I was at a rather crowded Starbucks when I saw the news of the Odessa shooting.

[Initech]

The only thing I could think about was: "what if?". This is an extremely disturbing thought to have just getting an ice tea, but it's a common occurrence anymore.

When you have magazines and ammunition capable of taking out a small army, and said magazines and ammo can get in the hands of literally anyone, we're all sitting ducks. Once that trigger is pulled, no lives matter.

This is not normal. Something needs to be done. Unfortunately our Senate Majority Leader is too chicken shit to do anything about it.

[at140]

1. Something good will happen after Trump loses in 2020

and McTurtle is no longer ML.

[HipChick]

2. I was at a place last night....

too tired to cook dinner, stopped to pick up something...the place was having Family night, with a big old drive in movie type screen playing a movie...families sitting on blankets, eating watching the movie....I almost stayed, until a woman beside me,grabbed her meal, her 2 kids, and looked at me and just shook her head...I know what she was thinking, because I'd just had the same thought.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. This atmosphere of fear diminishes our communities, isolates us and...

further divides us. It's exactly what the extreme right-wing wants: forcing us to stay home where we can easily be influenced by TV and social media rather than a healthy exposure to community.

This is a sad and destructive environment we now live in......

[MsLeopard]

14. Spot on.

The oligarchs, the dictators they support, all want us divided and fighting each other. It’s been a long-standing plan the Thuglicans have been running since the late 70s. After 1981, when Reagan ordered Civics to no longer be taught in schools it represented the beginning of the dumbing down of American citizens necessary to “Keep ‘em stupid, tell ‘em they’re better than the person of color competing with them, and they’ll willingly let you pick their pocket.” Paraphrasing LBJ.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

16. Thanks for that. I forgot to add the dumbing down part.

They only want us to have knowledge required to hold down some job......

Arts and humanities are useless to the oligarchs.......

[Grammy23]

3. The saddest thing I heard at the news conference following this shooting

Was the emergency physician (an Iraq war veteran with 10 years served) was that Americans everywhere do like the hospital in Odessa has done — prepare for a mass casualty event. Every man, woman and child needs to be prepared to offer help to the victims for Life Support and other emergency measures, It sickened me to hear him say that because he was admitting that these events will continue and no one is safe. His quote....not a matter of IF but WHEN.

So are we now required to live like this? No place is safe. School, church, sporting events, shopping malls, anywhere. I guess that means the NRA has won if we’re prepared to say all we can do is tend to the wounded and comfort the dying.

[Crunchy Frog]

4. This is how America has chosen to live.

I try to tune it out and hope that it doesn't happen to me or my family.

[MyOwnPeace]

6. The SAD thing is (well, there are many)............

the MAJORITY has NOT chosen this - Moscow Mitch and his gang have made us his bitches - and he's laughing all the way to the bank.

[MyOwnPeace]

5. I keep wondering.............

just WHAT IS the thing that will be the "final straw?" Isn't it so pathetically sad when it comes to this:

"So are we now required to live like this? No place is safe. School, church, sporting events, shopping malls, anywhere. I guess that means the NRA has won if we’re prepared to say all we can do is tend to the wounded and comfort the dying."

I'm with 'ya, Grammy - this is NOT the USA that I want to be a part of - and we have NOT done a DAMNED THING about "Making America Great" - quite the opposite.

[Initech]

11. I would think the final straw would be teachers having to learn to sew combat wounds.

But the NRA and gun humpers stoop to new lows on a daily basis so you never know.

[Initech]

12. Not to mention that Chump had to interrupt the back nine to tweet about it.

[BigmanPigman]

15. I saw that too.

I wondered if this was a valid, realistic suggestion like learning CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver or was he normalizing the issue. Who the Hell wants to live in a world like this? 89% of ALL Americans want gun control...we have to hit the GOP and NRA! He have to nail McConnell too. He is the single most important
greedy bastard that is indirectly allowing people to be murdered. He needs to be removed ASAP! I will not normalize this shit!

[world wide wally]

7. Hopefully someday in the future we will look back and see how fucking braindead we were.

[UniteFightBack]

9. You're not alone. Here and there I'm having those thoughts too. nt

[TeamPooka]

10. So the Starbucks is just product placement in this story?

I expected more from this post, like how the crowd reacted and what happened there when people learned the news.

[Initech]

13. No, I actually was at a Starbucks.

It was at the mall, I can't imagine people would react any differently.