Foiled by Facebook

You know I was off Facebook for about a year and a half, and life was pretty darn sweet. For the most part, I was relaxed, calm, and in a good mood. I was blissfully ignorant about all that was happening with my "friends." Then I accidentally hit a button, and I was back on the book. However, this time I took precautions for the benefit of my emotional well-being by hiding close to everyone except Moms Demand Action and its sister organizations. I was not going to be bothered by photos of what people made for dinner, envious of the fabulous nights out people were having, annoyed by photos of pre-teens standing with their hands on their hips as though they are posing for paparazzi on the red carpet, or disgusted by comments made by my friends' friends.

It's been three months since I rejoined, and let's just say things are grim again. When you remove everything except something that is, at its core, so negative, your news feed becomes quite dark. Everyone hears about the mass shootings, but not everyone hears about the mom in North Carolina who shot her children's father right outside the elementary school while children looked on in horror. Or the thirteen-year-old boy in Indiana who shot a three-year-old because he didn't realize the gun he was playing with was real. Or the South Dakota man who killed his wife, four children, set their house on fire, and then killed himself. Or the Alabama man who sat down in church next to his girlfriend and then shot her in the shoulder, their infant son in the hand, and then the preacher in the leg. All these incidents, and loads more, happened within the past three days. I'm telling you; it's grim. 

I know I'm supposed to be inspired to act but, to be honest, it's starting to feel like there's no way to change Americans' minds about guns. They want them. They think they need them. They believe they're safer with them even though statistics prove that they are not. Everyone needs to get a clue. Perhaps if everyone read what I'm reading..... It all boils down to this. The risk of harm is greater if you have a gun. It's greater. 

Just ask this guy from the best article I read on Facebook this week. Click and read. Thanks for that one, Facebook. Really.