Steven Weir
George Takei 
๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐๐ฝAnother mass shooting in Texas. Children are among the victims. When are our lawmakers going to act? Only when we make them pay if they donโt.
Griff Ferrell calckey@georgetakei ofc
Reverend Obi@georgetakei true words. Now, they get paid if they don't.
D. G. MarshallOnly when they are made to pay more than they get from the NRA.
Black Metal Stu๐บ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ@georgetakei
Guns don't kill ppl. BLAH BLAH BLAH. If ppl wouldn't have guns ppl wouldn't be killd by ppl using guns. I'm not praying so I won't pretend to do so for the victims but at least my thoughts are with them.
Guns don't kill ppl. BLAH BLAH BLAH. If ppl wouldn't have guns ppl wouldn't be killd by ppl using guns. I'm not praying so I won't pretend to do so for the victims but at least my thoughts are with them.
แฐแฉแวคแด against Putin #NAFO@HailSatan @georgetakei Is there any way to stop selling cartridges, because then guns really wouldn't kill anymore. The lunatics can then hang them up in the living room.
Daisy Doo & TuxieGirl Betty@georgetakei Or when their own children are killed in the next one.
Tim@666k9s @georgetakei lol, how naive.
jillcoach@georgetakei I wonder if they would care if it were their own children....and the fact I have doubts is disturbing
WooShell@georgetakei If the children had guns, they could have defended themselves. So the next logical step is to introduce mandatory gun training in kindergarden. It's Texas, after all.. more guns for more safety etc.
(even typing that out makes my brain hurt.. I will never understand those folks..)
(even typing that out makes my brain hurt.. I will never understand those folks..)
Mori@georgetakei @WooShell And the guns themselves can hold little tiny guns, one in each handโฆ ooh itโs just #NotFunny actually ๐
Texty the Bard@WooShell @georgetakei Alas, it's not a joke. I fired my first gun at 3 and had my own 22 at 5. (Yeah, my childhood was a little messed up.)
Quite The Stinker@textualdeviance @WooShell @georgetakei
I grew up with a family that did the same. My friend used a deer rifle to end his own life
I grew up with a family that did the same. My friend used a deer rifle to end his own life
Jon AwbreyThe Sociopathic Continuum Of The United States (SCOTUS) stretches down from the highest court of the land to the schoolyard, shopping mall, and street. It will not be cured by any amount of salving the symptoms, however much we try. The massacres will continue until we root out the cause at the top.
It's a waste of breath talking about anything else.
It's a waste of time pointing in any other direction.
Beverly White@georgetakei they are too busy teaching military field medicine to these kids to try and patch up their classmates before EMTs can get in while the cops and security sit outside waiting for the gunman to shoot himself. Oh yeah, they are also passing laws on not being able to teach kids about their own bodies other than battlefield medicine requirements.
Lee ๐@georgetakei
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Elon Musk is keeping up the White Supremacist, we are the victims here, narrative....
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Elon Musk is keeping up the White Supremacist, we are the victims here, narrative....
Angus MacKinnon@georgetakei AS soon as there is a Star Fleet. `
That_guy@georgetakei The lawmakers only care about cheap thoughts and prayers. They are uniquely able to affect the situation but it's just too profitable to do anything.
Amish Super Model@georgetakei When will people realize that an โAโ rating from the NRA is an โFโ rating for public safety?
DGiant@georgetakei Texans voted those policies in, itโs sad but true. Once upon a time, they also voted in those politicians who gerrymandered their districts. I feel bad for those who are Democrats or are just plain sane. They are stuck with those policies as long as their neighbors keep voting those Republican politicians back in. โน๏ธ
Brian McCaig@georgetakei when politicians stop taking money from their gun manufacturers friends.
@georgetakei The world is starting to warn their citizens about visiting the US.
