For those of you too young to have experienced the actual duck and cover drills during the 1950’s which I remember well, or haven’t read about them, here’s a bit of history:
“Duck and Cover” – Futile Measures, or a Life-Saving Plan?
Here’s the nine minute video those of us in school at the time were shown in our assemblies:
During the Cold War period we were all afraid of a nuclear attack. I lived in a New York City suburb and remember thinking that drains my bedroom shades at night might protect me if the Russian bombed the city.
I won't show the photos in this diary of children hiding under desks because they are really too upsetting for some people to look at. You can see one example here. Not to state the obvious, but hiding under a desk if there’s a shooter armed with an assault rifle in a school would be about as effective in saving lives as it would be is there was a nuclear attack.
To extend the analogy, McConnell and the GOP solutions to mass shootings which don't address access to assault guns would be similar to saying that the way to have resolved the world coming to the brink of nuclear war was to have everyone have quick access to a bomb shelter instead of working on a nuclear disarmament treaty. Considering the mindset of Republicans I suppose the likes of Marjorie peach tree Greene and Lorena Boebert might argue that it was mutual assured destruction that saved the world so this would justify having teachers wear body armor and carry AR-15’s.
Of course McConnell blamed a "maniac" for Texas killings, doesn’t address possible solutions to recurring mass shootings that might actually be effective and in his three minute Senate speech didn’t even mention guns.
McConnell has several nicknames and just earned himself a new one:
Massacre Mitch
The backstory: In the aftermath of two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio in August 2019, the hashtag #MassacreMitch trended on Twitter.
The nickname came from critics who placed much of the blame for the shootings, which claimed 22 lives in El Paso, Texas, and nine more in Dayton, Ohio, at the feet of McConnell, who has blocked gun control legislation in the past.
How McConnell reacted: Following the El Paso shooting, McConnell wrote in a tweet on Aug. 3 that the the "entire nation is horrified" by the "senseless violence." A few days later, McConnell said in a statement that Senate Republicans were ready to "engage in bipartisan discussions of potential solutions to help protect our communities without infringing on Americans’ constitutional rights."
McConnell did not directly comment on the "Massacre Mitch" nickname.
'Massacre Mitch':McConnell gets new nickname after mass shootings
There are many reports like this of what happens to the body when hit by an AR-15 bullet compared to a pistol round. I think every member of Congress should be shown videos like this one of an AR-15 bullet being fired into ballistic gel. .