#207: Is everything normal?
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I’m sure every ape reading this is aware of the mass shooting in Maine that occurred on Wednesday
The alarming nature of this incident is the high death toll, along with the fact that the perpetrator was a veteran
Gun violence is a topic that continuously plagues our society. Can anything be changed?
Hell breaks loose at bowling alley
On October 25th, a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle entered a bowling alley in Lewiston and started targeting the patrons. He then moved on to a restaurant nearby and did the same.
In total, 18 died from this mass shooting and 13 were injured
The perpetrator was Robert Card, former service member and Sergeant First Class in the Army Reserve
Of course, a mass shooting is nothing special. Other than the fact that this was the most deadly shooting of this year so far, many of us are so desensitized to shootings in general that this news just makes us sigh and move on with our day. But let’s take a deeper look into Card and the lead-up to this incident.
“Hearing voices”
No further back than July of this year, Card went through medical evaluation and mental health treatment due to “hearing voices” and even threatened to shoot up an army base. It’s clear that he was not in a stable mental condition, leading many exasperated - is this not an incident that could have been predicted?
Aftermath
Card was found dead two days after the shooting. Lewiston has ended its manhunt, and things can return to normal. But is everything normal?
Following this incident, gun stores in Maine reported a rise in sales. People are scared, understandably, but increasing the net amount of guns in the world cannot bode well for the future.
Are we okay with the fact that a man who was very well trained with firearms, whose mental health issues were made known to his superiors, and who had acted erratically was still able to do this?
President Biden called on Congress for help, stating “Americans should not have to live like this,” but we’ve heard this kind of response many times before. Not just from Biden, but from Trump, Obama, Bush, and as far back as I can remember. Let’s hope that some kind of change will come out of this
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