Tag: gun violence

“Prudent; Rational”

On By Mike U.In Essays, Poetry

“Prudent; Rational”
© 2025 by Michael L. Utley

“I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”  Charlie Kirk, April 2023

…..

San Ysidro McDonald’s massacre, San Ysidro, CA, 1984 – 22 dead/9 injured
USPS shooting, Edmund, OK, 1986 – 15/6

prudent; rational

GMAC massacre, Jacksonville, FL, 1990 – 10/4
Luby’s massacre, Killeen, TX, 1991 – 24/20

prudent; rational

Columbine High School massacre, Littleton, CO, 1999 – 13/24
Red Lake massacre, Red Lake, MN, 2005 – 10/5

prudent; rational

Virginia Tech University massacre, Blacksburg, VA, 2007 – 32/23
Binghamton shootings, Binghamton, NY, 2009 – 14/4

prudent; rational

Fort Hood massacre, Fort Hood, TX, 2009 – 13/31
Aurora theater shooting, Aurora, CO, 2012 – 12/70

prudent; rational

Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, Newtown, CT, 2012 – 27/2
Washington Navy Yard shooting, Washington D.C., 2013 – 12/8

prudent; rational

San Bernardino mass shooting, San Bernardino, CA, 2015 – 14/21
Orlando night club massacre, Orlando, FL, 2016 – 49/53

prudent; rational

Las Vegas Strip massacre, Las Vegas, NV, 2017 – 60/546
Texas First Baptist Church massacre, Sutherland Springs, TX, 2017 – 26/20

prudent; rational

Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School massacre, Parkland, FL, 2018 – 17/17
Santa Fe High School shooting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2018 – 10/13

prudent; rational

Tree of Life synagogue shooting, Pittsburgh, PA, 2018 – 11/6
Thousand Oaks nightclub shooting, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2018 – 12/22

prudent; rational

Virginia Beach municipal building shooting, Virginia Beach, VA , 2019 – 12/4
El Paso Walmart mass shooting, El Paso, TX, 2019 – 22/26

prudent; rational

Boulder supermarket shooting, Boulder, CO, 2021 – 10/0
Buffalo supermarket massacre, Buffalo, NY, 2022 – 10/3

prudent; rational

Robb Elementary School shooting, Uvalde, TX, 2022 – 21/17
LA dance studio mass shooting, Monterey Park, CA, 2023 – 11/10

prudent; rational

Maine bowling alley & bar shootings, Lewiston, ME, 2023 – 18/13
Utah Valley University shooting, Orem, UT, 2025 – 1

prudent; rational

…..

This is only a partial compilation of mass shootings in the U.S between 1982-2024. These instances refer to shootings with double-digit fatalities (except for the final listing, which was not a mass shooting but notable nonetheless for its irony); there are many, many more shootings not included due to limited space. This list by Mother Jones was used in this piece.

Mass shootings are defined as events in which four or more fatalities occur (excluding the shooter). Recent data from Everytown for Gun Safety shows that since 2015, more than 19,000 people have been killed in mass shootings in the United States (all of them presumably prudent, rational sacrifices, according to the late CK), with more than 686 mass shootings in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The statistics for mass shootings with fewer than four fatalities between 2015-2022 represent 95% of all mass shootings, with 3,533 incidents. The US averages more mass shootings than days in the year.

Giffords Law Center reports that more than 46,000 Americans die annually as a result of gun violence. That’s 125/day on average, with more than 461,000 dead since 2015. The number of guns in the United States totals more than 400 MILLION (population ~345 million). This article by The Intercept show that politically red states exhibit much higher levels of gun violence than blue states, in large part due to political ideology and lax gun laws. And with all the dark money flowing into morally corrupt republican politicians’ coffers from the Gun Lobby, this is not surprising. The GOP has sold its soul to the NRA and repeatedly shoots down (pun intended) any attempts by Democrats to pass common-sense gun legislation to curb gun violence and deaths.

