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Have Mass Shootings Become a Fourth of July Tradition?

After two consecutive years of carnage, one starts to wonder

Dan Reich
Published in
1 min readJul 6, 2023

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(from the Associated Press:)

SHREVEPORT, LA — Mass shootings broke out at festivals, block parties and other gatherings in a handful of cities this week as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July.

Gun violence that flared in Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Florida, Philadelphia, Texas and Baltimore left more than a dozen dead and almost 60 wounded — including children as young as 2 years old.

On July 4, 2022, seven people were killed and 28 wounded at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. The incident shocked and dismayed a nation, but this year’s carnage on the very next Independence Day has me wondering if America is developing a new tradition for the Fourth…mass shootings.

The Fourth has always been an opportunity for America to pat itself on the back. and celebrate American culture in all its Main Street, apple pie, red white and blue glory. This year, it feels like a horrifically sick flex on the part of some mentally ill gun rights idiots.

Then again, what is more American than a mass shooting?

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Courting My Muse
Courting My Muse

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Dan Reich
Dan Reich

Written by Dan Reich

I like to write, play music, sketch, design things and take pictures of stuff no one else sees. I reinvent myself on a daily basis.