It was 2012 that I moved back to Ohio. It was 2012 that I set foot in the Oregon District. I would spend nearly five years there almost everyday. When I had decided to let my career bring me back to Ohio, my first thought was to move back to Cincinnati. Relive the college years and do better than I did when I left with little more than 27.00 to my name. I was looking forward to the possibilities, but someone told me to consider that the Cincinnati I left would be different than the one I was coming back to. It was different.
I decided to stay in Dayton. Try my best to be in the market and weave myself into the fabric of the community that my station was supposed to serve. I learned the Dayton I moved to was a far cry from the one I had been around before. I got to see and be part of a movement that was giving the city an identity. It wasn't the crime filled city I avoided in the late 90s. It was more than a spot between Cincinnati and Columbus. It had a people who cared. Business owners. Students. Parents. Life livers.
I was lucky enough to meet all walks of them. Women who were standing up to cancer. Kids and adults with disabilities. Families who battling problems that were too much for anyone to deal with.
In my mind, a place is defined by its people. People who you call co workers, family, and friends. They will always be those even on days where they don't like you very much or vice versa. People is the reason that I wanted to stay. When my radio voice in the city was ( in an opinion I will take to my grave) unfairly silenced, I didn't want to leave. This isn't my story though. This is a story about people. Innocent people in Dayton and El Paso. People across the nation. Heartbroken and looking for answers.
It has taken me some time to try and organize my thoughts. I listened to the news. I heard what people were saying. For the first time, I questioned the media. They will stay on these stories for days because tragedy is ratings gold. Unfortunately. I am not faulting anyone, but I question what the media is supposed to do. I am not sure there is a right answer to that question.
We are a people divided. The last 12 years of the presidency have shown that. Make no mistake, there are extremists on both sides. This is not meant to be political, but unfortunately it will come across that way. This country has seen far too many senseless acts of violence. Sandy Hook, Pulse, Walmart, the Oregon District and I haven't even scratched the surface.
We offer thoughts and prayers, but I think you think about it more when it happens closer to home. On less than 3 hours of sleep, I took a drive to the Oregon District. Seeing the area closed off by police lines was quite a reality check. People waking up thankful that they survived a night out. Thankful that they survived a night out. Let that sink in. "Thankful they survived a night out," would be something you might've joked about waking up after drinking too much. For some on Sunday, it took on a much more serious meaning.
People that were standing in line were gunned down. It could have been people I know, but it wasn't. Thankfully. It was strangers from various walks of life. All just trying to enjoy their night, in their own way, with their own friends. The Dayton Police should be applauded. The shooter (who I refuse name recognition) never made it inside. 9 people is more than enough. In the confined space of Ned Peppers, it would have so much worse. I have friends who are DJs. We do are best to provide the soundtrack to someone's evening. All I have been able to think of what would happen if they were in the line of fire when the next crazy comes in shooting.
The problem is, we won't know until it happens. Let me say that again. WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL IT HAPPENS. See you can put any plan in place you want, but crazy is crazy. When it decides to become violently crazy, there isn't much you can do. There will be plenty of people who tell you what they think needs to be done.
STRONGER GUN CONTROL LAWS.
Not gonna work. Will not change a thing. Guns DO NOT shoot themselves at people.
The legal age to drink is 21. The majority of people we know have broken that law at one point in time or another. You wanted alcohol and found away to get it. You can do the same with guns. People who want them will get them the same way an under aged kid wants beer for the bonfire they are attending.
I don't think one needs an assault rifle to defend their home, but those seem people might not believe I need a ridiculously large television set. Bottom line, it is their choice. Tolerate. It is not the responsible gun owners that are shooting people in mass quantities.
MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
Crazy is the bigger issue. The shooter was suspended from school for having a hit list and a rape list.
I am not sure why nothing was done sooner, but it is tough. I can't put it on his family. You can't start profiling every kid that wears all black and hates their parents. Still, someone should have paid closer attention in some of these situations. We live in a world where we tend to be more wrapped up in our own lives, but I am getting ahead of myself.
The mental health situation is real and is getting worse. It is a country that would have doctors script drugs without really dealing with the problem. A country where some people would rather be sick than have to take a cocktail of drugs to feel a certain way. It is a problem. It must be dealt with.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT CONNECTING US IT IS DESTROYING US.
I get paid to drive traffic to social media. It is an important aspect of what I do. Socials are a problem. Everything is public. Being first not right is the new norm. It has become a sounding block for people to complain about everything. Think I am wrong, scroll through your feed. We are far more focused on everyone else's lives than our own. I am just as guilty, so save the hypocrisy comments.
Social media feeds the negative beast. You might go out and have the greatest dinner you have ever had in your life, but rarely would that get posted. If you went out and had a terrible dinner and horrible service, that would get posted along with a negative review. The latter would generate similar hate comments. No one is allowed a bad day. Social media allows us the ability to body shame, bully, and allow adults to be worse than children. Don't get me started on the political savants that comment daily. I will get there though.