Will these deaths be enough to satisfy those who demand blood sacrifice to protect “god-given” rights to amass vast arsenals of weapons and ammunition to achieve some twisted ideal of alpha manhood? Can any gun death be considered “prudent” or “rational?” What have we become when we glorify violence and bloodshed and vilify those who seek to end the carnage of mass shootings and other types of gun violence?

“One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic.” – Joseph Stalin

“She was Six” published at Spillwords Press

On By Mike U.In Poetry62 Comments

Hey, friends. I’m pleased to let you know my poem “She was Six” has been published at Spillwords Press. Sincere thanks to Dagmara K. and her team for sharing this piece with their readers. I’m grateful for this opportunity.

This piece is a commentary on the global epidemic of violence against children, be it right-wing gun fetishism, gang violence, political and religious warfare, inhumane immigration policies, trafficking or other forms of abuse and neglect. Apparently, at some point humanity has decided the deaths of children is an acceptable form of collateral damage as we attempt to kill each other. We have, indeed, lost our way.

“She was Six”
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley

“she was six
and on the wrong side
of a tyrant’s bomb sights
her small broken body
no match for
the shells
and the hell
that befell
her country
city
neighborhood
block
home
her blood the price
of freedom
she was six

she was six
and on the wrong corner
of the wrong intersection
at the wrong time
as gang-bangers
threw lead
and fled
as she bled
just a typical night
in a typical city
she was six…”

You can read the rest of my poem here:

“She was Six” at Spillwords Press

And once you’re there, take some time to check out the work of many other talented writers at Spillwords Press, where you’ll find a treasure trove of good writing.

“Platitudes” (reprise)

On By Mike U.In Poetry33 Comments

(Author’s note: I first posted this piece in March 2024 because my gut told me American democracy would fall in the 2024 elections…and it has. Hatred, fear and lies have ushered in a new, dark world in America as fascists now have power. I am beyond angry and deeply hurt that my fellow Americans have chosen fascism over truth, love and compassion. For now, all I have are these words…and my promise that I will never stop fighting for democracy…)

“Platitudes”
(c) 2024 by Michael L. Utley

the yoke of burdensome veracity
does not comport with those whose vapid souls
would congregate toward lies like moths to flame
and frenzy-feed on poison from the troughs
of those who wish to lead all men astray

thus in the end your heaven’s impotence
could not redeem this unabating hell
and all your pithless ersatz platitudes
lay shattered in inconsequential heaps
the dross of feckless minds and futile means

and though you crow
This truth I know!
as you insist
you ken the gist
of edicts straight
from heaven’s gate
your craven heart
betrays you

this truth I know—that there are those who scheme
to dominate the spineless weak of mind
whose brackish hearts and savage mien await
the opportunity to unleash hate
and spread destruction in their savior’s name

and wear upon their heads their savior’s creed
its name emblazoned red upon their breasts
and armed with flag and gun and profaned cross
prepare to soon fulfill the prophecies
of bloodlust and democracy’s demise

and you proclaim
your savior’s name
on bended knee
and worship he
whose rancid heart
tears souls apart
and vow to kill
to please him

the dove of peace and purity is dead
its carcass desecrated by the mob
its once-white plumage dripping crimson now
as boots stamp restlessly and voices hush
your vulgar gilded calf about to speak

and all the lies of men pour forth as smoke
and all eyes blinded, all hearts burned to ash
and all ears hear the trumpet of the spawn
and all minds bound as one, their task at hand
it’s time to make this country great again

and you shall tread
among the dead
with weapons raised
your savior praised
a new world birthed
now hell on earth
and from above
heaven weeps

the monster you’ve created has no name
its voice the sound of screams and champing teeth
its appetite for wrath insatiable
and as it turns its gaze on you it grins
and now perhaps at last you know the truth

thus in the end your heaven’s impotence
cannot redeem this unrelenting hell
and puerile platitudes cannot assuage
the damnation you’ve brought upon yourself
go forth in horror, your new world awaits

“Platitudes”

