The Common Thread Binding These Mass Murderers

n a better world, the names of the El Paso and Dayton shooters wouldn’t be known. The evidence would be gathered. The killer who lived would be tried this week, hung next with only the families of the victims as witnesses. There would be no CNN discussions. There would be no Twitter trending with the killers’ names because the Washington Post would not be headlining them.

The focus, instead, would be on the victims and helping them.

Copycats would see that the outcome of these barbaric acts gets them no notoriety. They would realize that the consequences of a choice to kill would be to die anonymous and alone, never to be remembered. Their time on this planet will be ignominious and brief. Justice would be swift and complete.

On a decent internet, no chatrooms glorifying invective against women or “Chads” or a certain race or nationality would exist. Pedophiles would feel isolated. A thing like furries couldn’t be conceived. And if some weirdo had the fetish, he’d hide from the world, because he would know that it is unhealthy to be an adult who gets off dressing up like a bunny or pretending to be an infant or a dog.