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Here and There ... and Back Again
A Greencastle native and a 2017 graduate of Wabash College, Brand Selvia is passionate about history, conversation and classic cars. Nicknamed "Brando" by family and friends, Selvia loves chatting over a cup of coffee or glass of bourbon, as well as joyriding in his 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
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Back to school/reacting to Dayton and El Paso
Posted Wednesday, August 7, 2019, at 2:25 PM
School is officially back in session. Students in Putnam County began the 2019-20 school year this week, with Cloverdale Schools leading the charge on Tuesday.
Of course, this means that DePauw will not be too far behind, and my alma mater will welcome its new freshman class a week from this coming Saturday. The time at Wabash between Ringing In and the first day of classes is an exciting, even if somewhat stressful, period of anticipation. For those returning, it's simply just that.
For North Putnam, the beginning of school is just part of continuing progress which is being made with renovating all of its buildings. I was excited to follow Superintendent Nicole Singer and the North Putnam School Board on a tour of each school Tuesday evening. It all seems to be coming along very quickly and cohesively, and it's exciting.
For Joey, the beginning of the year signals the true start of covering school sports events. In turn, this means the newsroom will soon return to its late-night Fridays waiting for results. Not that I mind, because I think the later deadline can give us more time to better manage design and proofreading of the paper between each of us.
I would be remiss to not acknowledge that the beginning of the school year also heralds many more fire alarm runs for the Greencastle Fire Department. It's an inevitable part of the daily routine. The same thing happens up in Crawfordsville too.
It's still business as usual for us. I continue to tell my Wabash acquaintances that there is a never a dull moment for me, because it's true. Cloverdale politics will still stay nutty, and Fillmore and Russellville will continue to address needed improvements. Jared and I will still be here doing our part, because #SmallTownPR is what we are.
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Switching gears here, it's needless to say that the shootings over the weekend in El Paso and Dayton, which have left 31 people dead and with more wounded, are tragic.
For better or for worse, the shootings have renewed criticisms in which liberals have singled out conservatives for a perceived lack of inaction on gun control. They also have delved into conversations about white supremacy and racism, as these attacks have been referred to by authorities as cases of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.
I will say, without equivocation, that I do not support the emotionalists who are now calling for the total ban of guns in general, and most certainly don't sympathize with those who would be hell-bent to see the Second Amendment revoked. However, it is still clear to me that improvements in implementation and understanding are needed.
President Trump has signaled he isn't serious about supporting thorough background checks. He did so when he signed a bill in 2017 which undermined including those with mental illnesses in national background checks. Considering the optics, as well as being unwilling to commit in deeds, as much as in words, to meaningful reform, there is little reason to not doubt his ability to lead on addressing the issue of gun violence.
Thoughts and prayers in Congress and the public sphere aren't going to prevent another tragedy like those which occurred in El Paso and Dayton. We can't forget the horrors which faced Stoneman Douglas High School last year, as well as the 20 children left dead in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School back in 2012.
Level prevention and a strong emphasis on identifying mental illness are both needed, not one or the other. They have, by their nature, become issues to be tackled politically and socially. Government must focus on ensuring that those definitively regarded as dangerous cannot possess a firearm. That's not paranoia; it's just common sense.
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A lack of critical thinking is also apparent in you professing that just because you say that mass shootings were perhaps "rare" at one time, there shouldn't be an effort to maintain or, God forbid, try to fortify background checks, red flag laws and the NICS. Paranoid, unnecessarily anti-government personalities like yourself who think that any restriction on gun purchases or handling is an infringement on Second Amendment rights are the major roadblocks which need dismantled.
Yes, people can, and do, fail. Thank you for stating the obvious. It doesn't mean that we stop trying to look at causations and how government entities can better report these incidences. Doesn't it at all strike you as problematic that, as you say, recent shootings were done with individuals who could easily pass a background check and with few questions asked?
Hence, this is why red flag laws and mental health are receiving needed attention now after Dayton and El Paso. They are trying to get us to be proactive, something you obviously see as a threat to your own rights, despite you, perhaps, actually being a responsible gun owner with nothing to hide.
Can you prove that psychiatric hospitals are/were being closed left and right, as you imply? Without evidence, trying to pin these ills on Democrats shows what little depth you have on the issue of who's "responsible." That paragraph is just you spitting up conspiracy theories and making unrefined conjectures.
And how was my referencing the restrictions the president lifted in 2017 simply taking a "cheap shot?" That infers blindly supporting him, as you really don't address or support why it was at all necessary to the point at hand. Did you even care to read the link, or just hated it because it was from NBC?
Just for a different perspective, I worked in the firearms section of the Indiana State Police before coming to the paper. I was charged with reviewing handgun applications and seeing they were eligible. Almost all of them were in the clear, but here is the rub: under the Second Chance Law, any misdemeanor that has been expunged by a court cannot be used a cause for denial.
It was not all that uncommon for me to approve someone who had a consistent criminal past in the NICS (it didn't matter if some charges were light or more serious like battery), because they would all be expunged, and the patterns you could see couldn't be suspect. It also only took a simple note from a doctor saying that an applicant with a history of mental health issues was okay to carry a handgun. No explanations and no in-depth reasoning as to the risks he/she could pose.
You see these as necessary to prevent government "infringing" on gun rights; I see these instances as flaw points to, at the very least, be considered and improved upon in the future. That is part of a fundamental difference between you and I. I'll still call you out as a "conservative voice of reason" with little critical thinking and an abundance of unhealthy skepticism, and you can simply label me a "lefty" who wants to take away your freedoms.