Nine One One
“We don’t feel much support most days. Let’s not make today most days.” So said Dallas Police Chief David Brown following a horrific night when five police officers were killed by sniper fire. Three people are in custody and one suspect is dead after being killed by a robot bomb. Here’s the latest from the Dallas Morning News and more updates from Buzzfeed.
+ Obama called the sniper attacks vicious and despicable. And from Speaker Paul Ryan: “Let’s not lose sight of our common humanity.”
+ The immediate tragedy of this week is the loss of life in Minnesota, Baton Rouge, and the Dallas shootings. The longterm tragedy is the fact that these events are all being used by many as just another excuse for us to hate on one another. Much of that hate is now taking place on social media, where powerful live and recorded videos of violence captivate us. I’m not sure if access to social media increases our level of hate, or if it merely holds up a mirror to the vile contempt that’s always been there. Either one of those conclusions is pretty sad. Former congressman (and current blowhard) Joe Walsh was among the most sickening voices on the Internet (his diatribe included the tweet: “This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you.”). But Walsh was hardly alone in his spewing of rage in a moment that called for grief.