Friday, October 30, 2015

A Depressing Thought

So it seems that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will be extended until 2017 or so...or until the next president extends it again because we're this close to turning the corner....

So when I read this piece by David Swanson, I realized he'd put his finger on it:


The idea that year 15 or year 16 is going to go better in Afghanistan than the first 14 years have gone is based on no evidence whatsoever, but merely the hope that something will change combined with a misguided and arrogant sense of responsibility to control someone else’s country. As numerous Afghans have been saying for nearly 14 years, Afghanistan will be a disaster when the U.S. occupation ends, but it will be a larger disaster the longer it takes to do so.

Afghanistan need not be “abandoned.” The United States owes Afghanistan reparations in the form of significant actual aid, the cost of which would of course be less than that of continuing the war.

Student of history that I am, I did some cursory Googling of the history of Western involvement in Afghanistan (another good article here). The British originally sent an army there in 1839, in part to thwart perceived Russian influence in the region.  The Afghans rose up, and in 1842 drove the invading army out of Kabul:

On January 6, 1842, the British began their withdrawal from Kabul. Leaving the city were 4,500 British troops and 12,000 civilians who had followed the British Army to Kabul. The plan was to march to Jalalabad, about 90 miles away.
The retreat in the brutally cold weather took an immediate toll, and many died from exposure in the first days. And despite the treaty, the British column came under attack when it reached a mountain pass, the Khurd Kabul. The retreat became a massacre.
Slaughter in the Mountain Passes of Afghanistan
A magazine based in Boston, the North American Review, published a remarkably extensive and timely account titled “The English in Afghanistan” six months later, in July 1842. It contained this vivid description (some antiquated spellings have been left intact):
On the 6th of January, 1842, the Caboul forces commenced their retreat through the dismal pass, destined to be their grave. On the third day they were attacked by the mountaineers from all points, and a fearful slaughter ensued…
The troops kept on, and awful scenes ensued. Without food, mangled and cut to pieces, each one caring only for himself, all subordination had fled; and the soldiers of the forty-fourth English regiment are reported to have knocked down their officers with the butts of their muskets.
On the 13th of January, just seven days after the retreat commenced, one man, bloody and torn, mounted on a miserable pony, and pursued by horsemen, was seen riding furiously across the plains to Jellalabad. That was Dr. Brydon, the sole person to tell the tale of the passage of Khourd Caboul.
More than 16,000 people had set out on the retreat from Kabul, and in the end only one man, Dr. William Brydon, a British Army surgeon, had made it alive to Jalalabad.

The above history lesson is offered without further comment.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Coincidence? I Don't Think So

One of my running buddies just doesn't get Chuck Norris jokes.  He says things like, "Why would I want to read about a washed-up, B-list actor anyway?"

That, my friends, is precisely why such jokes are still funny.

Anyway, I ran across this children's book at a large, major retailer the other day and snapped this photo:



It shows a bearded Jesus holding a happy kid.  The Jesus picture looks exactly like Chuck Norris. 

Coincidence ?  I don't think so.


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Where I Run: Clay Hill Road

Took this shot as I was nearing my home after having been dropped off by the bride for a run.

The pasture was full of black beef cattle--Angus, I suppose--all identical except for one steer with white highlights on his face:

[image credit Gary]



And a close-up of the cute little critter:


Monday, October 26, 2015

The Difference Between a Runner and a Jogger...and Ultrarunning

I think it was the late Dr. George Sheehan, who played so large a part in the running boom of the 70s and 80s, who famously said "The difference between a runner and a jogger is a number."

Specifically a race number:

[image credit Gary]

Younger runners today would be well served by picking up and reading one of his books.  Your life might change, seriously.

Anyway, over the weekend I took Mister Tristan (the 7 year old human being, not the blog) to run his very first race.  It was a kids race, a 1K, but it came complete with all the swag to help get a kid motivated: T-shirt, finisher's ribbon, actual course timing and a finish line chute...and a number bib.

It was the number bib that made him feel as though he was a runner.

So now he is.  He wants to run again as soon as possible.