Saria@AmishSuperModel @georgetakei At least in Canada, there have been travel advisories for going to the US at least since the early 2000s. I remember as a teenager being told it wasnโt a good idea to go to the US unless it was necessary. (It might have been because Iโm brown, and there was a lot of hate directed at โMuslimsโ at the time, which included anyone who might have looked vaguely middle-Eastern.)
Martin Guindon@georgetakei Never. And it just makes no sense at all. I'll never be able to wrap my head around that. Whoever said : more guns = more safety is either a gun manufacturer lobbyist or an idiot. There's never been more guns in circulation. Are there less mass shootings? Less gun deaths? Don't have to answer, it's a rethorical question. #stopgunviolence
bedast@georgetakei In Texas? I donโt think the action weโd both agree would be the correct course will be taken. We have people and politicians that believe thereโs not enough guns and thatโs why we keep having these tragedies. Their response will be we need more guns.
This one was close to home to me. I keep trying to vote these assholes out. It feels futile. But Iโll keep voting for change. We desperately need it.
Geoff ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ@georgetakei They're expecting the opposite - they'll only act if you pay them more than the NRA do.
gigantos@georgetakei I worry it isn't about logic, it's more like a religious question. Ban guns, allow abortions, hate god. Or something like that.
For many, US politics isn't really politics; there's no argument that makes people change sides. It seems closer to fanaticism on both sides.
I fully support anti-gun policy but worry it's about the people too. Norway and Canada have hunting + competition guns, yet not as much violence.
@georgetakei In Norway, obtaining a gun requires a process. Either a hunting license or proof that you are part of a shooting club that competes using the gun you buy is needed, along with passing a test. Additionally, any gun must be safely locked away in a cabinet so that only the owner can access it at home.
This doesn't prevent well-planned attacks by individuals like Anders Behring Breivik, but it does help reduce the risk of accidental access.
@gigantos @georgetakei โFor many, US politics isn't really politics; there's no argument that makes people change sides. It seems closer to fanaticism on both sides.โ
I canโt express just how infuriating I find all this โboth sidesโ shit.
No, there is not fanaticism on โboth sidesโ. There is fanaticism on *one* side, and the reason the other side refusing to compromise is not because they are also fanatics, itโs because YOUโD HAVE TO BE A FUCKING MORON TO COMPROMISE WITH FANATICS!
Pretending that both sides are crazy is not only dishonest, itโs freaking idiotic. Whenever you have a group that is going bonkers and smearing their own shit over themselves, you will always have a group that is refusing to dive in to the feces with themโฆ AND THOSE ARE THE SENSIBLE PEOPLEโฆ they are not just another flavour of crazy. Their refusal to dunk their heads in scat is not because they are just as bonkers as the shit-smearersโฆ itโs because dunking your head in scat is just a stupid thing to do. Every time someone ignorantly or dishonestly tries to paint โboth sidesโ as in the wrong, they are actually doing the work of the fanatics, and making it that much harder for the sensible side to gain ground.
I donโt even like the Democratsโฆ not one bitโฆ but they are absolutely NOT just another set of fanatics that are no different, fundamentally, from the Republicans. The GOP has sold its soul to become a dumpster fire of raving lunatics. The Democrats areโฆ mehโฆ they have their own problemsโฆ but they are absolutely not just a different flavour of dumpster fire of raving lunatics. There is no equivalency. Pretending there is is both out of touch with reality, and incredibly dumb.
I canโt express just how infuriating I find all this โboth sidesโ shit.
No, there is not fanaticism on โboth sidesโ. There is fanaticism on *one* side, and the reason the other side refusing to compromise is not because they are also fanatics, itโs because YOUโD HAVE TO BE A FUCKING MORON TO COMPROMISE WITH FANATICS!
Pretending that both sides are crazy is not only dishonest, itโs freaking idiotic. Whenever you have a group that is going bonkers and smearing their own shit over themselves, you will always have a group that is refusing to dive in to the feces with themโฆ AND THOSE ARE THE SENSIBLE PEOPLEโฆ they are not just another flavour of crazy. Their refusal to dunk their heads in scat is not because they are just as bonkers as the shit-smearersโฆ itโs because dunking your head in scat is just a stupid thing to do. Every time someone ignorantly or dishonestly tries to paint โboth sidesโ as in the wrong, they are actually doing the work of the fanatics, and making it that much harder for the sensible side to gain ground.
