Here We Go Again

Every time there's a mass shooting, some idiot Republican trots out the same old tired lies, the most egregious of which is the "good guys with guns" nonsense. This time it was Trump:

"But, this isn't a guns situation, we could go into it, but it's a little soon to go into it," said Mr. Trump. "Fortunately somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction.

This is -- like 90% of what Trump says -- just plain false. According to local law enforcement:

Sheriff Tackitt said he believed the gunman went around the outside of the church firing rounds before entering and shooting at parishioners. After he left the church, he and an armed bystander engaged in a brief “firefight” before Mr. Kelley got into his vehicle, according to the sheriff. The gunman had dropped his rifle in the church after slaughtering the parishioners; he pulled a pistol during his exchange with the bystander.

Mr. Kelley contacted his father from his cellphone during the chase to tell him that he had been shot, according to law enforcement. Mr. Kelley told his father that he “didn’t think he was going to make it.” He subsequently shot himself, though officials said they were not yet sure if that shot had caused his death.

The murderer had already killed his victims, abandoned the murder weapon and left the scene. He was shot at by a bystander, who gave chase. But the killer died by his own hand. A good guy with a gun did not end this situation: the guy stopped killing, left, then shot himself.

Once again, guns are not protection. They can only deliver retribution after the killer has shot and killed 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 100 people. The number of dead is a function of the firing rate of the weapon, its magazine capacity and the real protection the shooter has -- body armor in this case, or the inaccessible firing position of the Vegas shooter.

A clear pattern is developing. These mass murderers are angry white male domestic abusers and gun idolators. The church the Texas killer shot up was where his wife's parents worshiped.

But in a broader context mass murderers are almost always angry, narcissistic, vengeful misogynists, whether they are Muslim truck terrorists, high-school shooters, college shooters or church shooters.

Trump said, "But this isn’t a guns situation. This is a mental health problem at the highest level."

Actually it was a "guns situation" because the guy shot 50 people with a gun. But Trump is right about the last part. This is a mental health problem at the highest level: the presidential level.

Trump shares the same profile as these mass murderers: an angry, narcissistic, vengeful misogynist.

It's no coincidence that we setting records for mass murder under Donald Trump and the Republicans. He and the Republican Party have pushed grievance politics for years, egging the base on to "take back" the country. Trump brags about how he always gets revenge, hitting back 10 times harder than those who cross him. Trump regularly demeans and attacks women.

Trump has no empathy, no sympathy, no self control. Every day he practices verbal mass murder on Twitter and at his press conferences. He does not apologize -- he gets even. His tirades greenlight people who harbor grievances to get their revenge.

Trump and the right constantly rail against "political correctness." They want to freely insult women, gays and minorities, take liberties with women's bodies, beat up gays and Hispanics, and use their political and economic power to intimidate and disadvantage women, gays and minorities. All in an effort to "restore" America to the way used to be: with white men on top, able to get their way every time, taking whatever they want.

"Political correctness" is just a synonym for civil society and the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. By throwing out social norms of conduct, Trump is normalizing narcissism and psychopathy.

And opening the door to endless carnage in our streets, at our concerts, schools and churches.