As for Ultrarunning, on my part, after the kids' race I ran a 5K with the adults, my first race in many months.  I can't tell  you how motivating and exciting it was.  Granted, I was old and slow, but for the first time in awhile I felt like a runner.  A runner.  It's been a very unmotivated 2015 for a variety of reasons.

Looking ahead now to find a suitable Ultra so I can run some trails, with a number bib pinned on me.


Sunday, October 25, 2015

Cats in Art: Two Gypsies With a Cat (Mueller)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.




Image credit Ludwig Museum, Two Gypsies With a Cat, Otto Mueller, 1927, oil on canvas, 27" x 20", held by Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany.

Zuiffi's comment:

Mueller often painted nudes and Gypsy women: in this painting, two semi-nude Gypsy women in a humble interior setting are accompanied by the inevitable cat--companion of fortune-tellers and necromantic seances--that is visible in silhouette on the windowsill.

This is an unusual painting.  Maybe I don't hang in the right circles, but I doubt that many households have the women lounging around undressed as these are.  Not being prudish here, just observing that this is outside of my realm of experience.  But then, I'm not a Gypsy either.

And the kitty certainly has a scrawny neck.






Friday, October 23, 2015

Magna Carta, Dick Cheney, and "The Foulness of Hell"

Listening to Public Radio a couple of days ago, I heard a great piece on the Diane Rehm show with author Dan Jones on his new book, Magna Carta. Here is the Amazon link (note that I have no financial interest).

The blurb from the Amazon site to set the stage:

On a summer's day in 1215 a beleaguered English monarch met a group of disgruntled barons in a meadow by the river Thames named Runnymede. Beset by foreign crisis and domestic rebellion, King John was fast running out of options. On June 15 he reluctantly agreed to fix his regal seal to a document that would change the world. A milestone in the development of constitutional politics and the rule of law, the "Great Charter" established an Englishman's right to Habeas Corpus and set limits to the exercise of royal power. For the first time a group of subjects had forced an English king to agree to a document that limited his powers by law and protected their rights. 

But what I really want to highlight is this great contemporary quote, either from the Amazon site or on the radio show (or both) about the very unpopular King John:

“When the chronicler Matthew Paris reflected on the fate of John’s soul twenty years after his death, he famously declared that “England reeks with John’s filthy deeds; the foulness of Hell is defiled by John.”

I couldn't help but see a parallel between this description of King John in the 1200s and my feelings about one Dick Cheney, once he leaves this earth and makes his inevitable way to Hades.

The foulness of Hell is defiled by Dick.  Kinda has a ring to it, no?

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Anti-war, Anti-gun? I Guess Not.

A month or so ago I posted about cranking the music while boating around in my minivan, and noted that I particularly like this tune for this purpose.

Turns out I've always garbled the lyrics, thinking that the song was an anti-war, anti-gun sort of anthem:

"Born to be Wild"
Get your motor running'
Head out on the highway
Loookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

But what I heard was this: 

Yeah I doubt I'm gonna make it happen
Take the world in a loving place
Buy all of the guns and bust them
Explode 'em to space


Still, it's one of the best minivan tunes ever (YouTube link is here if embed does not work)....although in watching the video, while the band seems to be getting into it, John Kay, the lead singer, seems rather detached as he sings:


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Most Original Cat Name EVER!

One of the heirs to our modest estate recently acquired a stray cat (well, actually, the cat acquired them, as we all know how that really works).

Image credit Gary

In a virtuoso display of kitty-naming prowess, the likes of which the world has seldom seen, they named the cat Mister Kitty**.

Of course, I always maintain that we don't actually name our pets; rather, we call them something, as we can never truly know what they call themselves.


**For the record, Mister Kitty is one of the sweetest, friendliest cats I have ever met.  He just needs a better name  to be called something better.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Cats in Art: Caprichos - Plate 43: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (de Goya y Luciendes)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.

Sorry for the delay from my normal Sunday publication date.



Image credit francisodegoya website, Caprichos Plate 43: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, aquatint and etching; size and holder not specified.

