By the time this column runs, it will have been nearly two weeks since the tragic mass shootings in the cities of El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
Twenty-two people in El Paso were taken from this earth, and from their families. Barely 13 hours later, in a separate incident, another nine people were murdered in Dayton.
Most troubling about these tragedies is that they occurred in places where being the victim of gun violence should be the least of our worries.
The first was at an El Paso Walmart Supercenter and nearby shopping mall. Almost the same day, in a popular section of downtown Dayton, known for its nightlife, filled with restaurants, nightclubs and people, the unthinkable happened.
Again.
Sadly, in today's America, these incidents are very thinkable. In fact, mass shootings have become tragically commonplace.
After the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many Americans, including myself, were very afraid. Our greatest fear was when and where the next terrorist attack might take place.
In the weeks following 9/11, we were, understandably, on edge. Living in a smaller city, like Hattiesburg, the risk of becoming the victim of an attack was unlikely.
A terrorist wants a lot more attention, attacking a major city - a Chicago, Los Angeles or an Atlanta. But back then, I was pondering an even darker scenario.
If a person with purely evil intent truly wanted to destroy our country's sense of security, they'd strike somewhere in the heartland, one of America's smaller cities, a place you might least expect.
And what represents America more than the ubiquitous shopping mall?
Most American cities, large and small, have at least one major shopping mall.
What if a cretin from some foreign country walked into a mall in middle-America, strapped with explosives, wreaking the kind of murderous mayhem they're known for? What would happen to our sense of security then? We recently witnessed just that, only with a different plot line.
Cielo Vista Mall is one I've visited many times.
On my drives to Los Angeles, El Paso is one of the cities along I-10 I'd stop, take a break from driving, and get a good night's sleep.
I'd arrive just before dark, check into a hotel and spend a little time exploring the city. I always included a visit to Cielo Vista, El Paso's largest shopping mall. The Walmart Supercenter, where the shootings began, is a newer addition, built adjacent to the mall.
Watching the nightmarish images unfold on cable news channels, I couldn't help but remember the thoughts I had back in 2001, following the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and United Airline disasters.
What if we were attacked in the heartland?
The mass shooting in El Paso was that nightmare come true. The terrorist had struck us squarely in our hearts: an American shopping center.
On an otherwise innocent Saturday afternoon, parents were out with their kids, back-to-school shopping for new clothes and school supplies.
What could be more American?
But the innocence of that afternoon was shattered in a matter of minutes as gunfire rang out.
Now comes the plot twist. We were soon to find out that this wasn't the attack of some brown-skinned terrorist from a country in the Middle East.
This was homegrown terror, an American kid, just 21 years old, from deep in the heart of Texas. Just like the demented gang of Saudi Arabian men who ended up murdering more than 3,000 innocent Americans on 9/11, this kid from east Texas had the same goal: to kill as many people as possible.
And now, we're all wrapped up in the always-asked question following these mass murders.
Why?
There's a sick irony at work here. As we watched on TV, as details of the story began to emerge, I believe we already knew part of the story. We knew this wouldn't be the result of some foreign "invader."
This was much more likely to be the work of one of our own, and indeed it was.
A 21-year-old boy, (and I'm old enough to call him a boy) from a small town in Texas.
Obviously a young racist, his prejudices, fears and hatred were nursed on the teat of the Internet. And we may as well admit, his hatred was made even more lethal by the weapon he was able to get his hands on.
There are so many directions to take from here. Do we blame mental illness, ultra-violent video games, easy access to guns, the cancer that is racism? Where do we point the finger?
Hatred - and equally senseless, the desire to kill - disturbs my soul most.
Murder committed with such corrupt ease is especially blood-curdling.
The kid gunman in Dayton was equipped with a firearm that allowed him to shoot dead in cold blood, 9 people, in a period of less than 30 seconds.
Guns are not the only problem, but let's be real; they certainly a play a major role in these ongoing national tragedies.
Oh, I know.
Guns don't kill people; people kill people. (We've all heard that cliched argument.)
But consider this statistic.
The United States' population is an estimated 330 million.
But according to the latest estimates, there are more than 390,000,000 guns in our country (including those in the possession of law enforcement).
That would mean a gun for every man, woman, child and infant in the United States. (With a few left over for some of our family dogs.)
The United States makes up about 4.2 percent of the world’s population, but we own 40 percent of the world's guns.
In a typical year, more than 40,000 people die in this country as a result of gunshot wounds.
That’s a population of 40,000, a city roughly the size of Hattiesburg.
That number includes those who take their own lives using a firearm. (More Americans kill themselves by gun than are murdered by guns each year.)
If you think this column is about to morph into some liberal rant about gun control, boy, are you ever wrong.
A little realism here.
With all the guns already in our hands, what kind of "control" are we expecting? I'm not for confiscating guns, either. It's been tried in other countries, even with some positive results.
But here in America, such a seizure would all but certainly lead to our next Civil War.
So, what to do?
I have to note here, my thoughts on guns are only a point of observation.
It may be too late to do anything about controlling the number of guns on the streets of America.
On Facebook, lots of people point out the annual number of murders in Chicago, and with good reason.
That giant Midwest city is often mentioned because it has one of the highest murder rates in the country. In the same breath, it's also noted, Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
Oh, big deal.
What's the point?
Guns may not "kill people" but, they also don't think. A gun purchased in Tennessee is supposed to know it can't cross state lines, into the the city limits of Chicago?
In America, if you want a gun, no matter where you live, getting your hands on one is about as easy as buying a can of Diet Coke.
Once you've purchased it, carry that gun with you anywhere you like, including Chicago.
The genie is out of the bottle, America. We are a nation of guns, a fact that's not going to change any time soon.
Like I said, I've heard many of the arguments.
If a murderer intends to kill, no matter their weapon of choice, he or she will find a way to do it.
Although some of the firearms legally available in this country amps up the number of kills a psychotic can pull off, in only a matter of seconds.
Just ask the citizens of El Paso, Dayton, Las Vegas, Charleston, Pittsburgh, and the list of cities goes on.
Meanwhile, we wait. We wait for the "unthinkable" to happen again. Because we all know it will.
So until the next mass shooting, I guess the best we can do is keep our thoughts and prayers on speed-dial.
Elijah Jones is a writer and a proud graduate of the Hattiesburg Public School System and the University of Southern Mississippi. Drop him an email: edjhubtown@aol.com.
