Saturday, August 29, 2015

Bullets

  • I'm a moderate when it comes to gun control. Yes, I'm one of those "my family had guns" kind of liberals, but after a shooting like the one that happened in Virginia, liberals and lefties are too quick to jump on gun control as the sole solution, and conveniently ignore the issue when there hasn't been a high-profile shooting. I'm not saying everyone should have absolute access to firearms, no checks, no standards (and there's no reason for civilians to own assault weapons, period), but "keeping the guns away from the crazies!" won't solve gun violence. Mentally ill people are more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators, but I do think we need to talk about men and mental illness, since the link among all theses shootings is men. Men are less likely to seek treatment, and when they do, more likely to present as angry rather than depressed.
  • I have a great Skip Gates quote I want to share but he uses the n-word. Writer brain says post quote in full, no editing, no apologies, and for fuck's sake, no TW. Practical brains says, eh, most people disagree -- at least, most of the people I'm writing for will disagree, but I'm unsure who my audience is anymore. I hate sanitizing a writer's words, particularly one as well-respected as Skip Gates who is, oh yeah, fucking allowed to use that word. And I should be able to quote him properly.
  • Not that anyone should rely on an online test for a diagnosis (of course!), but I took one for ADHD and scored off the charts (which doesn't at all shock me). One of the questions roughly asked, "When you read, do you impatiently skip ahead?" People read books word-for-word, in chapter order? Amazing!