On By Mike U.In Poetry39 Comments

“Platitudes”
(c) 2024 by Michael L. Utley

the yoke of burdensome veracity
does not comport with those whose vapid souls
would congregate toward lies like moths to flame
and frenzy-feed on poison from the troughs
of those who wish to lead all men astray

thus in the end your heaven’s impotence
could not redeem this unabating hell
and all your pithless ersatz platitudes
lay shattered in inconsequential heaps
the dross of feckless minds and futile means

and though you crow
This truth I know!
as you insist
you ken the gist
of edicts straight
from heaven’s gate
your craven heart
betrays you

this truth I know—that there are those who scheme
to dominate the spineless weak of mind
whose brackish hearts and savage mien await
the opportunity to unleash hate
and spread destruction in their savior’s name

and wear upon their heads their savior’s creed
its name emblazoned red upon their breasts
and armed with flag and gun and profaned cross
prepare to soon fulfill the prophecies
of bloodlust and democracy’s demise

and you proclaim
your savior’s name
on bended knee
and worship he
whose rancid heart
tears souls apart
and vow to kill
to please him

the dove of peace and purity is dead
its carcass desecrated by the mob
its once-white plumage dripping crimson now
as boots stamp restlessly and voices hush
your vulgar gilded calf about to speak

and all the lies of men pour forth as smoke
and all eyes blinded, all hearts burned to ash
and all ears hear the trumpet of the spawn
and all minds bound as one, their task at hand
it’s time to make this country great again

and you shall tread
among the dead
with weapons raised
your savior praised
a new world birthed
now hell on earth
and from above
heaven weeps

the monster you’ve created has no name
its voice the sound of screams and champing teeth
its appetite for wrath insatiable
and as it turns its gaze on you it grins
and now perhaps at last you know the truth

thus in the end your heaven’s impotence
cannot redeem this unrelenting hell
and puerile platitudes cannot assuage
the damnation you’ve brought upon yourself
go forth in horror, your new world awaits

“A Few Haiku (41)”

On By Mike U.In Poetry47 Comments

(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley

(#241)

semi-auto god
bestows eucharist of lead
solemn school bells toll

…..

(#242)

school halls echo with
screams of dying children and
NRA’s black sins

…..

(#243)

white men with black souls
and guns—God, so many guns–
MAGA paradise

…..

(#244)

bend them ’til they break
then suck the life out of them
my father’s parenting

…..

(#245)

my life etched in runes
incomprehensible script
I can’t decipher

…..

(#246)

creosote bushes
and alkali hardpan
I have no more tears

…..

(Author’s note: some of these pieces were inspired by the recent deadly spate of gun violence in the U.S., including an elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where nineteen children and two teachers were gunned down by a heavily armed young man who recently purchased AR-15 rifles on his 18th birthday and who had posted on social media his desire to do this act. Reports have now surfaced that police officers responding to the incident chose to wait outside the door because they “didn’t want to get shot.” Welcome to America, where there are more guns than people and more mass-shootings than days in the year…)

“She was Six”

On By Mike U.In Poetry40 Comments

“She was Six”
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley

she was six
and on the wrong side
of a tyrant’s bomb sights
her small broken body
no match for
the shells and the hell
that befell
her country
city
neighborhood
block
home
her blood the price
of freedom
she was six

she was six
and on the wrong corner
of the wrong intersection
at the wrong time
as gang-bangers
threw lead
and fled
as she bled
just a typical night
in a typical city
she was six

she was six
and in the wrong classroom
at the wrong school
as a true patriot
flexed his might
and exercised his 2A right
to murder school children
another day
in the USA
she was six

she was six
and the wrong color
at the wrong border
snatched from her parents
caged like an animal
lost in the system
as racist thugs
praise god and country
and build their wall
one sin at a time
she was six

she was six
and the wrong religion
in the wrong village
her captors didn’t care
she didn’t last long enough
to stain their conscience anyway
all in the name of god
she was six

she was six
and on the wrong side of town
hollow eyes and empty stomach
the manic cackle of inhumanity
the soundtrack of her life
bruised body and soul
this dark alleyway to hell
her only escape
she was six

we have lost our way