Coffee Talk – Orlando
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Welcome to Coffee Talk. Grab a cup of your favorite morning beverage and join in the conversation.
Orlando
Unfortunately, I think it’s impossible to have a coffee talk discussion this week and not talk about all of the horrible things that have happened in Orlando . If you haven’t heard about it, thanks for coming out from under your rock to join the chat. I’ll be giving a brief description below.
So, last week in Orlando, Christina Grimmie, the 22-year-old singer who made her name on NBC’s “The Voice, was shot to death while signing autographs after a show. The theory was that the guy was a stalker. Then, on Sunday night, a man (who had pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization ISIS (or ISIL if you’re the president)) shot up a gay nightclub, officially killing 49 people and wounding dozens more. It was officially the largest mass shooting in US history- and we have a lot of mass shootings- so that’s saying something.
Then because tragedies come in 3s, a little boy was attacked by an alligator in a lagoon outside one of the Disney resorts. His body was found the next day.
There are at least 2 major issues going on here – gun control, and the encroachment of humans into the territory of native species.
On Guns
I, personally, have a conceal/carry permit. And there are usually more guns in my house than people, but I also believe in proper gun safety, and not giving guns to those who are likely to cause harm to themselves and others. I am willing to say that neither of those men should have been allowed to have guns. They both had histories of domestic violence, and possible mental illness. I would love to see more thorough background checks for those purchasing weapons- requiring everyone the kind I needed to get my conceal/carry permit would be a good start. I certainly don’t want to start any huge arguments in the comments, but I would love to know your thoughts on gun control.
On Encroaching on Wildlife
In Genesis, God told Adam and Eve to “go forth and multiply.” As far as that goes, we’ve certainly held up our end of the bargain. We’ve multiplied so much, that we’ve begun taking over and changing the native habitats of wildlife all over the world. As we continue increase the population of people in areas that were once inhabited strictly by wildlife, we force that wildlife into smaller and smaller areas, until it becomes impossible for us to not step on each others toes.
And, as much as we would like to think that we’re on top of the food chain, we aren’t. There are plenty of predators out there who would gladly eat us, given the chance. And while our communication skills and technology help us to keep predatory attacks at a minimum, they will continue to happen. Of course, that’s not much solace for the family who lost their little boy. So the question is- what can we do to make our interactions with nature safer without destroying the earth’s already fragile ecosystem?
I’d love to hear what’s going on in your life. And I sincerely hope it was happier than this week’s news.
I don’t usually engage in discussions of things like, oh–abortion, the death penalty, gun control–because no matter which side you may be on, or what you say, you will soon discover that either you’re preaching to the choir, or you’ve got an argument on your hands. At least that’s been my experience.
Life has been un-pretty for the last week or so, hasn’t it.
It has been downright awful. I’m hoping that this week brings happier news. I do hope to be sharing more about our ducks soon, so at least that will be cute and happy.