I donโt even like the Democratsโฆ not one bitโฆ but they are absolutely NOT just another set of fanatics that are no different, fundamentally, from the Republicans. The GOP has sold its soul to become a dumpster fire of raving lunatics. The Democrats areโฆ mehโฆ they have their own problemsโฆ but they are absolutely not just a different flavour of dumpster fire of raving lunatics. There is no equivalency. Pretending there is is both out of touch with reality, and incredibly dumb.
@saria @georgetakei I tried to be inclusive. I do think fanatics exist on both sides, but think the number is astronomically larger on the right. Sorry if I offended you.
@gigantos @georgetakei Iโm not personally offended; Iโm not American, so I have no real skin in the game.
Iโm just generally infuriated because this is something I keep seeing repeated over and over, and not only does it stink of defeatism, it undermines all efforts by sensible and progressive elements to actually get anything good accomplished. You can never hope to defeat the forces of stupidity if you keep saying the sensible side is stupid too, just in a different way.
Over and over I see people saying there are extremists on both sides, to which I always have to askโฆ WHO?! Who are the โother sideโ extremists? Who can even REMOTELY be held up in comparison to some of the howler monkeys in the Republican Party? Who can possibly be offered as a counter-example to some of the Republican ELECTED OFFICIALS, including major players like governors and senators, who push wacko conspiracies like Jewish space lasers, or that Hilary Clinton is a demon who drinks the blood of children while somehow simultaneously having sex with them in secret tunnels under a pizza parlour? Who among the Democrats has kidnapped a planeload of innocent people and human-trafficked them across the country, leaving them stranded and presumably to dieโor at least be arrestedโin the Massachusetts winter?
I mean, obviously, if you look far enough afield you can certainly find SOME wacko Democrat supporters. But you have to keep balance in mind. While you can find loony Dems on TikTok or Twitter or whateverโฆ the crazies in the Republican Party are ELECTED OFFICIALS, SENATORS, AND GOVERNORS! Donโt waste peoplesโ time comparing the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Ron DeSantis to some fringe kook on the Internet. Find me a COMPARABLE kook in the Democratic party. Find me a howler monkey Dem GOVERNOR. Find me a shit-smearing Dem SENATOR. Find me balance.
Iโve read right-wing media to find out exactly what kind of โextremismโ they think exists on the other side, and they just keep repeating the names Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and a few others, sometimes including Bernie Sanders. THESE are the โextremistsโ on the Democrats side? Are you kidding me? Right-wingers claim these are โextremistsโ because they want โsocialismโ, but 1) no, they really donโt, none of them are actually socialists, they are, at best, social democrats; and 2) socialism isnโt โextremeโ, anyway, except from the view of the extreme right. I see no right-wing media even TRYING to claim that there are Democrats who are seriously calling for anything even remotely equivalent to a genocide of trans people (which, of course, some GOP representatives have actually done, and is even being implied by some party platforms).
Without that balance, any pretense that there is fanaticism on both sides is dishonest. And dishonesty only helps the party of liesโฆ which, spoiler alert, is the GOP.
And to be clear, I say all this despite DETESTING the Democratic Party. Sorry to George Takei, but I find his obsequious dedication to the Democratic Party to be embarrassing. The Dems are TERRIBLE. They are only slightly more appealing than used toilet paper on the best of days, and only warrant any consideration at all because their opposition is actual, literal shit. I donโt even expect anything good from them; at best I expect โnot the apocalypse, at least not right awayโ. Theyโre barely better than useless: the recurring pattern is that the Republicans come to power and create problems, then the Democrats come to power andโฆ do nothingโฆ then the Republicans come to power and the downward spiral into the sewer for the USA continues. I donโt hold any hope that the Democrats will FIX anything, but they will at least STALL the decline, hopefully long enough for a new generation to bring positive change.
