{"id":7798,"date":"2018-11-16T00:20:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T00:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=7798"},"modified":"2018-12-10T02:54:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T02:54:43","slug":"the-bible-says-blame-trump-for-his-mass-shootings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=7798","title":{"rendered":"The Bible says: Blame Trump for “his” mass shootings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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2017 featured 345 mass shootings under Trump, compared to 162 in Obama’s eight<\/strong> years…<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"SupportedRemember June, 2016?\u00a0 That’s when then-candidate Donald Trump said then- President Barak Obama should resign, after the\u00a0deadliest mass shooting in U.S<\/a>.\u00a0 That is, the deadliest mass shooting up to that point?\u00a0 You know, the one in Orlando?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 (Just to narrow it down a bit.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Amid reports that a gunman had killed 49 people at a gay nightclub early Sunday, Trump could only respond by\u00a0bragging that he\u2019d predicted such a thing would happen<\/a>,\u00a0and arguing that the attack justified his proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In plain words, Donald Trump blamed President Obama for the shootings, linked him personally with the shooter, and implied that nothing like that would happen if he<\/em> <\/strong>were elected president.\u00a0 Not to mention saying Obama should resign after “his” mass shooting.<\/p>\n

Which led me to recently\u00a0Google<\/a>\u00a0“trump obama resign mass shooting.”<\/p>\n

That led me in turn to some interesting results:\u00a0 Not least of all because it led me to\u00a0Google<\/a>\u00a0“mass shootings since trump took office.”\u00a0 Briefly, there was apparently a “lull in the action” during the first few months of 2017, but then things heated up.\u00a0 (And not in a good way.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For example, on\u00a0March 18, 2017, a blogger, “<\/span>Raptorman<\/a>,” posted\u00a0What Happened to Obama Era Of Mass Shootings Under the Trump Administration<\/a>?\u00a0 Early in 2017 he bragged thusly:<\/span><\/p>\n

It had been over 253 days since Donald Trump became President of the United States of America with\u00a0no crazed mass murder\u00a0shootings\u00a0until the\u00a0Las Vegas shooting<\/a>.\u00a0 A much longer period of time without a big mass murder shooting than under the previous administration.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"shoot4\"“Raptorman” then posted a chart showing how such mass shootings had burgeoned under Obama.\u00a0 (From in the low 20s under previous presidents, to 162 under Obama.)\u00a0<\/em> He defined a mass shooting as involving “4 or more people.”\u00a0 But then came a post on April 16, 2017:\u00a0\u00a0The U.S. Has Had 273<\/em> <\/strong>Mass Shootings in 2017 So Far<\/a>.\u00a0 (“And you likely didn\u2019t hear about all of them.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

That writer –\u00a0Andrew Couts<\/a>\u00a0– also

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The nonprofit\u00a0Gun Violence Archive<\/a>\u00a0(GVA) counts 29 mass shootings across the U.S. just in September[?], 255 since President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0took office on Jan. 20, and 273 since the start of the year, while defining a \u201cmass shooting\u201d as \u201cfour or more\u201d gunshot victims, not including the shooter<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0At the current rate calculated by GVA, 2017 is on track to have more mass shootings than any other\u00a0year since GVA began tracking gun violence in the U.S.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This was in response to the shooting at the “Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas,\u00a0killing 50 and injuring more than 400<\/a>\u00a0in the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.”<\/p>\n

But since Couts’ post came a mere month after “Raptorman’s,” something didn’t add up.\u00a0 So, for a more accurate count I checked\u00a02017 deemed America’s deadliest year for mass shootings<\/a>, posted December 11, 2017.\u00a0 It said,\u00a0“According to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that continuously tracks gun-related death and injury reports based on official records, there have been\u00a0345<\/em> <\/strong>mass shootings in America<\/a>\u00a0in 2017 alone.”<\/p>\n

So as it turned out, the estimate by\u00a0Gun Violence Archive<\/a>\u00a0– noted by\u00a0Couts<\/a>\u00a0in April 2017 – turned out to be chillingly accurate.\u00a0 Which means that\u00a0under Obama there were 162 mass shootings, while under Donald Trump, there were 345<\/em> <\/strong>mass shootings in 2017 alone.<\/p>\n

Then came 2018, about which the New York Daily News<\/a>\u00a0said – last November 8, a week or so ago (the headline at left is from 1975)<\/em> – that\u00a0America’s averaging almost a\u00a0mass\u00a0shooting\u00a0a day\u00a0in 2018<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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There have been nearly as many mass shootings in the United States in 2018 as there have been days in the year so far, according to a nonprofit organization that records gun violence data.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0horrific attack<\/a>\u00a0carried out in a Thousand Oaks, Calif., bar on Wednesday night was the 307th mass shooting in America this year, according to the\u00a0Gun Violence Archive<\/a>, which classifies a \u201cmass shooting\u201d in which at least four people are shot, not including the shooter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So again, under Obama there were 162 mass shootings in eight years.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Under Donald Trump there were 345 mass shootings in 2017 and\u00a0<\/span>307 in 2018.\u00a0 (As of November 8, 2018.)\u00a0<\/em> Which adds up to a grand total – for two years, not counting the rest of November and December, 2018 – of 652<\/em><\/strong> mass shootings under Trump so far.\u00a0 That’s four times greater than Obama’s eight years, in one-fourth the time.\u00a0 (In a mere two years, for the math-challenged.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

