George Takei 
🏳️🌈🖖🏽This was the front page of The Daily Tar Heel following the active shooter lockdown at UNC. Powerful. We don’t have to live like this.
Natalia@georgetakei
"please know this is NOT normal!"
the rest of the world
abemud@NataliaArmyOf1 @georgetakei yes, I no longer vacation anywhere in the US anymore. Sad.
@abemud @georgetakei
very! at least for those of us who grow up hearing about "the american dream" wont go there any time soon.
very! at least for those of us who grow up hearing about "the american dream" wont go there any time soon.
Jarno@georgetakei hate to go all europey on you but man, you guys really got to fix your shit. Fast.
Null The Grey@georgetakei Nothing changed after Sandy Hook, nothing will ever change. People who go on and on about the 2nd amendment never stop to consider the fact that the deadliest weapon a single person could carry around at the time was a musket that took many seconds to reload. Now one person can carry enough firepower to kill hundreds.
𝐉𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫@nullthegrey @georgetakei People who go on and on about the Second Amendment never stop to consider the fact that it says RIGHT THERE IN THE AMENDMENT that its purpose was to allow people to "bear arms" so they could serve in state militias. And "bear arms," back then, meant "serve in the military."
Scalia's interpretation of the Second Amendment in the godawful Heller opinion was utter bunk that he pulled out of, umm, the air in order to reach the result he wanted to reach.
Grinning Cat 
🚫👑@jonberger @nullthegrey @georgetakei
Say it. Scalia pulled that *rewrite* of the Second Amendment out of his ass. Argumentum ex culo, a.k.a. PIDOOMA.
PIDOOMA
PIDOOMA (the acronym for Pulled It Directly Out Of My Ass, or argumentum ex culo;[note 1] literally "argument from the asshole") is the act of arguing by way of flinging everything at the wall and seeing what sticks ad hoc bullshit in a desperate attempt to shore up an untenable argument, with the use of blatant, usually intentional lies.
@grinningcat @nullthegrey @georgetakei I've become accustomed to comment platforms that algorithmically disapprove of salty language. And I love, and will be stealing, the phrase "argumentum ex culo."
Good! (I got it from RationalWiki.)
And yes, I appreciate getting to use the full fracking* extent of my vocabulary here.
* Not a euphemism. Fracking is bad for people and the planet and deserves to be a swearword. Loving and/or just plain joyful sex, between or among consenting adults or peers, not so much.
Joar@georgetakei @nullthegrey Yeah, and the reason that was needed then was because the country didn’t have an actual full time army, so they wanted citizens to have weapons available in case an army needed to be formed.
Badwolf303
Rachel Beth Ahrens@georgetakei I agree. This says everything about ending active shootings. It's too scary and triggering to read, but it needs to be said for all.
Caffe Neko@georgetakei As long as we allow a political party (GOP) legitimacy despite it being filled with destructive grifters actively pointing us toward apocalypse so long as they profit - and as long as we allow an 'entertainment' channel (Fox) to parade as 'news' while churning out fear mongering lies and stochastic terrorism....the US will be in this situation. FB and YT are complicit now too, refusing to block, flag, or remove political disinfo. These are all threats to public health & democracy.
Joe 
@caffeneko @georgetakei YT and FB are not evil for "refusing to block this content" its an impossible task, and its a distraction from the real issue.
In actuality they are evil because they knowingly and willingly use AI algorithms "The Algorithm" that promote rage material and radicalize people as a means to waste as much of their lives as possible, because: more time = more ads = more money
The reality is, if these algorithms were banned, almost no one would see or hear the radicals.
@caffeneko @georgetakei Mastodon has no such algorithm, can you feel the relative calm?
James Davis Nicoll@georgetakei Some loser angry about pronouns attacked a gender studies professor at UWaterloo, injuring two students who protected the prof in the process. Although many elements of the event were mishandled*--turns out the special alert system we have UW does fuck all in an actual crisis--people were injured and not killed because in Canada you cannot buy AR-15s in corner stores. The fuckwit was limited to knives.
* Kudos to students in that class who threw chairs at that very proper Charlie.
xs4me2Terrible, and all of this would go away with strict gun laws.
Its a choice…
Jeff ♨️ Darcy@georgetakei As long as these mostly happen in schools and minority-frequented businesses, the 2A Death Cultists won't care. Some will even rejoice. They love to destroy everything that they don't value for themselves, and they're telling us which is which.
Nicole ParsonsRepublican billionaire donors, foreign and domestic, don't care if Americans shoot each other.
As long as gun nuts vote GOP, they're willing to let children die.
https://people.com/politics/the-lawmakers-who-receive-the-most-funding-from-nra/
dangrsmind@georgetakei devastating
Andy McCall 
@georgetakei I want to favourite this because it's important, but favouriting it doesn't seem right.
Wokebloke for Democracy@georgetakei
An account of the shooting also on that page tells about tracking the activity on X, a haven for white supremacists and MAGA.
An account of the shooting also on that page tells about tracking the activity on X, a haven for white supremacists and MAGA.
Kid Mania
Dan Pomerantz (he/him)@georgetakei perennial apt @theonion headline as discussed here: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/25/1101269886/the-onion-mass-shooting-satire
PirateRo
joe•iuculano 
@georgetakei Everybody who has access to that front page (those who don't have access should print out their own) should turn it into a poster and take it everywhere they go, and stick it on their front lawn or tie it to their balcony, when not in use.
aethervision@georgetakei I’m pretty sure that when Jefferson said that “tree of democracy watered with the blood of patriots” quote he was 1) Off his nut about the French Revolution and 2) Didn’t mean we use the blood of the innocent as a literal sacrifice you gun-humping idiots.
sailingbikeruk@georgetakei the NRA and those hiding behind the 2A are as guilty as the shooter himself.
Doug • TI/TK/ST82498@georgetakei
I hope that every single one of those impacted votes out the deniers that think that things like this are totally normal and fine.
I hope that every single one of those impacted votes out the deniers that think that things like this are totally normal and fine.
chicating@georgetakei The congresspeople that *ensure* this shit keeps happening can't hang if their gardeners don't show up. Wish they could share the fear like college kids.
RYK592@georgetakei #GunViolence and we don’t have to live like this!
@@georgetakei Your country is too far gone, the paranoia and fear have overtaken common sense. The obsession with guns is insane.