Seems that there's a story about the Los Caprichos series of etchings:

Los Caprichos are a set of 80 prints in aquatint and etching created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1797 and 1798, and published as an album in 1799. The prints were an artistic experiment: a medium for Goya's condemnation of the universal follies and foolishness in the Spanish society in which he lived. 
The criticisms are far-ranging and acidic; he speaks against the predominance of superstition, the ignorance and inabilities of the various members of the ruling class, pedagogical short-comings, marital mistakes and the decline of rationality. Some of the prints have anticlerical themes. Goya described the series as depicting "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance or self-interest have made usual".
The work was an enlightened, tour-de-force critique of 18th-century Spain, and humanity in general. The informal style, as well as the depiction of contemporary society found in Caprichos, makes them (and Goya himself) a precursor to the modernist movement almost a century later. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters in particular has attained an iconic status. 

As I regards this plate, the critters seem to be owls--lots and lots of owls--perhaps an homage to the presumed wisdom of those feathered friends.  But I think I can detect a kitty--the black thing perched on the sleeping man's buttocks.  Now, it may actually be an owl, but since this is Cats in Art, I pronounce the creature to be a cat.  Case closed.

Who knows what de Goya y Luciendes was trying to convey here: too much thinking is not good?  Wise owls (meaning wisdom, perhaps?) can become transformed into terrifying beasts?  Life is to be lived, not just thunk about?

I also promised last week to list a few of the artist's other titles, many of which just sound bizarre.  Here is what I wrote then as a teaser:


The other thing that's cool about de Goya y Lucientes' works as I scrolled through them was his imaginative titles, such as The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.  The paintings I typically feature here in Cats and Art, and in the art world in general, have always, to me, had very measured and conservative titles.
Next week I'll include a list of some more of his zinger titles, along with links to the works so you can see the subject matter.  Here's just one example (unfortunately, sans kitties): Here Comes the Bogey-Man.  I just gotta like the bizarre way this guy thought.


Each painting title is a clickable link:

Why Hide Them?

Unfortunate Events in the Front Seat of the Ring of Madrid

When Day Breaks We Will be Off

Duel With Cudgels

What More Can One Do?

Where is Mama Going?

From any of the links above you can click on The Works button and scroll through some of his images and titles.  It's quite interesting!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Cats in Art

Cats in Art will appear tomorrow rather than its usual Sunday position.  Life is interfering with blogging.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Green Tambourine

From time to time, as a public service, Mister Tristan (the blog, not the 7 year old human being) will present a brief lesson on musical instrument history.

Today is your lucky day.

While driving and listening to Sirius XM Radio recently, the bride and I heard an tune on the Classic Vinyl channel that brought back high school memories.  This 1967 hit, Green Tambourine, from the Lemon Pipers "...  has been credited as being the first bubblegum pop chart-topper" (per the YouTube blurb).  It was catchy, but as the bride always says, "I prefer screaming, like Creedence or The Animals."

If embed does not play, here's the link.




But while it wasn't our cup of tea, this piece of music provides a teachable moment.  What most people don't know about this tune is that while the color of the tambourine in the music video is indeed green, the song is actually a music insider's joke--a not-so-subtle reference to the Green Tambourine Company of Terre Haute, IN.  At the time, Green was (and still is) the nation's premiere maker of orchestral quality tambourines.

It's analogous to having a Stradivarius violin, Martin Guitar, or a Tama or Gretch drum kit...only think of having a Green Tambourine.

Now go back and enjoy the clip again--I can't--for what I have told you is a total fabrication.  See, I gave up playing the tambourine in high school, but I know that if I had just stuck with it, I could have been playing sold-out stadiums by now.  So you understand my bitterness toward the instrument, whoever the hell really makes it.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Fun Shoes...and Ultrarunning

The bride had bought some sandals back in the early part of the summer, and just loved them.  In what may be one of the last warm days we'll have here in southern PA this fall, she wore them again the other day and exclaimed, "These shoes are really fun!"

Now, I can say that I have never made such a comment about of any of my footwear, but I get the idea.

So I asked her, "So when you die, I should bury you in these shoes?  Since they're so fun and all."

