Tag: #guns

A Hustle Culture

A Hustle Culture

Here are some powerful words from our niece, Ann – I was in high school when Columbine occurred in 1999.  I started college in 2001 and then 9/11 happened. The Virginia Tech shooting occurred in 2007.  A year later, there was a shooting at my husband’s school, Northern Illinois University. He was on campus on Valentine’s Day, 2008 when a shooter walked in and killed 5 people in a lecture hall. For Sandy Hook in 2012, I was a mom and have been for every school shooting since then

Clearly I don’t know the answer on how to fix the gun problem, or the mental health problem, or the hate problem, but much of it seems to be a uniquely American problem. 

Across the board our (collective American) priorities are wacked. The pressure on American families is through the roof. It’s a hustle culture with overconsumption as the fuel.  There are two working parents in most homes trying to keep up with rising costs of basic living. This has been the case for me since I married in 2008. Those with any extra disposable income are outsourced to death trying to enrich their kids with activities and sports that formerly came naturally in neighborhoods and local parks. 

People are living way beyond their means, building pressure inside the home. Parents are stressed, over worked, underpaid, sick and depressed. I hate to say it’s the breakdown of the American family because that is usually used as a politically charged statement, but … We have grown so much as a country and we now really do celebrate so many varieties of families. Unfortunately, there is little or no support for them. 

In so many ways, American life has become a joke. American healthcare (as privileged as I am to be here) is a joke; insurance is a joke; childcare is a joke; maternity leave is a joke; FMLA is a joke; gun laws are a joke; the Department of Child and Family Services is a joke; WIC is a joke.  Our public schools, our school boards and our city halls have become jokes.  Many of our churches have become jokes. As we watch on the big screen, our highest government offices in our state capitols and Washington DC are also a series of jokes. 

Some kids out there are fighting for their lives socially, emotionally and physically. It doesn’t seem to matter. To make it extra special, we give our kids the technology to access it all, and put it in their hands.  We kiss them goodbye in the morning and expect that things will work out OK. 

I hope our gun laws change in a way that will benefit our society. But I also hope our society changes fundamentally to benefit our future.  If not, what do we have?

Casey, Ann and Their Two Wonderful Daughters.

 

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Addendum:

  • Ann originally wrote this in response to a post I’d made on Facebook about the recent school shooting in Georgia. She was writing in response to the deaths at the school, but also because of the utter neglect the 14 year-old shooter had received from his family and the systems that should have been in place to help him. Her words were as powerful as anything I’ve heard in a while, particularly in comparison to the talking heads on TV from both sides. Thanks for having the courage to speak up Ann. We love you. 
  • I’ve written a couple of other blog about Gun violence. You can read them here: 
    • There was no urgency to write this blog. I knew another mass shooting would happen sooner or later. I didn’t have to tie it to Buffalo or California. The next shooting would come along soon enough. I wasn’t disappointed. Texas happened this past […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/05/29/guns-and-murica/
    • In light of the recent 4th of July mass killings in Highland Park , I’ve been rethinking Steven Stills classic song, ‘Find the Cost of Freedom’. “Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground. Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down” […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/07/07/the-cost-of-freedom/
    • I was invited by the Brady Organization to speak at the End Gun Violence Rally on the National Mall yesterday. This was in conjunction with the 2022 DC March for our Lives today.  Here are my words … My Name is Max Hall. I am a graduate of West Point and Veteran of the United States Army. I would also point out that I am a gun owner […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/06/11/speaking-out-on-gun-violence/

In Ukraine

In Ukraine

It was 6:20PM on May 8th DC time, or 1:20AM on May 9th in Kyiv, Ukraine when Bob called. He was in his study, expecting to have to go to their bomb shelter soon. May 9th is a big celebration in Russia for their victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 and there was sure to be an attack. We talked for perhaps twenty minutes, the first time in a couple of years. Things were OK, but it was still tough in Ukraine.

Bob and I worked together at a company called SRA for several years, got along well and were friends. Around twenty years ago, Bob met Vita, the woman who would eventually become his wife. She is Ukrainian by background and still has family there. Over the years, and particularly once Bob retired, they spent time both here in the US and also in Ukraine. They have currently lived in Ukraine for the past two years.

Bob and Vita

He recently sent a text updating me on what has been going on in his life:

“Last year, we decided that we simply couldn’t leave all our family and friends here in Ukraine. So we decided come hell or high water – this was what we needed to do.

We live in a bedroom community of the capital called Brovary. Brovary was in the news a few times at the beginning of the war because they tried to come through here on the major highways to get to Kyiv. We did have some scary times those first few weeks. I never thought I would see the day that I stood in my front yard and could hear (and even feel sometimes) tank and artillery battles. The front came to within about 5 miles of us before the good guys beat them back and they retreated.