The tl;dr here is this:
โข There is simply no comparison between the extremism in the Republican Party, and the โextremismโ in the Democratic Party.
โข Saying that there is extremism on both sides without HUGE amounts of context and hand-waving is straight-up dishonest, because it implies some kind of parity.
โข Every time you give even the SLIGHTEST amount of credence to the idea that the Democrat extremists are even remotely comparable to the Republican extremists, you ALWAYS help the Republicans.
โข You may THINK youโre being even-handed, thoughtful, and inclusive by admitting that there are problems on your side, tooโฆ but really all youโre doing is helping the crazies, because THEY have no interest in being balanced or reasonable.
So, anyone out there reading this, unless you WANT to help the Republican lunatic howler monkeys, STOP WITH THIS โBOTH SIDESโ BULLSHIT. It is lazy thinking. It is factually untrue. And it is unhelpful to the discourse.
Iโm just generally infuriated because this is something I keep seeing repeated over and over, and not only does it stink of defeatism, it undermines all efforts by sensible and progressive elements to actually get anything good accomplished. You can never hope to defeat the forces of stupidity if you keep saying the sensible side is stupid too, just in a different way.
Over and over I see people saying there are extremists on both sides, to which I always have to askโฆ WHO?! Who are the โother sideโ extremists? Who can even REMOTELY be held up in comparison to some of the howler monkeys in the Republican Party? Who can possibly be offered as a counter-example to some of the Republican ELECTED OFFICIALS, including major players like governors and senators, who push wacko conspiracies like Jewish space lasers, or that Hilary Clinton is a demon who drinks the blood of children while somehow simultaneously having sex with them in secret tunnels under a pizza parlour? Who among the Democrats has kidnapped a planeload of innocent people and human-trafficked them across the country, leaving them stranded and presumably to dieโor at least be arrestedโin the Massachusetts winter?
I mean, obviously, if you look far enough afield you can certainly find SOME wacko Democrat supporters. But you have to keep balance in mind. While you can find loony Dems on TikTok or Twitter or whateverโฆ the crazies in the Republican Party are ELECTED OFFICIALS, SENATORS, AND GOVERNORS! Donโt waste peoplesโ time comparing the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Ron DeSantis to some fringe kook on the Internet. Find me a COMPARABLE kook in the Democratic party. Find me a howler monkey Dem GOVERNOR. Find me a shit-smearing Dem SENATOR. Find me balance.
Iโve read right-wing media to find out exactly what kind of โextremismโ they think exists on the other side, and they just keep repeating the names Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and a few others, sometimes including Bernie Sanders. THESE are the โextremistsโ on the Democrats side? Are you kidding me? Right-wingers claim these are โextremistsโ because they want โsocialismโ, but 1) no, they really donโt, none of them are actually socialists, they are, at best, social democrats; and 2) socialism isnโt โextremeโ, anyway, except from the view of the extreme right. I see no right-wing media even TRYING to claim that there are Democrats who are seriously calling for anything even remotely equivalent to a genocide of trans people (which, of course, some GOP representatives have actually done, and is even being implied by some party platforms).
Without that balance, any pretense that there is fanaticism on both sides is dishonest. And dishonesty only helps the party of liesโฆ which, spoiler alert, is the GOP.
And to be clear, I say all this despite DETESTING the Democratic Party. Sorry to George Takei, but I find his obsequious dedication to the Democratic Party to be embarrassing. The Dems are TERRIBLE. They are only slightly more appealing than used toilet paper on the best of days, and only warrant any consideration at all because their opposition is actual, literal shit. I donโt even expect anything good from them; at best I expect โnot the apocalypse, at least not right awayโ. Theyโre barely better than useless: the recurring pattern is that the Republicans come to power and create problems, then the Democrats come to power andโฆ do nothingโฆ then the Republicans come to power and the downward spiral into the sewer for the USA continues. I donโt hold any hope that the Democrats will FIX anything, but they will at least STALL the decline, hopefully long enough for a new generation to bring positive change.