She pondered a moment and said seriously, "I'll have to think about that.  Since I'd be wearing them forever, they'd have to go with just about everything."

I just shook my head.  My oldest, most beat-up trail shoes would just work fine for my eternity.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Ghost Gourds and Trail Work


Image credit Gary

Ysetertday was a good day.  A very good day.

I painted these small homegrown birdhouse gourds for a loved one to use as Halloween decorations for a "Haunted Hospital" function at her vet's office.  Coffee cup included for scale, besides the fact that coffee is everything.

The bulk of the day was spent doing some trail work along the Tuscarora Trail north of here.  This was with a crew of 3 long distance hikers who were at Shippensburg University for a hikers' annual gathering with the group ALDHA (Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association). 

The gathering being over, these guys remained to donate a day of trail work. We weedwhacked and cleared blowdown trees from 2.5 miles of the trail, which has been kinda neglected for a couple of years as there is no volunteer overseer for that stretch.

Sunny blue skies, common purpose, stunning autumn foliage along a Pennsylvania ridgetop....doesn't get much better than that!

Which brings me to the topic of nicknames.  The ALDHA hikers I worked with--whose work was greatly appreciated--were trail named Canada Goose, Cool Breeze, and Spirit Hawk.

As we sat around at a picnic table at a convenience store on the way home, enjoying a cold soda, the hikers addressed each other using trail names.  Like "Hey, Canada Goose, how long will it take you to drive back to Quebec?"

Though we had just shared blood, sweat and tears along the trail (literally!), I just could not bring myself to use trail names in conversation; it just seemed too strange.  Of course, as I have previously blogged, I have a strong aversion to nicknames.  You may want to go read that post, here.


Sunday, October 11, 2015

Cats in Art: Caprichos Plate 60: Experiments (de Goya y Lucientes)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi. 



Image credit francisodegoya website, Caprichos Plate 60: Experiments, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, aquatint and etching; size and holder not specified.


I covered a famous image by Francisco de Goya Lucientes for Cats in Art last week, here, which was a traditional oil painting of the time.  For this week I tried scrolling through one of the sites that purport to contain his complete works, looking, of course, for cats.  Part of the way through I came across this unusual pen and ink drawing, or etching, that is part of a larger series of such etchings that de Goya y Lucientes called Los Caprichos.

This strange etching could not be any more different from last week's oil painting.  You have a naked woman who seems to be enjoying herself as she apparently inflicts pain upon some unfortunate guy, a huge demonic goat, a skull, and a couple small animals in the front...one of which is a demonic-looking kitty right there in the front left foreground.  

The cat--despite its small size--looks like it's the hired muscle keeping guard over the proceedings behind.

Seems that there's a story about the Los Caprichos series of etchings:

Los Caprichos are a set of 80 prints in aquatint and etching created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1797 and 1798, and published as an album in 1799. The prints were an artistic experiment: a medium for Goya's condemnation of the universal follies and foolishness in the Spanish society in which he lived. 
The criticisms are far-ranging and acidic; he speaks against the predominance of superstition, the ignorance and inabilities of the various members of the ruling class, pedagogical short-comings, marital mistakes and the decline of rationality. Some of the prints have anticlerical themes. Goya described the series as depicting "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance or self-interest have made usual".
The work was an enlightened, tour-de-force critique of 18th-century Spain, and humanity in general. The informal style, as well as the depiction of contemporary society found in Caprichos, makes them (and Goya himself) a precursor to the modernist movement almost a century later. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters in particular has attained an iconic status. 
[Gary's Note: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters will be right here in this very space next Sunday...betcha can't wait!]

The other thing that's cool about de Goya y Lucientes' works as I scrolled through them was his imaginative titles, such as The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.  The paintings I typically feature here in Cats and Art, and in the art world in general, have always, to me, had very measured and conservative titles.

Next week I'll include a list of some more of his zinger titles, along with links to the works so you can see the subject matter.  Here's just one example (unfortunately, sans kitties): Here Comes the Bogey-Man.  I just gotta like the bizarre way this guy thought.