These days the front is a couple hundred miles south of us. We continue to have regular missile and drone attacks. These were WAY bad early on, but now the best defense umbrella is over Kyiv and we are in that protected zone. Still, we have a lot of attacks and the air raid sirens go off at 2 and 3 in the morning and we all have to run to the basement/shelter in the barn. That hasn’t been fun and there is a lot of lost sleep that makes everything more difficult. My neighbors and I joke (only partially) that if there is a direct hit on any of our barns, the other neighbors will come and dig us out.

We do all we can to help the army. Donations – we’ve bought uniforms, boots, tents, food and chainsaws, you name it. I even helped my neighbor, Dima, who is a long range mortar specialist to replace the windows in his car that were shot out when he was coming home on leave. The war has gone on so long, they are rotating some of these guys out and giving them a break.

Things are still very bad in some of the smaller towns where the defenses are not as robust. The stories of what has happened to innocent civilians is more than I can say here. There have been real, no bullshit war crimes…”

Bob and Dima, While Dima was on Leave

Bob has written a book about Ukraine called UKRAINE: THE AWAKENING: My 20 years of witnessing Ukrainians rediscover their nationhood. He worked over this past winter in Brovary to capture the points he believes are important for westerners to know. When the war began, he became concerned about how little westerners, especially Americans, understand about Ukraine, its people, its history and how the relationship with Russia is badly misinterpreted in Western news media coverage.

The book is intended to give readers a view into Ukrainian culture and the beauty of the people. There is also a bit of the history of Russian relations that is helpful to understand the conflict and to dispel some of the propaganda narratives the Kremlin has been using.

I’ve posted a link to the book in the Addendum. In the meantime, I’ve purchased a copy myself, and promise to give an update on Bob, and the book after I finish reading it.

Bob’s Book – Ukraine, The Awakening.

I asked Bob about posting this info, and whether he was concerned about retaliation. Here was his comment back to me: “ Max, I would fully support your using the material in your blog. My reasoning on writing the book is to get the word out, so this would help a lot I think. As far as security goes – to hell with Putin and his goons. I think he has bigger fish to fry than me, but I am not running or hiding from that son of a bitch.”

On the morning of the 9th, I woke up, and after feeding the horses, made my coffee as usual. When I opened my iPad, this message was waiting for me from Bob: “It was really good speaking with you last night Max. We are all good here after the attacks – they started around 4am. We destroyed 23 out of 25 cruise missiles in the air”.

—I will continue to report on Bob’s story in a couple of future blogs. —

Addendum:

  • Here is a link to the book at Amazon if you are interested in purchasing it: https://a.co/d/6qUppBU
  • And, Here is a recent Zoom interview Bob did with Cortney Evans at WMBB 13 ABC in Panama City, Florida: https://youtu.be/GuJoxO8Qi8s
  • I’ve written one previous blog about Ukraine. You can read it here: Command and Control (C2), along with Command Centers, are phrases you hear concerning the Russians in Ukraine. In my military career, I worked all levels of C2 from Infantry Brigade to Presidential, and I can see the Russians are shockingly missing, or ignoring some C2 fundamentals. […] Continue here: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/06/14/russian-command-and-control/
  • Euromaidan Press (seen at the end of the blog) is a daily English language summation of Ukrainian news and information. If interested, look online and you can subscribe here: https://euromaidanpress.com

The Cost of Freedom

The Cost of Freedom

In light of the recent 4th of July mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, I’ve been rethinking Stephen Stills classic song, ‘Find the Cost of Freedom’.

“Find the cost of freedom
buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you
lay your body down

Find the cost of freedom
buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you
lay your body down”

Written at the height of the Vietnam War, it was released as the B side to ‘Ohio’ which was a direct condemnation of Kent State. ‘Find the Cost of Freedom’ was less explicit. There have been multiple suggestions as to the meaning of the song, including the student deaths at Kent State, the death of our soldiers in Vietnam, or even the cost of war to us as a people. Although simply written, with fewer words, it’s a more complicated song.

CSNY Performing ‘Find the Cost of Freedom’, Back in the Day

The song was rereleased in 1982 as ‘Daylight Again/Find the Cost Of Freedom’, with seeming references to the Civil War. The line “When everyone’s talkin’ and no one is listenin’, how can we decide?” is added right before the famous refrain and it then becomes:

“When everyone's talkin’ and no one is listenin’, How can we decide
(Do we) find the cost of freedom
Buried in the ground
Mother Earth will swallow you
Lay your body down”

To me, this version seems a perfect summation of the entire gun violence issue. No one listens to anyone on the other side. The result? We see the cost of freedom, and the results of the Second Amendment, dead and buried in the ground. People are going to die, and that is just the price we need to pay for the freedom to own guns. Any kind of guns. All guns. Just lay your body down and accept it.