The tl;dr here is this:
โข There is simply no comparison between the extremism in the Republican Party, and the โextremismโ in the Democratic Party.
โข Saying that there is extremism on both sides without HUGE amounts of context and hand-waving is straight-up dishonest, because it implies some kind of parity.
โข Every time you give even the SLIGHTEST amount of credence to the idea that the Democrat extremists are even remotely comparable to the Republican extremists, you ALWAYS help the Republicans.
โข You may THINK youโre being even-handed, thoughtful, and inclusive by admitting that there are problems on your side, tooโฆ but really all youโre doing is helping the crazies, because THEY have no interest in being balanced or reasonable.
So, anyone out there reading this, unless you WANT to help the Republican lunatic howler monkeys, STOP WITH THIS โBOTH SIDESโ BULLSHIT. It is lazy thinking. It is factually untrue. And it is unhelpful to the discourse.
@saria @georgetakei I started without the both sides part, and added it in my second pass to try not to offend the more reasonable people on the right. Part of the problem seems to be that a large number of them are so afraid of the left, they won't even join a conversation. They may be partially sensible, but still have a 100% conviction of one single cause. It could be abortion or gun-violence, or some other thing. But they vote against anyone opposing it.
@saria @georgetakei also, from my perspective, the democrats are pretty far right. They are as you said; the ones that won't bring the apocalypse, but that doesn't make them great.
KazinatorWould you be able to give three examples of fanaticism from each of the two sides?
@Kazinator @georgetakei I have been trying, but they all just inversed points. And it is like 3 people on the left vs millions on the right.
* Abortion
* Left: no limits
* Right: Ban it and put offenders in jail
* Climate change
* Left: Everyone should drink green algee slurps and live in caves
* Right: It is not real
* Gun control
* Left: All guns should be vaporized this second
* Right: All white men should have a BFG
But what you have on the Right is more or less what some republican politicians actually think, whereas on the left you have only comical strawman caricatures.
GretaGroots@georgetakei this is the America that Republicans want. They want Americans armed, and Americans are using the guns
C0ppertop@georgetakei Texas!?
Itโll never happen.
Theyโd rather see people get gunned down in schools and churches, rather than give up guns.
The NRA bought their politicians decades ago.
Iโll bet even gunning down that states entire legislatiure, wouldnโt have much impact on their insane gun policies.
Itโll never happen.
Theyโd rather see people get gunned down in schools and churches, rather than give up guns.
The NRA bought their politicians decades ago.
Iโll bet even gunning down that states entire legislatiure, wouldnโt have much impact on their insane gun policies.
@georgetakei In Europe, we don't understand the American obsession with guns at all. We think citizens are hostages to the NRA. Does politics stand any chance at all against the NRA?
SD Liz Roguestyle#Democrats wiLL LOSE in 2024. This is under a Dem prez n Senate, n narrow House - there is No #Bipartisanship ๐คทโโ๏ธ
Canadian Crone@georgetakei โIn the US so far this year there have been at least 198 mass shootings in which four or more people were killed or wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive.โ There have been 125 days since Jan 1, 2023.
JohnW@georgetakei I hate to say it but at this point removing the entire Republican party would only be a step in the right direction.
SammyGalen@georgetakei #Guns don't kill people, bullets kill people, guns just make the bullets go real fast.
Kevin RussellGuns dont kill people elected Republicans owned by Russia kill people.
Outside agitators!? Republicans dont even speak the languge of their owners.
https://www.palmerreport.com/politics/mitch-mcconnell-caught-millions-russian-oligarch/4178/
Nutriamix@georgetakei
If they don't understand that guns kill far too many people, maybe they'd take it seriously if We the People aimed the guns at them and fired.
That's one way to quickly eliminate the clear and present danger of gun-worshipping MAGAts.
