Irony

The Meriam-Webster dictionary defines “irony” this way:

irony ˈīrənē

plural ironies

2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

   b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony

   c : an ironic expression or utterance

I cannot decide if the Vice President is being ironic or if he simply fails to see the irony in his words. In his speech to a Texas audience, Pence totted-out a bunch of the right’s favorite time-worn tropes, and then Pence concluded his remarks on Parkland with a call for prayer, while “Washington and the media are running to their predictable debates.

So, the left has “Predictable Debate” and the Right doesn’t?

My Republican Talking Points Bingo Card never fails to win. In one diagonal line, I have “…let the police have the tools they need to do the job,” “…not the time to discuss gun control,” “…the gunman had to be mentally disturbed,” “…thoughts and prayers,” and the classic “…good guy with a gun.” That is five platitudes in a row and I don’t even need the “Free Square” in the middle to get a ‘B-I-N-G-O!”

The problem with each of these clichés is that they are so transparently meaningless that the irony has lost its appeal.

“Give the police the tools and support they need to do their jobs.”

Runs one of the Right’s talking points. The problem is that they don’t WANT to let the police do their jobs nor do they want to give the police the support they need. In fact, the right is actively trying NOT to do this. A majority of the Police Chiefs in the US oppose the Concealed Reciprocity act the Right still actively supports it.

“Now is not the time to have the debate about Gun Control.”

If not now… When!? If you’re going to wait for a time when there has not been a mass shooting, you’re going to be waiting a LONG time! There have been 18 mass shootings in the past 45 days – how many more shootings are we going to have to allow to pass before it IS the right time?

“The gunman was mentally disturbed.”

This trope is alternatively stated as “confused” or “evil” or “Muslim” to suit the situation. The problem with this trope is that it distracts from the main point. The crazy (or confused, or Muslim) person committed the crime with a gun! That is the commonality here!

“We offer the people of [insert detail here] our thoughts and prayers.”

…and nothing else is how this sentence should end. It is another way of saying “we do not care enough about this to actually do anything about it!

 And of course the king of all inanities:

“The only thing that beats a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!”

To this, I have one word: BULLSHIT! The US has more guns in circulation than any other country in the world – we also have more gun crime than any other country! Granted post hoc ergo propter hoc is a logically fallacy and we should not imply that the gun crime in the use is due to the ready availability of guns in the US – but, you have to say, that there is a very convincing argument to be made for correlation if not actually for causality.

The right needs to accept the fact, the gun violence issue is at least partly due to the availability of guns. They cannot keep hiding behind the old chestnuts they like to throw-out with alarming precision after every mass shooting.

Wherever you are today, I hope that you will take action – let your representative know your opinion! Be a part of the solution!

Don Bergquist – February 18, 2018 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA