All souls

I understand that 2017 was the worst year in in modern history for mass shooting deaths in the United States, with 345 mass shootings reported…by 1 November, according to the Gun Violence Archive. So 2018 has apparently responded with, “Hold my beer.”

By way of illustration, here are just three graphics from that website.

Number of incidents of gun violence of all types—mass shootings, domestic violence, accidental killings, etc., as of yesterday:

Number of mass shootings (which they define as four or more victims, both killed and wounded), as of yesterday:

Number of deaths from gun violence, as of yesterday:

Keep in mind that we still have two months to go before 2018 is out, with endless spewings from the Kleptocrat, his spawn and his ilk to ratchet up the hatred that spills over into these red splotches.

Today is All Souls’ Day, the somber time when Christians remember those who have departed in the faith. In some parishes, the names of the dead are read out in services; for others it’s a private remembrance. Being a California Christian, I’m not too fussed about the “in the faith” part; I mourn all who have left this life, particularly those who did so suddenly, and especially from violence.

The revolting massacre of worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last Saturday, and the equally repulsive murder of two black shoppers at a grocery store in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, the same day (by a RWNJ who’d first tried to gain access to an African-American church before heading down to the Kroger), are but the latest in a gush of such killings since February 2017. The task of naming every victim—even just the dead, leaving out the survivors—in that period is beyond me; I don’t even have the heart to list all of October’s victims. I’ll just give you those who were murdered last Saturday.

Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

Richard Gottfried

Jerry Rabinowitz

Cecil Rosenthal

David Rosenthal

Sylvan Simon

David Stein

Melvin Wax

Irving Younger

Joyce Fienberg

Rose Mallinger

Bernice Simon

Kroger Supermarket, Jeffersontown, Kentucky:

Maurice Stallard

Vickie Jones

May their memory be a blessing.