I respectfully disagree with some here in reference to mass shootings...
These RW politicians and zealots do not want this to “go away”. Yes, it is true that they release as little information as possible, and state and restate the same trivial platitudes and cliches over and over and over again, and all the rest of their illogical bullshit. In a normal situation, this all might be construed as a matter of covering up the situation, and trying to escape from it.
But having watched their behavior for what seems like decades now, I think that these people want this stuff to happen. It keeps people afraid, cowed, paranoid, scared to death, and supportive of a militarized police force. It makes people prone to elect hard-core RW politicians, who are publicly stating that they are for gun rights for the average citizen in order for them to protect themselves from criminals, for the death penalty, particularly for minority offenders, and it lends itself to wishful thinking, which would tend to call for a repressive, aggressive police presence in every facet of the society.
We saw this after 9/11: a diverse majority of the populace favored removing constitutional rights from suspects in order to ostensibly promote the safety of the masses. I had chronicled here over the years, otherwise right-thinking people who went off the rails and advocated for a police state rather than a democratic one. People were seeing terrorists working at the 7-Eleven, ringing up their coffee and Slim Jim’s.
Nearly everyone I speak to voices fear and concerns about going out of the house, about sending their kids to school, about going shopping, about self-service gas stations, about every action which used to be routine. We live in abject fear of crime, which is best exemplified from a Commercial and publicity viewpoint and basis as mass shootings, which certainly get everyone’s attention, and is another nail in the coffin of the sanctity of our right to pursue happiness.
Rather than say that these people are covering this up, I would state that this is part of their plan which will enable them to pass laws which repress our behavior , whether it be our voting behaviors and right-to-vote, have school selection and curriculum selection behavior, our right to protest behavior, and eventually choice of religion and which books we can read. In fact, they have already begun work with “fruitful” results on several I mentioned, as well as of course, the limitations upon pregnancy termination, and very soon, all forms of contraception . They are working very hard at this, and we calmly sit back and say to ourselves “well they certainly wouldn’t do blah blah blah” but make no mistake about it, they will. You can bet the house on it. They’re well on their way and their dreams are vivid and boundless.
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around the nation and blocked gun controls large majorities of the people, including on the right, want. WHILE spreading hate, fear and massive grievance among those vulnerable.
Not addressed as much as hate speech is the spread of "fear speech," telling people others plan to hurt them, to incite preemptive violence -- or in our case voting for authoritarian government to "restore law and order." Today's NYT has a piece about "fear speech." They're creating perception of "need" by inciting widespread civil violence.
These are all also standard, proven means of persuading people to vote away their own rights and freedoms in return for promises of safety. Some people right here on DU are anxiously insisting no one's safe anywhere. Their counterparts on RW social media know we're the killers.
Any POTUS the MAGAs are likely to accept would soothe their fears by promising to put the National Guard and police on the streets with orders to shoot to kill. Biden wouldn't feel any of that was needed or, to put it mildly, appropriate, but then we aren't generating civil unrest and fear to create a police state.
...But fear is weaponized even more than hate by leaders who seek to spark violence. Hate is often part of the equation, of course, but fear is almost always the key ingredient when people feel they must lash out to defend themselves.
... Most tech platforms do not shut down false fear-inciting claims such as “Antifa is coming to invade your town” and “Your political enemies are pedophiles coming for your children.” But by allowing lies like these to spread, the platforms are allowing the most perilous types of speech to permeate our society.
... the Dangerous Speech Project, said that genocidal leaders often use fear of a looming threat to prod groups into pre-emptive violence. Those who commit the violence do not need to hate the people they are attacking. They just need to be afraid of the consequences of not attacking. ...
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/opinion/fear-speech-social-media.html
Examples of use to provoke genocides given, but right now in America what we need to fear is the "protective" choices anxious voters might make in 2024.
Oh, and the piece notes that "humor can be a good defense." Testing of poking fun at the fearmongering showed good results.
and Impose Control for Dummies."
Sowing chaos is standard. Street violence and epidemic disease are both instruments of chaos.
And here we all are talking about this...! Thank goodness.
We've made big advances, albeit enabled by big losses, but still. In the leadup to 2016's Pearl Harbor, the "controversial" issue consuming most discussion was which national healthcare system we should choose, not whether we could lose our right to choose or have any.
"Defeat can be an integral instrument of victory." ~ Someone
rulings have. How many have to die first though? 
I bet a lot of people would go for it. At least it gets a number of guns off the street. It's an investment. And it's a start.
