Nashville School Shooting

On Monday we learned of yet another tragic shooting in a school in the USA (only in the US do we read of such occurrences, although worse massacres happen elsewhere we do not read about), with teachers and pupils among the victims. I will not elaborate given a simple Google search on the title of this blog will provide pertinent details from several news outlets. But first, let us mourn over and remember the victims of the Nashville School Shootings.

It is now a regular occurrence when we learn of yet another gunman (in this case it was a woman that identifies as a man), usually angry and disturbed, who heavily armed goes into a school, kills whoever he / she can and is finally gunned down. This is inevitably followed by shock and horror on the part of the public at this latest outrage, with fuel being added to the debate about disarming civilians.

Before tackling aspects of the shooting not well covered from what I could make out after a cursory reading of hits that were thrown up following my Google search, I would like to state my position, which regrettably has incurred the irritation or worse of a number of good Christian folk. I begin with another Google search result: “The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The Second Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms” and an observation that right now the US First Amendment is under attack with moves going through the US legislature (as well as in the UK) to restrict freedom of speech, supposedly to protect citizens, as well as further moves toward civilian gun control, in response to the latest mass gun shooting, resulting in that right to bear arms being taken away.

I admit it, as a UK citizen the fact its citizens are not allowed to own guns appears on balance a good thing. Yet in the USA the situation appears a whole lot different. Many who I regard as the good guys (even if I don’t agree with all they say but then I usually disagree even more with their detractors), for example MAGA Republicans, Fundamentalist Christians and the sort back in the day Hillary might have labelled “deplorable”, believe this should be allowed. They see the right to bear arms as important, arguing the 2nd Amendment came into being in the first place as a check against government tyranny and overreach and point to countries of what happened when gun ownership was removed. They feel even more strongly in the light of recent government overreach and moves to curtail free speech in the USA, along with calls to defund the police and examples of escalating violence. Their argument is as peaceful, law abiding citizens they should be allowed to defend their families.

There is so much going on in the world that is highly significant, so I can understand it, although a lot of what I consider significant is not covered (and is one reason why I blog) but there appears not much reaction to the latest school shootings. One friend did post though concerning Republican Congressman Andy Ogle, a picture of him and his family holding guns on their last Christmas Card. I noted in yet another Google search of him being confronted by a news reporter with a question Ogle and others might see as designed to entrap him, regarding the appropriateness of doing so in the light of this latest gun outrage. His response was pretty lame and while I need to know more before coming to a view, he may have been unwise to have sent cards out with that photo. But then, who am I or any of us to judge? That didn’t stop my friend and his friends, who I guess are better Christians than I, for commenting on the photo with their righteously indignant tut tuts (I mentioned this in my recent Alex Jones blog. Alex, unsurprisingly, is someone we might expect to give a view.that isn’t mainstream.) Edit: a friend pointed out to me that other Christians who I once saw as being on my own theological wavelength expressing similar views to those of my Facebook friends: “Premier Christian Radio were quick to blame the Christians: ‘American gun culture driven by Christians’“

It got me thinking on responses that could have been made that weren’t, starting with the horror we all shared on the tragedy that took place and offering the view that our indignation should be directed toward those who perpetrated that tragedy rather than those peace-loving citizens who chose to arm themselves as a defence and deterrent against similar happenings on their watch. Unapologetically, I do not believe disarming US citizens to be the answer, even though that call is being made, including by (fake) President Biden. For those who feel disempowered on the matter, I would affirm the Gospel is the right response as it is this what provides an alternative to such hatred. This brings to an aspect that doesn’t get reported, linked to the statement by the Police Chief dealing with what happened who soon after answered questions concerning what took place, including the police response (which seemed to have been an appropriate one), but making the point we don’t know the motive behind the killings. I think we do have enough to go on, including statements by the killer her / him self before the killing took place, in order to come to a view.

Of interest (to me at least) is that the killing was done by someone identifying as transgender (noting a backlash with accusations of transphobia when she / he was misgendered) on a fundamentalist leaning Christian school (a soft target if ever there was one) in a State that has done more than most according to trans activists to stand in the way when it comes to backing transgender rights. One story that got me righteously indignant as well as interested in the light of what I see as going on in the wider culture, which I recently blogged about (see here) is titled “LIBBY EMMONS: The ‘Trans Vengeance’ movement has led to a series of assaults and now the murder of Christian children”:

“A shooting at the Christian Covenant School in Nashville on Monday was carried out by a woman who identified as transgender. Dressed in a backward ball cap, camo pants, and a vest, Audrey Hale shot out the doors of the school and wandered around seemingly aimlessly looking for people to kill as the alarms blared. Speculation mounted on social media that Hale’s status as a trans person contributed to the anger that led to the shooting, while drawings done by Hale, an artist an illustrator, made their rounds just as Hale’s social media accounts were scrubbed. It’s not clear if Hale being trans played into the motive to murder three children and three adults, but what is clear is that violence, and calls for violence, from the very vocal camp of trans activists. A group called the Trans Resistance Network has taken some claim to the crime, saying that while they “do not claim to know the individual or have access to their inner thoughts and feelings,” they “do know that life for transgender people is very difficult, and made more difficult in the preceding months by a virtual avalanche of anti-trans legislation, and public callouts by Right Wing personalities and political figures for nothing less than the genocidal eradication of trans people from society.” Tennessee recently banned drag shows for kids, child sex changes, and biological males competing in women’s sports. This legislation is seen as actual violence against trans people when in reality it is about protecting children from permanent harm. A Trans Day of Vengeance has been scheduled by Antifa and trans activists for April 1 at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC. The vengeance is being organized by Our Rights DC, which is part of the Antifa group Antifascist Action in partnership with the Trans Radical Action Network. Their goal is “stop trans genocide,” despite the fact that there is no trans genocide”.

When it comes to alternative perspectives relating to the Nashville shootings, unsurprisingly we need to go to Alternative media. The following links I have checked out and believe these to be pertinent:

1. Kate Dalley Has Questions About Missing Details of Nashville Trans Shooter Case
2. THEY ARE KILLING OUR CHILDREN! WITH CHAS CARTER & CHARLIE WARD
3. Tucker: The Trans Movement Is Targeting Christians
4. Paul Joseph Watson – About the Nashville School Shooting by a trans

I am not going to give a synopsis about what was said, which except in the Tucker case would not have come up in the afore-mentioned Google search and I would be surprised if the righteously indignant friends of my friend who posted the photo would have checked these out. (It highlights to me the human tendency (me included) of being informed by those who think similarly, and wittingly or no, our perceptions are governed by what the “Unholy Trinity” tell us). I sense that now with the shooting 5 days back, the media will focus again on transgender outrage rather than silencing the Christian voice. I am no transphobe and I do not feel the need to repeat my previously expressed views, including people should be free to identify as whatever gender or faith he / she / they choose.

Some may deem this to be irrelevant compared with the tragedy of what took place, yet it cannot be ignored as we seek to make sense of what is going on around us. The most disturbing consideration from those links concern unanswered questions. There may more to the shootings than that reported, to which I add my standard rider.