Sympathy for victims, no sympathy for the United States after Orlando shooting

Jun 17, 2016 | 3:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — There are so many reasons to talk about what happened in Orlando last weekend.

So many aspects to the story to explore.

We could talk about the violent homophobia that seemed to play into the attack on the gay bar.

We could talk about the shooter’s pledge of allegiance to ISIS during a 9-1-1 call in the middle of the chaos.

There’s the ever-present issue of gun control, and the fact that the killer purchased the weapons legally despite being on the radar of the national law enforcement agencies.

Or there’s the reaction of the two presidential candidates, specifically a Mr. Trump, who has embraced this event as the engine that might propel him to victory.

But the most troubling part of this affair is that it’s not shocking any more.

It’s not at all surprising.

49 people dead?

In one single event, that’s a lot, but in the context of shooting stats in the United States, it won’t push the needle.

Is it sad?

Yes and no.

It’s sad for the individual victims and their families.

It’s sad for the LGBTQ community.

But it’s not sad for America.

Why?

Because it’s clear the country has no interest in finding a remedy to any of those issues I mentioned before.

It has not acted meaningfully to prevent incidents of mass gun violence carried out by anyone on anyone.

And to be honest, if the U.S. hasn’t made progress toward solving these issues under the current Obama administration, it’s not going to get any closer with either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as its president.

The present may be bleak for the safety and security of residents of the United States, but the future is downright frightening.