We here in ‘Murica have deemed that acceptable to protect our Second Amendment freedom. Everyone has the freedom to own their guns, even if it’s at the expense of other people, who just want to celebrate their freedom by watching a parade on the Fourth of July.

God Bless America.

Find the cost of freedom
buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you 
lay your body down

Find the cost of freedom 
buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you 
lay your body down

…

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Addendum:

You can read my previous blogs on gun violence here:

Speaking out on Gun Violence

Speaking out on Gun Violence

I was invited by the Brady Organization to speak at the End Gun Violence Rally on the National Mall yesterday. This was in conjunction with the 2022 DC March for our Lives on Saturday, June 11th. Here are my words …

Good Afternoon. My Name is Max Hall and I live in Marshall, Virginia. I am a graduate of West Point and Veteran of the United States Army. I served nearly 9 years overseas in defense of our country. I would also point out that I am a gun owner.

Speaking Out… Something We ALL Must Do.

As a veteran and an American, I am sick of seeing school children murdered. I’m tired of watching people shopping, going to the movies, attending worship services, or just trying to live their lives, being gunned down. Enough!

At West Point and in the military, I was trained on the safe use of both handguns and rifles and how to kill people with those weapons. Having seen the effect of those weapons, I stand here with Brady in support of gun safety. As a country, we MUST do something. Doing nothing is not an option

In today’s environment, where people think everything is black and white, insight and knowledge are often lost. I hope that is not the case here and now. Now is the time to listen to the American people. Now is the time to have courage and act. Now is the time to pass meaningful common sense legislation such as:

  • Universal Background Checks
  • Raising the age to buy firearms to 21
  • Red Flag laws, and
  • Investments in Mental Health

Listen to the American People. The vast majority of Americans, and gun owners, support common sense gun legislation.

At West Point, the Cadet prayer says in part “Make us to choose the harder right, rather than the easier wrong.” I urge members of the Senate to do the same. Do not give in to special interest groups, to pointless platitudes, or the easy route of doing nothing. Choose the harder right, and pass common sense gun legislation now.

Thank you.

My Friend Bruce Shuttleworth (Naval Academy, ‘87) , Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut) and I were the First Three Speakers.
The Brady team laid out 2,280 schoolbooks and broken pencils around our podium. They represent the 2,280 children that have been killed by gun violence in the past 456 days — or the time that the Senate has refused to bring a vote on background checks.

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Addendum:

Thanks to my friends Mike Hammond and Donna Matturro McAleer who helped with some of the wording and theming for this speech.

Guns and ‘Murica

Guns and ‘Murica

There was no urgency to write this blog. I knew another mass shooting would happen sooner or later. I didn’t have to tie it to Buffalo or California. The next shooting would come along soon enough. I wasn’t disappointed. Texas happened this past week.

Gee, if they can’t stop mass shootings in Texas, where they have more guns per capital than any other state in the US, what chance does the country have? Where have all the “good guys with a gun” been? Taking the day off? Or, maybe that just doesn’t work. The armed school guard at the school in Texas? Nope, didn’t help. The police response in Texas? A bit slow.

Here in Virginia, there was actually progress made in 2020 and 2021, and several sensible gun laws were passed (and no, no one’s guns were taken away). Things change quickly though. What did our current Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears (R) blame the issue of mass shootings on when she recently spoke at the NRA convention in Texas?

“We took prayer out of our schools … fathers are not present because we have emasculated our men … and mental health is deteriorating, worsened by covid protocols.”

You read that right. Constitutional separation of church and state, emasculated men and covid are the cause of mass shootings. You can’t make this stuff up.

I agree with the Lt. Gov about one thing. Mental health continues to be an issue. By definition, could anyone conducting a mass shooting, NOT have mental health issues?

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 213 mass shootings already this year in the US. There have also been 27 shootings at schools causing injuries or deaths.

After Texas, all of our politicians called out the same tired platitudes of thoughts and prayers, while wringing their hands. Someone added the brave thought of “we can’t allow this to become normalized in America”.

Guess what? It already is normalized, commonplace, and pretty much inevitable in America. I have little faith that this will change in my lifetime.

As with many other serious problems in the USA these days, we don’t have the moral courage to address, or even attempt to address this issue. We no longer try to solve tough problems here in America. That skill is apparently no longer in our DNA.

In Texas, the record at the 911 center recorded these calls from a little girl in one of the classrooms that was attacked:

  • At 12:03 p.m., a girl called 911 for a little over a minute and whispered that she was in Room 112, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven C. McCraw.
  • She called back at 12:10 p.m. reporting multiple people dead, he said, and again a few minutes later, to say there were still a number of students alive.
  • “Please send the police now,” the girl begged the dispatcher at 12:43 p.m., 40 minutes after her first call.

Unfortunately, there were no good guys with guns, no police and no legislators on the call to immediately respond.

I have little faith that this will change in my lifetime, but I’m going to do everything I can to work and effect that change.