Rubio's Shining Moment

michaelmhughes

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday February 12, 2013 · 10:29 PM PST

2013/02/12 · 22:29

The real story behind Marco Rubio's infamous, awkward gulp of water.

michaelmhughes

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 19, 2012 · 7:26 PM PST

2012/12/19 · 19:26

Newtown, Guns, and Orchids

michaelmhughes

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 19, 2012 · 2:31 PM PST

2012/12/19 · 14:31

Adam Lanza’s mother, Nancy Lanza, was a kind, decent woman and a loving mother, according to those who knew her. And I’m sure they are telling the truth, and my heart goes out to those who will miss her presence in their lives.

But I can’t stop asking myself a few important questions.

What if Nancy Lanza hadn’t been an avid collector of guns, including assault weapons? What if, instead, she’d collected orchids?

What if, instead of taking her troubled son to shooting ranges, where he learned proficiency in manipulating machines of death, she had instead taken him on hikes, to concerts, or to art museums?

And those questions, in turn, raise a few more questions I’d like to direct at people who find collecting and shooting guns to be a meaningful—or even essential—part of their lives:

Do you really need guns in your life to make you happy or secure? What is it, exactly, about guns that you find so fascinating?

Might your time and energy be better spent doing other things that don’t involve fondling, admiring, and firing machines designed solely to kill other human beings?

(Caveat: If you’re a hunter, fine—a gun is a tool to feed yourself and your family. If you want a gun for protection, I can handle that, too, as long as you keep it safely locked away.)

(Caveat to my caveat: I have an innate revulsion when it comes to guns, and as far as I'm concerned they are universal shit magnets.)

It’s the fetishization and collection of these death machines that has never made any sense to me.

No one can say what would have happened if Nancy Lanza had collected rare orchids instead of deadly weapons. But I think it’s worth asking questions, even if they make some people uncomfortable.

RSS

Rubio's Shining Moment

Yes, the Maya are Very Much Alive

Newtown, Guns, and Orchids