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Google Any Event, Activity or Circumstance You Want, Plus the Word,"Shooting." No, Really, Do It. [1]

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Date: 2022-07-05

There are times when statistics become white noise, and a politician’s attempt to soothe falls flat. There is very little that changes my mind, or dissuades me from a planned course of action. You see, I wanted, get this, to go out. I wanted to go out.

I was going, to go out dangit! I was going to take my friend up on free baseball tickets, or see a show. I was going to the movies, or to an improv event, something! I was going to get out of this apartment and do something fun. And since it was our anniversary, it was a must.

This was, after all, the gold standard opportunity of professional life, the three day weekend! Three consecutive days of not bouncing work stresses off of one another, of not complaining about a boss, of not wishing it was the weekend. Because at Friday at 4:30, on the first, it was the weekend!

I checked the temps, 102-106, not bad for Arizona. Because of the rapidly deteriorating situation with gas prices, lately there had been a lot of discounts in the entertainment world, which is why I was seeing steep discounts. Most notably, two weeks ago, it was our anniversary. And in another two weeks, another three day weekend! Woo-hoo!

Well, we did something. We ate, and went to an improv show. That weekend we were also enjoying an unexpected drop into the upper 80’s on the night of our anniversary. That left us thinking, what about July 4th? In the two weeks leading up to the 4th, this is what influenced, and eventually, ended our recreational ambitions.

In the week after our anniversary, mass shootings in the United States left a toll of 13 dead, 58 injured. And you know what? In one of the most chilling epiphanies I have ever had, I realized something; by American standards, this week was not that bad.

We move on. Week 2 leading into and including the July 4th holiday.

The next week was much worse, 17 dead, 114 injured, not including of course, the alleged shooter and early frontrunner for the NRA Incel of the Month award, Robert Crimo III, and the tragedy in Highland Park, IL. But it is a curious thing, sometimes, statistics. While his alleged actions represented the worst incident of the week, not the year mind you, just the week, the totals rose to 23 dead, 145 injured in mass shootings this past week.

This. Past. Week.

That shooting accounted for 26 percent of deaths, and 21 percent of injuries for mass shootings in the past week. Which all of this brings me to my original point. On June 30th, I asked my wife if she wanted to go out this upcoming weekend.

The discussion turned to, “Where are we least likely to get shot?”

Not, what is the best deal, most fun, what would our friends like to do, but, least likely to get ourselves shot? Yes. Mind you, we are not paranoid people. We are not easily deterred. But the gun violence in this country has reached a statistical tipping point by which we have concluded only certain events, in controlled environments, even have a chance of getting our patronage.

1. Do you have security?

2. What are the entry and exit point weaknesses? Are there choke points or stampede risks?

3. Will this be a large crowd in an outdoor environment?

4. What is the route to get there? Do we have to go through known road rage hot spots? Yes, there are “road rage hot spots.” There are even online instruction manuals provided by local media giving tips on how to not have one’s head blown off driving to work.

5. Will our phones work at the venue?

6. How late will this leave us out and about?

7. How much alcohol will be served?

And on and on. We now have to make actuarial assessments about any given event. Movie on a Saturday? Forget about it.

One person was injured July 2 in a shooting outside the Movie Tavern Theater in Brookfield, 175 S. Moorland Road. The Brookfield Police Department responded to a shots fired call around 12 a.m., according to a news release. At least two people were shooting at each other in the parking lot of the theater, police said. One person was struck and transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. They were later taken into police custody in connection with the shooting.

We only go to low attendance matinees, cheaper, and less of a target.

Baseball games? The Arizona Diamondbacks do a good job with security getting inside. But I do not like to stand outside waiting to get in. So that is a “no” for a busy game.

Performing arts? No security. Evaluated on a show by show basis.

Concerts? Indoor only.

Festivals? Hard no.

Theme parks? Yes, if metal detectors present.

Now this is only accounting for security, not cost. Generally we only go to these things we only go to if we get very cheap or free tickets, for reasons of economics. But say, we were rollin’ in dough. Think about the people that are. Are they also choosing not to go out? Why is baseball attendance plummeting? If the right wing fails to care about anything else, what about the economy?

In an average year, gun violence in America kills nearly 40,000 people, injures more than twice as many, and costs our nation $280 billion. This staggering figure is higher than the entire US Department of Veterans Affairs’ annual budget. Without a doubt, the human cost of gun violence—the people who are taken from us and the survivors whose lives are forever altered—is the most devastating. But examining the serious economic consequences of gun violence is paramount to understanding just how extensive and expensive this crisis is. And during these times of unprecedented economic uncertainty and stretched-thin health care resources from the coronavirus pandemic, these vast funds could be directed elsewhere if many of these shooting tragedies were prevented from occurring in the first place.

So what was our grand plan for this three day weekend? Get all anticipated needs in, and go nowhere. Nowhere. In fact we only dared to venture out for food. In truth, the situation has worsened so rapidly, we only go to a grocery store late before closing, or very early, and never, if at all possible, at peak times. So on Friday, with a range of options available to us if we wanted to accept the risk, we chose not to accept the risk.

In fact, Google just about anything, plus shooting. Meaning, “baseball shooting” “movie shooting” “barbecue shooting.” Even “shot through apartment wall, shooting.”

What about baby stroller?

Food truck vendor?

Porch?

Beach?

Day care? Doctor’s office, insurance office, jogger, yoga, nail salon, ice cream, Mexican restaurant, hotel, theme park, arcade, VFW, Amazon delivery, mailperson, and parking lot.

We chose to eschew free public events, and cheap baseball tickets. We avoided any festivals, movies on the weekend, or fireworks displays. We went to no neighborhood barbecues, waterparks, or concerts.

And those highlighted links? All incidents since no earlier than April.

So we chose to stay home, and watch Discovery and movies. We chose to not spend, not socialize, not host, not visit, not see new things, not eat new foods. Because if I don’t get shot at the venue, I might get shot driving to the venue. If I don’t get shot driving to the venue I might get shot walking to our car, on the parking lot, to drive to the venue. This is not paranoia. This is the reality of one’s nation becoming a war zone.

I might even be shot in the apartment, if a moron has a gun, but at least there I have a bed to lie in while help comes. And maybe they would find me nursing a wound and watching Youtube, wondering where my story will slot in on their “news” algorithm.

“Man Shot in Tempe Apartment While Doing Absolutely Nothing.”

Because in 2022 America, doing nothing in one’s own home may also be a risk.

-ROC

If you like my work you can support me at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-todd-rule-of-claw-rebuild-life

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/5/2108481/-Google-Any-Event-Activity-or-Circumstance-You-Want-Plus-the-Word-Shooting-No-Really-Do-It

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