EmoluMentaLass
โฆ ๐ Gus Posey@georgetakei Republicans hate America, and are happy to endanger Americans. The nightmare of our gun problem is the clearest example, but this applies to limiting medical care, reducing national security, and spreading misinformation during times of crisis.
Peter Sommerlad@georgetakei If lawmakers get shot it is terrorism. For other victim it is an unpreventable act of god.
Diver ๐คฟ@georgetakei They will never going to act.
Sarah May 
@georgetakei nothing will be done.
Drumhead ๐บ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ฟ@georgetakei Itโs not only the lawmakers (politicians), itโs also their voters/supporters and hence the American society. If someone like Trump could become president - something is fundamentally wrong with society.
Mirko Adam@georgetakei
Last week, the German comedian @janboehm talked about German and Austrian weapons manufacturers making big money in the US. Some stats: In half of the US school and university shootings of the last 20 years, at least one of the weapons used were either made in Germany or made by our Austrian neighbors. #ZDFMagazin #Peng
Last week, the German comedian @janboehm talked about German and Austrian weapons manufacturers making big money in the US. Some stats: In half of the US school and university shootings of the last 20 years, at least one of the weapons used were either made in Germany or made by our Austrian neighbors. #ZDFMagazin #Peng
Caeden Kane, Councilor@georgetakei Iโm offering prayers. And my heart goes out to the families. One of those is true, but neither helps jack shit.
John Yates
Texan Tally@georgetakei @jhy001 As a person who lives in Texas... well, I can't totally disagree with that. I'm a blueberry in the tomato soup that is my VERY MAGA-heavy area. It's the loudest, most offensive folks who get a voice in my neck, but thankfully rarely happens. Getting flipped off and yelled at in traffic by MAGA flag hauling trucks because I have a Democrat-friendly sticker in my window was bad enough in 2020. The 2024 flags started popping up as soon as they became available, so at least I know who to avoid, even if I needed help. Guns are their own religion around here, and people are so freaking proud of it. It's ridiculous. I'm too broke to consider moving, so just living at home with my pets and my garden (and a few good neighbors who don't talk politics at all) and going near-recluse is kinda where I'm at. Doesn't bother me much--it ensures I can live my way.
But I work with kids, and this kind of stuff just infuriates me. George Carlin said it best when it came to GOP priorities: "If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're pre-school, you're f_ed."
But I work with kids, and this kind of stuff just infuriates me. George Carlin said it best when it came to GOP priorities: "If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're pre-school, you're f_ed."
@georgetakei
Sadly unless you come up with A) More money to replace that of the NRA and B) convince a lot of Americans that the current interpretation on the 2nd Amendment is wrong
It will not happen in my life time and Iโm slightly younger than you Maestro Takei
Sadly unless you come up with A) More money to replace that of the NRA and B) convince a lot of Americans that the current interpretation on the 2nd Amendment is wrong
It will not happen in my life time and Iโm slightly younger than you Maestro Takei
@georgetakei Lawsuits to shut down every republican owned company. Here's a good start, these pricks give them money to get elected! On this website some promised to stop donating to republicans, then went right back to doing it again! https://act.boldprogressives.org/whipcount/drain-the-traitors/
@georgetakei What I find really crazy about some GOP is the really religious ones blame a lack of prayer in schools for why bad things happen. Well, I'm sure during an active shooting that's totally wrong, and you've got prayers flying from minds and lips as quickly as the bullets in the hallways. But it doesn't stop the shooting. Getting the weapon away from the perp is the only thing that stops it. You can't pray a gun out of a hand.
And considering Texas is a state that has as many churches as gas stations in every small and medium-sized town, if prayer worked, we wouldn't have so many bloody shootings.
๐ง๐๐ณNeilJB๐ฅ๐๐๐๐+๐@georgetakei Remember the Vietnam War protests George? It's time for a repeat. People are dying, the politicians don't care or are actively promoting guns that are the root cause of the problem.
Remember Woodstock? This?
