The NRA's Shameful Silence

In the wake of yesterday’s deadly shooting rampage in Colorado, President Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, temporarily suspended their campaigns to show respect for the victims and their families.

President Obama released this statement: “Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my Administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded. As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come.”

And Mitt Romney released this: “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence that took the lives of 15 people in Colorado and injured dozens more. We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief.  We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice.”

Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight Rises, issued this: “I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.”

Finally, the National Rifle Association had this to say: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the community. NRA will not have any further comment until all the facts are known.”

One of these statements is not like the others. Although the visual differences are striking enough on their own, let’s recap:

·         Christopher Nolan’s statement: 128 words
·         President Obama’s statement: 126 words
·         Mitt Romney’s statement: 63 words
·         The NRA’s statement: 26 words

Now, to be fair, even the Gettysburg Address was an exercise in brevity, but it’s insulting that the National Rifle Association won’t comment until “all the facts are known.” Visitors to their website wouldn’t even know the Aurora shooting happened—radio silence, as far as the NRA is concerned.

According to the Associated Press and the New York Times, the gunman used a “military-style semiautomatic rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.”

NBC has reported that the shooter’s semiautomatic rifle included a “100-round drum magazine” and that, “in the past 60 days…[the suspect] bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition.”

6,000 rounds.

That’s more than 230 bullets for every word the NRA has said about the shooting thus far.

Those are the facts we know. What else does the National Rifle Association need to hear?

A Dark Night

This time yesterday night, moviegoers across the country stood in line for the midnight premiere of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, the capstone to a trilogy that reached its pop culture zenith amidst Heath Ledger’s tragic death in 2008. When a gunman opened fire on a packed auditorium early this morning, murdering 12 and injuring 58 others, I was left wondering how the rest of us—especially those of us anxiously awaiting the film—are supposed to appropriately mourn the victims.

Four years ago, I eagerly awaited the 12:01 showing of The Dark Knight at a multiplex in Iowa City, and if it weren’t for a more demanding work schedule today, I would have joined thousands of others at one of Marcus Cinema’s theaters in my native Milwaukee to experience the trilogy’s final chapter at midnight. Most diehards measure commitment based on time—the truly devoted will wander into work bleary-eyed, only a few hours after the closing credits, as if to show the world how much they care.

In Aurora, Colorado—one of those nameless towns that only ever reaches notoriety when tragedy strikes—at least a dozen moviegoers just like me didn’t wander into work at all. In fact, when I arrived for an afternoon showing of The Dark Knight Rises today, some of those moviegoers—their lifeless bodies left behind at the crime scene—hadn’t even left the theater.

12 Dead in Theater Shooting

From the *Washington Post*:

A gunman wearing a gas mask set off an unknown gas and fired into a crowded movie theater in suburban Denver at a midnight opening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said.

Moviegoers didn’t know what was happening and some thought the attack was part of the show. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke at the front of the theater near the screen, pointing a gun at the crowd...

Some of those injured are children, including a 3-month-old infant who was shot.

From *NBCNews.com*:

The incident occurred in the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center, police told NBC News. Aurora is a suburb less than 10 miles east of downtown Denver.

NBC station KUSA-Denver cited a witness as seeing a black-clad 6-foot-tall man wearing a riot helmet, goggles and bullet-proof vest.

However, many people attended the film dressed in Batman-related costumes...

The shooter had three weapons -- an assault-type rifle and two handguns, officials told NBC News. Holmes' car has Tennessee plates but authorities say he was living locally.

From *Slate*:

According to the FBI, [suspect James] Holmes was arrested shortly after the 12:30 a.m. attack. He was taken into custody near the parking lot of the theater, and didn't put up a fight, CNN reports...There is no indication that he has ties to any terrorist group. #end

Tuning Out Sorkin's 'Newsroom'

I’m constantly falling in and out of love with television. Set me down in front of an episode of the Daily Show and I’ll laugh until I cry. Then I’ll DVR the next ten episodes and never watch them. 

This DVR vortex applies to Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and another half-dozen shows I’d like watch—would truly enjoy watching—but never do. 

Breaking Bad? The Walking Dead? Steve Carrell’s years on The Office? Can’t say I’ve ever seen an entire episode.

No Merit in Homophobia

After a secret two year review of its long-standing ban on gay members, the Boy Scouts of America announced Tuesday that the policy is here to stay. The decision, which surprised absolutely no one, reinforces the sort of widespread homophobia our society has come to tolerate as acceptable in the twenty-first century.

In the eight years since George W. Bush used gay marriage as a wedge issue—and scare tactic—in his bid to win reelection, the United States has become a more gay-friendly country. This May, President Obama appeared on the cover of Newsweek with a caption reading “first gay president” after he finally got around to stating the inevitable: that he, like so many other Americans, supports marriage equality.

This, of course, is the same president who instructed the justice department to stop defending the deplorable Defense of Marriage Act, and has done more than any of his predecessors to treat members of the LGBTQ community as constituents instead of criminals, pedophiles, and Biblical abominations. 

Which is why the Boy Scouts, Chick-Fil-A, and myriad other businesses, organizations, and political parties can get away with advancing homophobia as an “alternative” to President Obama’s agenda. 

When I worked as an editorial writer and columnist for the Daily Iowan, I once argued with my editor about treating gay rights as a natural extension of the civil rights movement. The connection between the two has always been obvious to me. And though I’m not naïve enough to believe homophobia can be swiftly eradicated from our country—hell, these ridiculous voter I.D. laws are evidence enough that Jim Crow tactics are still alive and well in America—I do think we’re responsible for making sure the advancements of the last eight years aren’t reversed.

Polls show that Americans are rapidly warming to marriage equality and LGBTQ rights in general, and replacing President Obama won’t change that trend. But even as the Republican Party finds itself increasingly in the minority on this issue, it shouldn’t give anyone—not the Boy Scouts, not Chick-Fil-A, not the GOP—a pass to swipe at gay rights. These groups should be punished for their beliefs: by cancelling memberships, boycotting their restaurants, and ignoring their candidates.

The advancement of one group shouldn’t give another the right to a reactionary rebuttal. Holding homophobes accountable is the way we advance. There is no merit in homophobia, even if the Boy Scouts of America would like you to believe otherwise, and we need to tell them so.

       

 

Taxes & Tomatoes

Since its launch almost twelve years ago, RottenTomatoes.com has never disabled comments on the movie reviews it compiles—until today. Reviews of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises have started trickling in, and, as is always inevitable, a handful of critics have already voiced their disappointment in the trilogy’s hugely-anticipated finale.  

  

Never mind that, officially, The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t open until midnight tomorrow. Some fans, most of whom we can assume haven’t seen the film, have responded to the tepid reviews by, you know, threatening to murder those critics who panned it. 

The outcry happened so swiftly, in fact, that RottenTomatoes.com experienced a server crash, and, as a result, decided that disabling comments on the film might temper the anger and dissuade more traffic from overwhelming their site.