And incidentally, the\u00a0New York Daily News<\/a>\u00a0has been described as “flexibly centrist,” not one of those “fake news” media types complained of by some Republicans.\u00a0 For example, it endorsed George W. Bush<\/a>\u00a0in 2004,\u00a0Barack Obama<\/a>\u00a0in 2008,\u00a0Mitt Romney<\/a>\u00a0in 2012, and\u00a0Hillary Clinton<\/a>\u00a0in 2016.\u00a0 Which means that a claim of “fake news” would be hard to justify.\u00a0 (To anyone except the most ardent Trump supporter, to which I would respond, “Fake news?”\u00a0 Fake brain!)<\/em><\/p>\n

But we digress.\u00a0 The point?\u00a0 All this calculating led me to the October 27 article,\u00a0Why it\u2019s fair to ask whether Trump is to blame<\/a>.\u00a0 Senior political reporter\u00a0Aaron Blake<\/a>\u00a0gave a lengthy analysis, which included this note:\u00a0 “There is a growing sense of grievance among Republicans about the narrative that Trump might have some culpability for the postal bombs that were sent to many of his high-profile political foes over the past week.”\u00a0 Or for the spate of mass shootings.<\/p>\n

But the Bible – that favorite tool of “Trump-humping evangelicals<\/a>” – says otherwise.<\/p>\n

Which is another way of saying that such a lengthy “Blake” analysis really isn’t necessary.\u00a0 At least not according to the Bible.\u00a0 That is,\u00a0Luke 6:38<\/a>\u00a0provides a much better, much shorter answer:\u00a0 “The standards you use for others will be [the ones] applied to you.”\u00a0 Or in a slightly different translation, “The measure you use for others is the one that God <\/span>will use for you.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Which should give “the Donald” some\u00a0pause for thought<\/a><\/em><\/strong>…<\/p>\n

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\"Donald<\/p>\n

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The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Mass Shooting\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s linked to the article, “<\/em>Las Vegas Shooting Is the 273rd Mass Shooting This Year,” which included these notes:\u00a0 “<\/em>The gun industry often uses mass shootings to rally sales, telling consumers that such events may lead to stricter gun laws,” and that “<\/em>Gun company stocks rose<\/a>\u00a0following the Las Vegas mass shooting.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 Orlando mass shooting.\u00a0 Somehow I got that one mixed up with the Stoneman Douglas (“Parkland”) High School shooting<\/a>.\u00a0 Unfortunately, and as noted, it’s been hard to keep track…<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 Trump blaming Obama, etc.\u00a0 See also\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s Response To The Orlando Shooting Was Downright Horrific<\/a>,\u00a0Trump: Obama Was Maybe Involved in the Orlando Shooting<\/a>, and\u00a0Donald Trump Calls On Obama To Resign Over Orlando Shooting<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 “Raptorman.”\u00a0 He may have chosen his blog-name from a character in the film\u00a0Full Metal Jacket<\/a>.\u00a0 I too thought the Marine photographer was “Raptorman,” but apparently it was “Rafter Man:”<\/em><\/p>\n

In the book [The Short-Timers<\/a>], “Rafter Man” got his name because during a striptease show in the mess hall, he got piss drunk and climbed into the rafters for a better view, then fell right onto a front row table of brass, spraying colonels and generals with their own beer.\u00a0 The highest ranking general picked him up, then pulled up a chair and let Rafter Man sit with him, thereby impressing the other Marines.\u00a0 The movie kept the nickname but didn’t bother with the back story.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See\u00a0Full Metal Jacket – Meaning of the names rafterman and Animal Mother<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>There is also a book\u00a0Full Metal Jacket Diary<\/a>, by\u00a0Matthew Modine<\/a>, who played “Joker” in the film.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0\u00a0Luke 6:38<\/a>.\u00a0 I used the\u00a0GOD’S WORD\u00ae Translation<\/a>\u00a0in the main text.\u00a0 Other translations:\u00a0\u00a0 “The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you;”\u00a0\u00a0“you’ll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others;” and in the\u00a0King James Bible<\/a>\u00a0– the one God uses – “For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Then of course there’s also the\u00a0Golden Rule<\/a>, set out by Jesus in\u00a0Matthew 7:12<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Luke 6:31<\/a>.\u00a0 In the “negative form of the Golden Rule, or the “Silver Rule” as it is sometimes called,” the rule reads:\u00a0 “Don’t do to others what you don\u2019t want them to do to you.”\u00a0 Then too there’s\u00a0Karma<\/a>…<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cTrump-humping evangelicals<\/a>.”\u00a0 See\u00a0\u201cTrump-humping\u201d \u2013 and Christians arguing with each other<\/a>, in my companion blog, featuring the image at left.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>.\u00a0 See also\u00a0<\/em>\u2018Mi Dulce\u2019 \u2013 and Donald Trump \u2013 made me a Contrarian<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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2017 featured 345 mass shootings under Trump, compared to 162 in Obama’s eight years… * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * Remember June, 2016?\u00a0 That’s when then-candidate Donald Trump said then- President Barak Obama should resign, after the\u00a0deadliest mass shooting in U.S.\u00a0 That is, the deadliest mass shooting up to that point?\u00a0 You know, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7798"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7798"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7885,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7798\/revisions\/7885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}