The scary part of the Internet driven world we live in is becoming more real. High school is the worst time of your lives for some kids. College isn't much better. If you can't find acceptance, the Internet will provide. Start a You Tube channel. Get a twitter and hide behind your avatar.
What is really scary is what it provides to some. If you are lonely and believe no one knows who you are, it is dangerous. You can open a Facebook live and shoot people. You don't need to do it yourself. Someone else will capture it and post it online. Within minutes, people know your socials and you're famous for all the wrong reasons. Most likely the few minutes of fame comes at the expense of the innocent.
We are not connected by social media. Take a closer look. We are divided by it.
MOVIES, TELEVISION, MUSIC, AND VIDEO GAMES ARE NOT THE PROBLEM.
The majority of us grew up watching violent movies and playing video games. At no point have the majority of us inflicted violence on the innocent. The sane can easily separate the two. It is a game. It is not real. A friend of mine is a graphic artist. He works while listening to hardcore metal music. He isn't a violent and angry person. Growing up in the 80's and 90's we beat each other with sticks as a form of playing. We didn't become bullies or overly violent. We played and were able to distinguish fantasy from reality. Stop making games, music,movies, and television your scapegoat. Focus on the real problem. The small majority who have something broken inside of them.
Now we probably get political and lose some friends.
CANDACE KELLER YOU ARE A BACKWARDS THINKING IDIOT THAT SHOULD NOT HOLD A PUBLIC OFFICE.
Homosexual marriage is no more responsible for breeding killers than traditional ones. I'll admit, it feels like pride is being more force fed in some cases, but those individuals deserve their moment. They should be proud that they don't have to live a lie. I am over the kneeling for the flag, but those athletes didn't cause the mass shootings either. That cause they are fighting for is acceptance and equality. And for the record, I hate the means that they chose for protest, but their actions are not directly responsible for any of the tragedies like this past weekend's.
Recreational marijuana users. Are you kidding me?!! Please show me the FIRST pot smoker who got high and went on a refer induced shooting spree? The drug is relaxing and a lot of the those "recreational," users do so for pain management and taking the edge off. Obama is not to blame for law enforcement being disrespected any more than W. is to blame for parts of the world hating America. It's basic you backwards thinking simpleton. Not all cops are good. Not all black people are criminals.
Hatred for our veterans. Not even going to dignify that ridiculous statement.
While you are entitled to your beliefs and opinions, they don't belong in public office in 2019. You are an elected official. Learn and practice tolerance. Be part of the solution not part of the problem.
Now on to 45. I will start by saying that he has done some good things since taking office. The problem is his mouth over shadows much of it. There are some that love it. He is divisive whether he intends to be or not.
I am not sure he realizes the full extent of his power or worse, he does. The extreme right buy into his every word. I agree there is a problem of illegal immigration, but you can't make jokes about shooting migrants. No he didn't say it, but ....
Don't forget: We don't let them, and we can't let them, use weapons. We can't," Trump said. "Other countries do. We can't. I would never do that. But how do you stop these people? You can't."
"Shoot them!" yelled a supporter in the crowd
Trump responded with a joke, "That's only in the Panhandle you can get away with this stuff," Trump said referring to Florida's Panhandle. "Only in the Panhandle."
What really pisses me off is the speech today. I agree that mental health is an issue. I agree that white supremacy is a problem. The man can take the time to tweet about TV ratings, call out athletes, and bash his political competition. The man couldn't take the time to get the city correct when speaking about a tragedy. I understand, Biden made the mistake too. He is the not the POTUS. Donald Trump, you are. You need to lead and be better. There is no excuse for this.....
“May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo. May God protect them,” Trump said from the White House. “May God protect all of those from Texas to Ohio. May God bless the victims and their families.”
Toledo. Are you kidding me?!!! 9 people are dead and you can't respect them enough to get the fracking city right!
Mr. President, your words and your actions do not show tolerance. They do not unite, they divide. You make comments about the people of this nation. Some cities are not pretty. Some have high crime. Some need a lot of help, but Americans are made up of all walks of life.
You are the leader of the free world and while you condemn acts of hate in one speech, you unwittingly encourage it in another. The good you have done gets overshadowed by the tweets that sound like they came from a 13 year old boy. You were elected by the people, but some of your actions are anything but for the people.
The liberal side is just as bad. Political agenda isn't fixing the problem. I don't have the solutions. I am an aging white male trying to hang on to his career and fix my own life. I am disgusted and heart broken over the events here and in El Paso. I cannot speak for the people there, but I can only imagine the sadness. People don't deserve to die because they are different.
I wish for healing and finding real and preventative solutions. I wish for this melting pot to remember how to be tolerant of each others differences. I hope those who need the help, find it before things like what happened this weekend occur again. Mostly, I wish for a better tomorrow for all colors and creeds.
#DaytonStrong
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