Saturday, October 10, 2015

Cemetery Sighting

There's a word for people who, well, love cemeteries: taphophilia.  

While that's not exactly me, I do find burial places interesting, even fascinating, and explore them whenever I can.  I always see something novel or puzzling, and come away wondering all those W words: who, what, when, where, and most importantly, why.

This is my latest find:

Image credit Gary, from cemetery beside the Butcher Shoppe on Stouffer Avenue, Chambersburg, PA (may be called Stoufferstown Cemetery)

Bronze military flag holders are probably familiar to most folks, especially those of WWII vets and the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) ones honoring the graves of Union vets of the Civil War.

But this is the first I've ever seen of Spanish-American War vets. Note the "CUBA" at the top.  I need to return to take some more photos: the day I snapped this was blindingly bright and sunny, and I had an impatient little one in tow.  Plus, although this grave is literally right beside the street, it's tucked into in a blind fenced corner with limited access.  Thus I cannot even tell you who is buried here--I just focused on the bronze Spanish-American War veterans' marker.

If you want to read a bit more to catch the flavor of this interest, I encountered an couple of blogs you might want to check outs:

A Strange Case of Taphophilia
The Strange Hobby of Graving

As an aside, from the second link above I note how aficionados of this "hobby" seemingly refer to themselves as "gravers."  I get it--when I was in my teens and 20s I was an avid caver and it always drove me absolutely nuts when people would use the word "spelunker."

People who cave (yes, that's a real verb) never use the word spelunker.  NEVER.  Guess a similar process holds true for taphophiles.


Friday, October 9, 2015

What a Vile Human Being: Ms. Fiorina Endorses Torture

Evidently Carly is just fine with torture.  Link is here.


Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has endorsed waterboarding, the controversial interrogation method that has been called torture, as an important tactic that was used only “when there was no other way to get information that was necessary”.
In an interview with Yahoo News, Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who surged in recent polls of Republican primary voters, said: “I believe that all of the evidence is very clear – that waterboarding was used in a very small handful of cases [and] was supervised by medical personnel in every one of those cases.”
The 2014 Senate report that called waterboarding – in which water is poured over a cloth on a prisoner’s face in order to simulate the feeling of drowning – tantamount to torture and said it produced little useful intelligence. Fiorina called the report “disingenuous” and “a shame” that “undermined the morale of a whole lot of people who dedicated their lives to keeping the country safe”.
Naureen Shah of Amnesty International told Yahoo of Fiorina’s comments: “This is completely rewriting the history of what happened.”

Yet...everything can still be a bit nuanced.  I'm sticking to the title of this piece, "What a Vile Human Being," although a dear friend and I had a large difference of opinion over this one last night at dinner.

He, a former military officer, recalled that during his SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) training, he  and his fellow recruits were briefly waterboarded to demo the technique and familiarize them to it.  His opinion: while unpleasant, it surely wasn't torture.

Plus the fact that he was in the Pentagon fourteen years ago when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into it.  I can see how that experience might make someone hold the opinions he does.


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Bumper Crop of Walnuts

This year, the single Black Walnut tree I have in my old remnant of a farmer's woodlot has gone off the charts in its seed production.

[image credit Gary]


I've gathered a half wheelbarrow with the prospects for another.  Plus Mister Tristan (the 7 year old human being, not the blog), has gathered about a half 5-gal bucket's worth.  I hired him at 10 cents per walnut, but he kinda lost focus and motivation after about 50 or so.

He'll be here again in a couple days to renew the effort.  Oh, and the local squirrels benefit from the pile I will leave them.  They in turn will carry many of the walnuts back into my yard, following their instincts to bury them in the grass, flower beds, and any planters I don't bring in for the winter.  Any walnuts they don't recover for food later will eventually sprout, yielding a robust crop of walnut seedlings next spring.

The walnuts have to be gathered up, otherwise the lawnmower whacks them and sprays juicy green and black pieces all over (they stain, big time!).  Plus walking barefoot on walnuts is not too much fun.

Note that I have a similar acorn "problem" elsewhere on the estate with my treasured White Oak--this year its acorn production is also off the charts.  It's like trying to walk on marbles.


