and she said they could go and get a test and take a later ferry.  'Where is the nearest test centre in Portsmouth?'  I asked.  'There isn't one,' she replied, 'there  is one in Southampton, or Havant.'  What!  No test centre in Portsmouth?  They both have learni...

Equality

 I don't want to hear another person  say that women should be equal to men.  There is no 'should' about it, women ARE equal to men but they are not treated equally.  It has never occurred to me that I am  not equal to any man.  Am I treated equally?  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  It requires a step change in the way women think of themselves as being equal before we can hope for attitudes, legislation, economics to  follow and that is my rant for the day. Ever since I have lived in France I have noticed a stark difference between the French and the British sense of humour.  The dry, irreverent humour of the British is completely wasted on the French, and the Dutch and the Americans sometimes for that matter.  Clearly the British humour is unique.  Yesterday I gave an article to a French friend to read.  It was a humorous piece, self deprecating about a woman suffering an attack by an insect on her face with hideous result...