The Debate That Shouldn't Even Be a Debate (Reprise)

Assault rifles should be banned.



We need deeper background checks on everyone purchasing a gun.



There should be a limit on how much weaponry someone has in their arsenal.



The government should buy back the guns and send the better weapons to the military overseas.



Everyone has a right to a gun, just nothing that is powerful enough to take on hordes of people in seconds.

Was that so hard?



Apparently so, because we once again (I have indeed discussed this before...) are hiding the fact that America is predominantly the top dog in terms of owning guns, using guns, killing people with guns, creating mass shootings with guns, and of course the most lax gun laws this side of the planet. America still hasn’t learned its lesson after seeing dozens of kids get killed, after seeing a random movie screening under attack, after seeing a university get lit up by a deranged student, and of course after a seemingly random individual for reasons yet unknown pile up for armaggedon and attack a music festival. These mass shootings are happening far too often. When can we admit America has an anger problem, and a gun problem?

Las Vegas had two tragic fires in the 80s, and they updated their fire safety codes and we haven’t seen a disaster of that magnitude since. A man nearly blew up a plane by explosives in his shoes, guess what now everyone takes off their shoes while being screened to enter a plane. Even Beavis and Butt-Head removed references to fires (when they honestly didn’t have to) after a child influenced by the cartoon set his house on fire. If Beavis and Butt-Head are willing to change their ways, why can’t the government? Why can’t the NRA? Why can’t America be willing to adjust its mindset towards weaponry? Why does it seem like such a far-fetched idea to potentially be slightly stricter towards guns laws?

I’m not talking about hand guns of even 9MMs. I am talking about the fact that 400+ were shot at within minutes because of legal weaponry. That’s ridiculous. How is someone allowed to possess 18 rifles without raising some type of suspicion? How is someone allowed to own hundreds of pounds of ammunition without some sort of red flag being raised? These are the questions that should be asked, and the talk about “now is not the time to discuss gun control” has to cease. We have sick, sick people and dangerous people having access to weapons without much resistance.

This is not a Trump issue, as this has happened during Obama, Bush, and even Clinton. Obama unsuccessfully lobbied to fix the gun laws while Trump has made it easier for those with mental disabilities to buy them----so that’s a step backwards. Truth is, the NRA are stuffing the pockets of pussy politicians thinking about their finances more than the wellbeing of America---which has led to more mass shootings, more gun killings, yet molasses movement towards a change once we reach the House of Representatives. The same week when Vegas happened, there’s a bill being tossed about legalizing silencers for guns. You know this country is in serious trouble when gun sales and stock actually improves after a massacre.

I honestly believe nothing is going to change until honestly, a tragedy right at the White House or the Pentagon would occur. Once it hits extremely close to home will these politicians finally notice the seriousness of the violence we’ve been seeing in the past two decades in America. One of the gun advocates was at the concert when the shooting happened and completely changed his mind. After you see dozens of bullets being launched per second you’ll change your outlook as well. Like I said, I’m not asking for much, just tighter restrictions on potential criminals, on the mentally disabled, on the potential terrorists, and of course those in the no-fly zone, which for some inexcusable reason are still allowed to buy a gun.



Let’s be smart guys. Please. Let’s start moving towards a safer America.

The Neglected 20% of America

It has been a while.

The truth is I’m not over what has happened in the past year. The truth is I’ve struggled to accept the current conditions of the country I live in. I don’t feel like I’m in a country that accepts me, nor do I feel like I am following a religion that actually accepts me. My belief in that we as a nation were going to move forward has been vanquished not only by the election results, but by which the manner we are seeing the defense and sheer ignorance of the actions related to the current leader. The entire ordeal has consumed my soul for months, and I no longer can really classify as an American, instead as a person who just happens to live in America. That’s the difference, and it’s not only because my candidate pick lost, if ONLY it were that simple. With all the events swirling around, it is completely obvious that we have an anti-Latino president, an anti-Hispanic leader, surrounded by people with a history of steering towards beliefs that alienate Hispanics and immigrants from the rest of America. And yes, we collectively voted this in, so not even going to bring up Russia because at the end of the day, 50 million still indeed voted for this man. I don’t dispute the results, I am extremely disappointed by them.

Battling Mexico unnecessarily, pushing back relations with Cuba, barely mentioning or helping Mexico after the earthquake merely weeks after our Southern neighbors sent people to help Houston after the intense flooding, the travel ban on Venezuela, and of course the extremely lukewarm response to Puerto Rico’s crisis, on top of everything he’s already said about Hispanics are part of the arsenal of evidence supporting my claims about where his head is at. He’s pretty much paid no attention to the top minority group in the country, and the Puerto Rico disaster is just your biggest spotlight towards this behavior.

