What a weekend this past weekend was for brutality.
First there was yet another school shooting, this time at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. School shootings are becoming as American as apple pie and government lies.
Then there was the awful massacre of Jews in Australia of which the only good thing that came out of that terrible tragedy was the heroism of one lone Muslim fruit and vegetable vendor who tackled one of the gunmen and took his rifle away saving who knows how many lives. That one lone man showed more courage than over four hundred cowboy hatted Texas Ranger policemen showed in Uvalde Texas who waited until a lone gunman emptied his high capacity weapons into mostly children and killing twenty one people (19 children and two teachers) before they summoned up enough "courage" to storm the shooter. And then as usual they have a press conference and go into an orgy of self congratulations for a job that they were supposed to do anyway.
I want to say we live in dangerous times but the truth is that life on earth has always probably been dangerous. I think I'm safe to say that.
I am thankful that when I went to school I didn't have to worry about being shot. My only worry was that those Russian Communists were going to drop an A-bomb on my elementary school but I knew I was "safe" hiding beneath my old timey wooden desk with metal legs bolted to the floor. No, not really! Even then my five year old mind figured out I was pretty much toast (melted) if an A-bomb was dropped on me. I saw the newsreel films at the Saturday matinees movies I used to attend at the Roosevelt Theater in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. But I am thankful that I didn't have to dodge a deranged shooter pissed off at the world because of what? He couldn't get girlfriends? But I digress.
Perhaps the saddest piece of news I heard this weekend was the death of Rob "Meathead" Reiner. I liked Rob Reiner. I never met him but I felt like I knew him personally. Some celebrity deaths hit me that way. Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy's deaths also affected me that way. I felt like they were genuine people. Good souls. I felt a profound sadness when I first read a posting on Threads last night that Rob Reiner and his wife were found stabbed to death at their home. The likely suspect was their son, who fought drug addiction for years. I could go on about the anomaly of children brought up in a privileged environment who succumb to drugs but I don't know the Reiner's particular situation so I won't. One thing I do know, a good soul left this earth yesterday in a very violent way. He and is wife. Rob Reiner also did a lot to cause same sex marriage to become reality. That and a whole lot more.
Rest in peace Rob. Your memory will live on in glory. And thank you for being my friend, even though I never met you in person. I feel if I did you would be one of those celebrities (rare) that would actually look me in the eye and listen to what I have to say.
You're in Heaven now Rob with your wife. Your time on earth was well done. You've earned your rest.