Sunday, October 4, 2015

Cats in Art: Portrait of Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga (de Goya Lucientes)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.  




Image credit Metropolitan Museum of ArtPortrait of Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga, Francisco Goya Y Lucientes, 1788, oil on canvas, 50" x 40", held by Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Zuffi's comments:


The cat in the left--a female, judging by the three colored coat--has eyes that glitter with yearning.  The tabby on the right is more muted, while the black one in the background is almost invisible, except for the two yellow "lamps" focused on its prey.  It is difficult to arrive at a definitive interpretation of Goya;s famous painting, which is thick with symbolic and even Christological hints.  What is certain is that in the artist's incisive work, dense with meaning, the cat always has negative connotations, linked to evil and the demonic.

I personally think Zuffi has dropped the ball on this one.  While I almost always find his analysis to be spot on, in this case, it's like he has just phoned it in, saying, "The cat is evil, as usual."  And I find the magpie's trust to be fascinating--I mean, there are three kitties right over there, and the bird seems totally unconcerned.  Maybe the takeaway is that trust can be found in some strange, unexpected places.

I also found the museum's website to contain some interesting information.  First off, their quick analysis:


The sitter is the son of the Count and Countess of Altamira. Outfitted in a splendid red costume, he is shown playing with a pet magpie (which holds the painter's calling card in its beak), a cage full of finches, and three wide-eyed cats. In Christian art birds frequently symbolize the soul, and in Baroque art caged birds are symbolic of innocence. Goya may have intended this portrait as an illustration of the frail boundaries that separate the child's world from the forces of evil or as a commentary on the fleeting nature of innocence and youth.

But what I really found interesting was the fact that this image is currently not on display. Not on display? WTF???

They must have plenty of art in their vaults to have the luxury of keeping this one under wraps.  One can only hope that they trot it out real soon.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The Latest Shooting

The bride and I have been aways this week, and I was totally unable to work my iPad to do some posts from the road.  Thus Mister Tristan (the blog, not the 7 year old human being) has been dark for the better part of a week.

I found some commentary on the campus shooting in Oregon that I will share, as these snippets capture pretty well my thoughts:

From Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo:
I'm embarrassed to say I get more numb to these shooting tragedies and I think it is because at this point we know with a moral certainty that absolutely nothing will be done to keep guns out of the hands of the rageful, narcissistic, delusional or psychopathic individuals who commit these atrocities. 
As a society, we've made our choice. 
I send my prayers and best wishes to the victims and their loved ones.


From Shakespeare's Sister:

I am already dreading the inevitable "this is not the time for politics" silencing of anyone who quite understandably argues in the wake of another school shooting for stricter gun laws. I am already dreading the inevitable othering of the shooter, trying to cast him as crazy and existing in some kind of vacuum outside the rest of the culture. I am already dreading politicians offering their prayers, instead of any meaningful legislation to prevent more school shootings, which have become so routine they hardly have the capacity to shock any of us anymore, even if we are angered and saddened beyond words.

It’s hurricane season and all along the east coast residents are girding themselves for major weather. Every once in a while a major storm makes landfall and property is destroyed and lives are lost. One hopes that doesn’t happen this year. But natural disasters are a fact of life people just learn to live with. Tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, major floods and fires are considered to be acts of God and while we try to mitigate the damage everyone knows that we cannot stop them.  It’s just the way it is.
In America, gun violence is just another natural disaster. Like an earthquake for which you can never really be prepared, most people have come to see a mass killing like that which happened in Oregon yesterday as being unpreventable. We might as well try to stop the sun from coming up in the morning. All we can do is try to comfort the survivors and help people cope with the aftermath. On any given day we could personally be the victims of gun violence or turn on our TVs and computers and witness some kind of mass shooting, horrifying domestic dispute that ends in carnage, accidents or criminal activity. And that’s normal.


To the rest of the world, this is simply insane. Elsewhere they treat gun violence like a public health threat and limit the public’s exposure to it through strict gun regulation. Different cultures have slightly different approaches but there is no other developed country in the world that treats gun violence as if it were a simple fact of life they must live with.