VENTSday returns for the first time since the Umpqua shootings, and we open the phone lines and email box for comments on how best to move forward.
The other topic is very much related... what information--like the shooter's name--should be public or withheld?
You've got opinions on events in the news, and our VENTSday segment is designed to let the world hear them.
We plop a pair of topics on the table--frequently unrelated--and let YOU deliver your passionate (and polite) views on them.
Join the VENTSday party by calling in your comments to 800-838-3760, email them to JX@jeffnet.org, or post them to the Exchange Facebook page.
IN ADDITION to the comments that aired, we got a pile of emails that never were heard. Here they are:
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Every time a shooting occurs it is a major wake up call.
As a new parent I've often compared two interesting co-existing facts: 1. We are the only country with these types of mass shootings occurring significantly more than any other developed country... 2. We are the ONLY developed country without mandatory paid maternal and paternal leave... A child's first years are so crucial, and the stress of survival coupled with the stress of new parenthood, without much support, is a very painful and potentially traumatic mix.
Note how peaceful a record that Canada has. New parents there are VERY well taken care of. After all, new parents are responsible for the citizens of the future.
-Jacob, no town given.
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It's a crime... My condolences to those that lost family and friends to this criminal...
I see the problem as a jurisprudence issue..
After their actions these people typically end up in mental institutions or prison...
I believe they should get their day in court.... found guilty and promptly executed!
I believe it should be done in a timely and public manner...
It would take away all the glamour and notoriety!
- V Handel, no town given.
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Sheriff testified against gun laws proposed by Oregon and has writ and stated that he won't enforce federal gun laws HE considers unconstitutional. Someone should point this out?
- Del, no town given.
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Silly to think that saying the shooters name is somehow going to encourage others. We are trying to impose sanity on insanity. The Right Wing and especially the NRA seems to think what we don’t know makes things better. Irony, the Conservatives continued to defund social services to curry favor with their base…so here we are, no mental health offered by states and counties, and the very folks who defunded those services are saying we need it to keep this from happening.
- Joe in Talent
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I've had to turn the news off since the Roseburg shooting. Im trying to be reasonable, but I have to admit our country is beyond uneducated. How many more people do I have to hear use the 2nd amendment excuse , not for a British 18th century Monarchy, but reinterpret it for our own government? People have no understanding of the industrial connection. It's always about money, this didn't happen when you could sue the gun manufacturers, we used to have an assaults weapons ban as well. It's the same reason we have continual war...it's very profitable. In turn, we get tricked into blaming mental health or liberals. We have to honest, a large portion of our population is ignorant and very uneducated.
- Mike in Medford
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The only way to BEGIN to address this kind of thing going on the mass
shooting the multiple gun deaths--is to begin to reduce the number of guns
too easily available to anyone, in our country.
-Beppy, no town given.
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UCC was not a gun free zone. Mental health is a guise for republicans to avoid the topic of any sensible gun control. It is absolutely true that those suffering mental atypicalities need more support, but they are actually less likely to be the perpetrator of violent crimes like this as opposed to victims.
SENSIBLE GUN CONTROL is needed. I've seen a meme going around comparing potential gun control with abortion policies-a 24 hour waiting period, pictures of those killed by irresponsible gun use, talking with specialists about what owning a gun means, the whole ten yards. If we are serious about protecting our communities, yeah we should check social media along with making it that much more difficult for those who want to hurt others with guns to get them in their hands.
I support the #dontsayhisname
- A in Ashland
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Here in southern Oregon, in the few days since the tragic shootings at Umpqua Community College last week in Roseburg, threats of violence have canceled Ashland High School's homecoming parade, closed Rogue Community College campuses in Grants Pass, Central Point and Medford (including the main public library in Medford), closed the campus of Southwestern Community College in Coos Bay and area schools, and today, Southern Oregon University in Ashland is closed. This is not law enforcement folks overreacting. As far as I can tell, these are legitimate threats!
Are the crazies winning? Please note that anyone who responds to this post suggesting we need more guns will be unfriended, licked silly by Coyote and showered with ancient native prayers of peace, nonviolence and compassion that actually work!
It's time for something unselfishly wise to be done, time to shed the dysfunctional them-or-us stance, time to release old energies that no longer work, time to help folks who need our help before violence is their only way out, time to bring our politicians out of hibernation and remind them that they are elected servants that serve the people, time to boldly step out of living in fear and confidently do something that makes a difference. Time to be kind.
Each of us has something to offer toward the greater good. It doesn't need to be big or in the spotlight. But it needs to matter. And it needs to be today, and every day. Collectively, it's big! As for me, I tell stories, and I carefully choose my stories ... each time, every day.
What are you doing?
As a teacher, are you talking in new ways with your students? As a musician, are you writing new songs and sharing them? Are you smiling at folks you meet on the street, inviting them in rather than pushing them away?
Have a look inside. What are you doing?
-Thomas in Ashland
