No Subject - There is No Other Subject

The violence continues, debates are stirred, scholarly discourse ensues, and a significant amount of research exists that outlines the history of and theories about the use of deadly force, per the Chronicle of Higher Ed:

Those who favor the threat hypothesis contend that, for a vast number of reasons — including poverty, lack of upward mobility and opportunity, and a history of oppression — African-Americans are more likely to be involved in scenarios where police officers use their weapons.

As for her own view, Ms. James said she is not convinced the debate matters much.

"Even if the threat hypothesis is true, there’s something very, very wrong and very, very damaged if young African-American males are more likely to be in those positions," Ms. James said.

The fact is, the combination of racism and firearms is more than our or any society can handle. Those two elements make mincemeat of our ideals, our lofty aspirations, not to mention the actual human potential that is being snuffed out by real violence. But we will mention it, and we will do so continually.

It is now important to note at every turn that the U.S. is the only developed country that forces ourselves into this situation. We're putting ourselves under much more pressure than is required or we can manage, and for what? Is this the exceptionalism upon which we insist? The only product as yet is a constantly fed, sociopathic level of denial: nothing can be done, there is no way to stop this. These are truly absurd statements, a function of dispair, exacerbated, yes, by those who would and do profit. We cannot shy away from such reckonings, and there are others. The psychological turmoil required on the part of each and every one of us to accept these conditions, to go about our augmented, sad, distressed daily routines within them, is debilitating at least and in many cases fatal. Many continue to ask with fervent sincerity, 'how will I explain this to my children?' Let's start with the truth about ourselves, our racism, and our guns. There is no other subject.