The story is a familiar one; its venue, any town in any county in any state:
"A heavily armed young man barged into his former high school … opening fire on terrified students and teachers and leaving a death toll of 17 that could rise even higher…. The gunman — [described by acquaintances as 'quiet,' 'weird,' 'shy' and 'a loner'] — [was] armed with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle…. In addition to the rifle [the shooter] had 'countless magazines.'"
A local official said the killer had been treated at a mental health clinic, a fellow student said he recognized the shooter from an Instagram photo in which he "posed with a gun in front of his face," and another student recalled him "posting on Instagram about killing animals." Said the superintendent of schools: "Typically you see in these situations that there potentially could have been signs out there…. We didn’t have any warnings."
Said the county sheriff: "There really are no words." Sure there are. Said the school superintendent: "Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel." Sure they can. "My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting," wrote the president on Twitter. He thereby laid out the nation's official gun control policy and carefully planned post-massacre response: Wait for the next mass killing [update: the "18th" has been edited out] and then convey "prayers and condolences." All without ever doing a damn thing, making mass shootings of schoolchildren among the simplest of tragedies to address.
We all know the drill. "This" is also not the time to discuss a change in gun policy, so that maybe another quiet, shy, demented teenager won't have easy access to an AR-15 assault rifle and "countless magazines."
I cannot imagine the hellish torment that dozens of parents are going through this morning. I can, however, imagine the matitudinal thoughts of Second Amendment pols. They go with the drill. "OK, I'll offer prayers and condolences, I'll insist this isn't the time to debate policy, I'll slap on a bereaved, very solemn demeanor, and above all I'll protect my NRA rating." If it means being reelected, they really can't care if children die.
I believe I'll save this post in a copy-and-paste file, so that next time a school slaughter occurs, as it most assuredly will, I won't need to give it any more thought than would a Second Amendment pol. I'll just copy this post and paste it up — for the school and the town and the reactions make no difference; the story is always the same.