Tossing paper towels towards a crowd of people desperate for help? (Side-Note, can you imagine the outrage if Obama tossed towels at crowds of emotionally-battered people without homes after hurricane Sandy?) Partially blaming Puerto Rico for the crisis after going through one of the most intense hurricanes in modern history? Remaining in only the richer region of the nation while avoiding areas that were actually hit harder? Somehow finding a way to complain about the freakin’ budget in the middle of a humanitarian crisis? Taking forever to lift the Jones Act to allow other countries (like Dominican Republic, Cuba, even Germany) to help out? Somehow picking a fight with a mayor of a Puerto Rican city in the midst of her spending days waist-deep in water looking for survivors? And lastly and most ridiculously, comparing Puerto Rico to Louisiana and claiming Katrina was the true disaster by comparing death counts? Come, freakin’, on. I predicted that upon his victory he wouldn’t know how to handle a disaster and would find ways to completely abandon the Hispanic base (which overwhelmingly disapproves of him), but seeing the results still bothers me.

Hey, let’s also not forget his complete avoidance of the Virgin Islands, Cuba, and once again Mexico as they all are going through extremely rough summers. When Royal Caribbean beats you to the punch in terms of reaching out and visiting shattered environments, you absolutely are failing as a leader. He has his own private plane, and a military budget that inches closer to a whopping trillion dollars, so why on earth is he taking so long to travel a couple hours and lend out a helping hand? Why on earth has he spent more time picking on the NFL then tweeting ways to help Puerto Rico? He doesn’t care about anyone that isn’t that niche fanbase that remains supporting him in spite of everything, and this includes any Hispanic within the Western Hemisphere. Last time I checked, Trump ran under "America First" and "Make America Great Again." Guess what, Hispanics make up a good chunk of America, and Puerto Rico is indeed part of the United States, whether they voted for you or not. I thought he was military first, so now is a good time to remind all of you that thousands of Puerto Ricans have served in every war since World War 1 along with other Americans. Now was the time to recognize the need for a strong Puerto Rico to help strengthen America. Instead, they were treated as a burden.

This is what I get to face: a Christian America that has thrown Hispanics under the bus in hopes of seeing rapid changes that would improve their lives. I understand trying to shuffle the White House a little, after all I was a Bernie Bro before his loss and subsequent angry racism and sexism that followed. But for Christianity to be the driving force behind the Trump win is a serious blow to my personal beliefs while being in this country. You expect me to continue follow Christianity when the people that follow the same God as mine went in such a dark direction? Of course we can shout “They aren’t real Christians!” but, 81% of the country aren’t real Christians? 60% aren’t real Catholics? 58% aren’t Protestant? Nobody is perfect, and yes Hillary Clinton has made some questionable choices from time to time. But Trump has lived his entire life devoid of redemption, devoid of willing to change his ways as a businessman willing to climb on top of others to reach the summit. And he has climbed on the backs of Hispanic people for decades. And the religious core of America has chosen to look the other way the entire election season.

The businessman aesthetics of Trump are at full blast here, and this is also where the problem lies. As a businessman, you don’t waste your time with the competition, don’t waste your time catering to those not supporting you, instead always focusing on your customer, your consumer. This is precisely what Trump is doing, catering to his crowd, no matter how divisive it may be. The Wall, the Ban, the Tax Cuts, the Attempted Assassination of Universal Health Care, the Trash Talk, this is all products to feed to the people that voted him in. But, The Wall affects Hispanics (illegal AND legal, with the rise of hate crimes and anti-Latino sentiment swirling to boiling levels), the Ban affects refugees and those seeking shelter and safety (Latino AND non-Latino), and of course the Tax Cuts is secretly affecting everyone under the Fat Cat status. This is why businessmen cannot and should not carry that mentality when trying to be president: we aren’t customers for your product, we are citizens trying to better our lives. Donald Trump is not seeking to improve the lives of everyone, only the select population. And you know the population I am referring to.

This is worth reiterating, I am not going to label every Trump voter and current fan a racist, but I will remain disappointed in their decision to follow a man with such a sketchy history towards minorities especially in the Hispanic spectrum. And yet it’s still never too late to rise up and speak up against his actions. This is why we are kneeling, this is why we are on the vengeful attack on social media, this is why a brewing rebellion is about to hit overdrive if the path of his presidency continues moving south. This is put up or shut up time, it is time to yell, shout, be offended, be angry. We are in a world that allows close communication thanks to the billion ways we can reach each other. I have already done my share through Twitter, through Facebook, and back the talk with my frequent donations to Puerto Rico and Mexico, and my weekly donations to United Way. It is time more people do the same, Trump voters and non-Trump voters. This presidential racist disaster has gone on long enough, we need to find a way to stop this nonsense from continuing.









P.S. Trump owes Puerto Rico over $30 million because of a failed business. So he of all people should not complain about any country squandering money….