one-woman militia

Week of July 16 

THE ARTICLES:

"Gunman Kills 12 in Colorado, Reviving Gun Debate"
by DAN FROSCH and KIRK JOHNSON
July 20, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/shooting-at-colorado-theater-showing-batman-movie.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

"Live Updates on Movie Theater Shooting in Colorado"
By J. DAVID GOODMAN, JENNIFER PRESTON and MARC SANTORA
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/live-updates-on-movie-theater-shooting-in-colorado/ 

"Op-Ed Contributor: We’ve Seen This Movie Before"
By ROGER EBERT

July 20, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/opinion/weve-seen-this-movie-before.html
 
For parents or educators:
"Addressing the Colorado Shootings With Students"
by KATHERINE SCHULTEN
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/addressing-the-colorado-shootings-with-students/?ref=us
THE GIST:
At a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, a gunman opened fire, killing 12 and wounding 58. The shooter, 24-year old James Holmes, entered the theater from the emergency exit in the front and threw two exploding canisters into the audience before opening fire, all while appearing calm and saying nothing, according to witnesses. Holmes' police record consists of just one speeding ticket, and he graduated with honors from the University of California, Riverside.  Most recently, he dropped out of a Ph.D program at the University of Colorado.  Holmes legally purchased four guns and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition in the

James Holmes

last 60 days. The event evoked haunting familiarity in its victims and witnesses--the movie theater was just 20 miles from Columbine High School, where 2 students opened fire and killed a dozen people and themselves in 1999.  President Obama and Mitt Romney issued statements of sympathy and reflection following the massacre, but drew criticism from New York's Mayor Bloomberg, who urged both candidates to move away from broad, safe statements and offer specific, transparent solutions for gun violence.  In Roger Ebert's editorial "We've Seen This Movie Before," he says that while pro-gun lobbyists insist that Americans need guns to protect themselves, "not a single person at the...theater shot back," arguing that the self-defense theory is weak but consistently absent from the reality of shootings.  According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 45% of Americans have a gun in their home.  When asked "What do you think are the one or two most important things that could be done to prevent mass shootings from occurring in the United States?" the most popular open-ended response was "stricter gun control laws" at 24%, followed by "better mental health screening/Better mental health support" at 15%.  Just 4% answered, "Allow people to carry guns for their own protection," supporting Ebert's argument.  Holmes is in custody, and information about a motive or his mental health has yet to be made public. 

Excerpt from a 2011 Gallup poll

New York City Mayor Bloomberg on gun laws and what the Presidential nominees should do about them

THE POEM: 
one-woman militia

the signal in the sky
above the multiplex
feels familiar

we've seen this before
twelve bodies on the floor
in Colorado

the baby screams
in his father's arms
is this a dream
within a dream
within a dream
or the vengeance of James
unexplained

I cradle the gun I keep in the closet
like my neighbor and her neighbor do

I hold it quietly

feel the weight of
who it could save
by who it could kill

I tell myself:

I am a one-woman militia
bearing arms in the arms
of evaporating bones that
feel strong when they point
an assault rifle

I kick myself because:

it was in the closet
and I was dreaming
while he was screaming
toward the parking lot

I pray:

for the day I can throw it away
and just doze off

I realize:

they're both 24
another year and their brains will be done
but they've done so much
for people
to people
already

I wonder:

if Bruce Wayne's mother
could ever sleep

I wikipedia:

Oh, she was murdered

I kick
I scream
I pray

I am too close to think

Let this be a dream
within a dream
within a dream