×

Does one group mean more than another?

This is going to ruffle some people’s feathers, and by golly that’s exactly what it’s intended to do. If I offend anyone, I’m not sorry. That’s right, n-o-t s-o-r-r-y. If someone says I’m out of line and can prove it, I’m man enough to acknowledge it.

On the night of June 16, 2016, a crazed killer, under the cloak of Islam, assassinated 49 people in a gay nightclub called The Pulse. I’ve written about this at least a couple times but the news media insisted on bringing it up and comparing it to the recent slaughter in Las Vegas. There is nothing to compare, not motive, not morality, not Islam.

I wrote in another letter about the role we sometimes play in our destiny, sort of a chain of circumstances, and how horrible outcomes would be prevented or changed if just one link in that chain were broken or removed.

CNN especially, but not only, had a field day every day making comparisons of the two tragedies. One thing they never talked about was the link in the chain called morality. No one, that I heard anyway, made a remark that would put the two events worlds apart, but that’s exactly what it is.

The crowd in Las Vegas was a normal bunch of people doing what they love to do, attending country music concerts. These events happen many times throughout the year, good ole boys and girls winding down a busy week by being entertained by country and pop artists.

The Pulse nightclub was a place where people could go and do what they like to do. The comparison ends there, however. Since the chain of circumstances has a link called Morality, and since no one cared that the chain was whole and complete many of them died.

The chain in Las Vegas had a morality link also but it played no role in the deaths. Two links in the chain that played the biggest role that evening was “The Shooter” and “Stay Home”. That’s right; morality did not play a role here. I remember seeing several photos of the ground at the event, and although country fans like their beer there were far more water bottles than beer bottles on the ground, so the festivalgoers in this crowd at least weren’t a bunch of drunks.

Now I’ll wrap it up. After the Orlando shootings, for several nights — and days– cities and small towns across the nation had prayer vigils for the dead and their families.

I tried to read the Inter-Mountain every day the week following the Las Vegas thing, but something was missing. Not one vigil could I find, not one prayer meeting on the corner of city hall. Nothing.

The mayor and some ministers in Randolph County, and also some lawmakers, had several venues about the gay bar shootings but where were they following the Las Vegas shooting?

Country music fans are not as important as gay bar attendees. That’s the bottom line.

Not only was I disgusted after the attention displayed last year for Orlando; I have a double dose now.

In the name of God, America, when are we going to clean up our list of priorities and let the instruction of the Bible be our guide?

Harold Arbogast

Parsons

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today