I believe most Americans are appalled at the wanton gun violence in America today.

Surely the ****** of young children is revolting to almost everyone and begs for some action.

But what can we DO about it? I mean REALLY.. really.

Republicans want to arm themselves more, while democrats use these events to ******* to gun control fantasies that either cannot pass as law or will be struck down by the courts.

I’d like to propose a real, actionable solution.

We would announce this plan in every high school in America, propagate the offer in every morning announcement until further notice:

Any young man (or woman, let's not be sexist here) who, in their heart of hearts feels sufficiently motivated (****-crazed) would immediately be sent to Ukraine where they could **** real Russians to their heart’s content.

They would only be trained if they wanted it, only be part of an organized unit if they desired it, they would be armed on arrival or they could bring their own initial arsenal if they had it at hand.

Once they achieved 200 certified Russian kills (this number is negotiable) they would be declared heroes and could either continue their good work or receive some sort of scholarship or cash.

This is just one, practical idea - you, my reader, are free to propose others.

This is not a joke, not sarcasm, irony or parody - let’s actually DO something, shall we?

people **** people
with nothing but fingers and hair
and their very heavy breath.
their breath like a crow beak
before crucifixes of straw. like a tightening banishment of a lung.
remember when we would blow it
onto our car window and create that
consistent mirth of fog to
begin in?

the bodies riddled with bullets that flank
the highway are no such thing.
the schoolchildren lying face down in the corner of the closet are no such thing.
they are just winter coats with schoolchildren to fill them
for the time being.
no amputation of what’s mine
will aid them into the grave.
no mass communication grief. so
why would you call it a mass grave when in truth it was just a pit i dug to fill with crowds of people who died under the pretense that they had previously done so,
that nothing was new under the sun.

and when people **** people like people
do with their instruments
as ways of extending themselves into the world and into the marrow of our body
obliterating organs of people with their stretching of the muscular rib, shoulder.
one eye closes firmly.

it’s nothing but a hand gun
as if to say a hand eats the gun
and makes it whole.
as if to say the reinforced metal door
exit plan for people who are being killed by other people clicked shut and locked
15,000 years ago and i can’t quit slamming what’s left of me into it.

your kid is very dead.
but then again so is mine.
suppose they killed each other.
suppose they both made the mistake of dragging their small, stupid bodies through the trajectory of another body in the first place. in the chip aisle of a gas station maybe. in theaters this christmas.
in the midst of a good song that began playing on the lobby radio
just a minute before,
oh yeah before,
things really got going.

i saw people killing people
on television the other day
with their
whole bodies,
devouring themselves like surgical gloves
slick with oiled consumption
and bleeding out
and i could do nothing.
some kids died just because
and they told me so and i was told nothing could ever help them because they were just people and they were dying.

“breaking news” ended up just being people again.
in those moments, i was eating breakfast.
our houses were very quiet and needed me in all of them, grandfather clock over CNN, clarifying what has already been
committed and committed again.
the cipher was others lost blood.

Thirty.
Thirty dead.
Forty-two injured.
In forty-eight hours.
Two hundred and fifty mass shootings in eight months.
Thousands dead.

Are you kidding?
Is this really what we are?
It's not the time to talk about gun laws?
SHOW ME A BETTER ******* TIME!
People are dying at elementary schools, at bars, at Walmart!

I tried to be sensible.
I tried to see both sides.
But I can't anymore.

These aren't just numbers.
These are people.
These are lives.
These are stories.
These are husbands and wives, children, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends.
One death does not only impact one person.
In fact, the dead has the least amount of pain.
That one dead impacts hundreds of lives.
A lifetime of sadness.
I feel for the victims, I do.
But I ache for the families.
For the friends.
For the community.
I ache for the shooter, for his family.

He did awful things.
Unspeakable crimes.
There is nothing worse than taking a life.
But he is gone too.
His family lost someone too. Someone they loved.
Someone they cared about.
Their lives are forever changed, as well.

We need to change these idiotic laws.
We are the only respected nation with mass shootings in the double digits.
Hell, we have TRIPLE digits!
Gun ownership is NOT a right.
Gun ownership should not be a right.
I have said this more times than I can count.
IS YOUR RIGHT TO A GUN MORE ******* IMPORT THAN MY RIGHT, OR ANYONE ELSES RIGHT, TO LIVE?
Dear Mr. Gun Lover, sir, if you have a right, a truly inalienable right, than so do these shooters.
Please don't let the number become two hundred and fifty one.
It is on you. It is on all of us.

"Guns don't **** people, people **** people."
If guns don't **** people, then why have over 39,773 people fallen at the hands of a gun?
Over 39,773 bullets have hit our skin, penetrated our insides, for them to never come out with us still breathing.
If guns aren't the problem, and people are, then shouldn't we ban everything people **** with?
Let's ban cars, hammers, knives, water, air, fire, and food.
**** it, let's cut off our own two hands while we're at it.
But here's the problem: I sound ridiculous.
We need cars to travel.
Hammers to build.
Knives to cook.
Water to drink.
Air to breath.
Fire to heat.
Food to eat.
And guns to...
Wait.
We need cars, knives, and food. They have a purpose, a reason.
But guns?
A gun's purpose is to ****.
To do harm.
We don't drive guns, cook with guns, or use guns for fuel.
We use, always have used, and always will use guns for one and only one purpose:
To ****.
To do harm.
To hurt.
So, I don't care if it's the gun or the person doing the killing.
What matters is that someone dies. What matters is that over 39,773 people have died.
39,773 lives lost, never to be seen or heard from again.
What matters is that even one life gone, is a life inexcusably lost. Forever.