Yet Again
AJ Robinson

It's happened, again, on Saturday 11 June 2016. There was another mass shooting in the good old US of A. This time it hit close to home, literally. The Pulse Club is about a mile from our apartment.

The Pulse Club is in my neighbourhood.

I never noticed the Pulse Club before. I've driven by it many, many times. Now, I know everything about it, right down to the layout and number of its bathrooms.

Again, we play out all the usual scenes that follow a mass shooting. First, there is the repetitive media coverage, punctuated by endless showings of the same video clips. Then the questions start: who was the shooter, why did he do it? How many dead, how many wounded?

Although we don't get their names right away, we know that's coming, along with pictures and interviews with friends and family. We'll hear the media pundits regret that so many young lives cut short. Then there is the outpouring of support and grief from people across the country and around the world.

In the Orlando shooting, as it was in a club frequented by members of the LGBT community, we know the rainbow flag will be a prominent fixture. We know that conservatives will be in a quandary. Although they'll yammer on about the shooter as a radical Muslim, the favourite 'whipping boy' for exciting their voting base, the victims aren't the sort of people they want to even acknowledge.

Next, there are the usual speeches from the right and the left.

If only someone in the club had weapons, they could have stopped this maniac. Why do we allow citizens to own assault weapons? Then the media will report on how a majority of Americans are in favour of simple basic gun control like universal background checks, while at the same time gun sales go up.

In the end, nothing will change. We'll go back to business as usual. That is, until the next one, when the process will repeat.

This time, there is one small difference. The shooting not only took place during a presidential campaign, but Dumb Donald is one of the candidates. The day after the shooting, he pretty much outdid himself in his endless spewing of lies and fecal matter.

I hardly know where to start in refuting his boldfaced lies. I think, instead, it's better to compare and contrast his statements with what Hillary has said.

Hillary spoke of unity and fighting radical ideas. She talked of banning AK-14 long rifles or at least making sure that people on the terrorist watch list are not able to buy such military weapons. Trump lied. Hillary wants to repeal the Second Amendment.

Trump fibbed, again.

Of course, Hillary can't do that. Trump said the shooter was an Afghan; another lie. The shooter was born in Queens, New York, where Dumb Donald was also born. Trump also used the shooting as an excuse to renew his call for a ban on Muslims coming into the country. Sorry to sound like a broken record here, people, but, again, that's illegal.

This time Trump boosted his lies by saying thousands of refugees have come in from Syria and that Hillary wants to increase that number. Okay, first, she's never said that; second, we've allowed in less than three thousand. As well, even if it'd been ten thousand, it doesn't change the fact that the man was a native born American.

This time, there is one small difference. The shooting not only took place during a presidential campaign, but Dumb Donald is one of the candidates. The day after the shooting, he pretty much outdid himself in his endless spewing of lies and fecal matter. I hardly know where to start in refuting his boldfaced lies! Instead, I think it's better to compare and contrast his statements with what Hillary has said.

Hillary spoke of unity and fighting radical ideas. She talked about banning such weapons or at least making sure that people on the terrorist watch list not buy guns. Trump lied and said she wants to repeal the Second Amendment. Side note: she can't do that.

Trump said the shooter was an Afghan, which is another lie. The shooter was born in Queens, New York, which is where Dumb Donald was also born. He also used the shooting as an excuse to renew his call for a ban on Muslims coming into the country. Sorry to sound like a broken record here, people, but, again, that's illegal!

This time Trump boosted his lies by saying thousands of refugees have come in from Syria and that Hillary wants to increase that. Okay, first, she's never said that; second, we've allowed in less than three thousand. As well, even if it'd been ten thousand, it doesn't change the fact that the man was a native born American!

Finally, we come to the big one, the super lie that is almost an act of treason. Now Trump is suggesting President Obama had some hidden agenda for why he's not fighting terrorism hard enough. This is red meat for the conspiracy theorists and birthers, but for a man seeking the highest office in the land it is beyond contemptible, it's downright criminal! I don't know what's sadder, him saying these things, people actually believing him or that we're just going to go through this sad affair again all too soon.

Oh, and when the Pulse Club re-opens, maybe my family and I will make a point of stopping by for a drink. Orlando Remains Strong!