Behind the tragedy of two people being killed at an off-premises non-university party for Texas A-M (Blogger still won't render ampersands correctly) Commerce's homecoming we have several other societal problems on display.
Update, Nov. 16: We also have a an update to Problem No. 5 below. The original suspect, Brandon Ran Gonzales, has been released AND the Hunt County Sheriff's Office has asked for the case against him to be dropped.
1. On Twitter, the old #ThoughtsAndPrayers / #PrayFor crowd raising its ugly head. It IS ugly, and if you truly believe in Jeebus, ask him to "convert" your wingnut Congresscritter to #GunControlNow. (The rise of the Nones among Millennials will help lessen, if not quite solve the religious platitudes [I hope and think] in the longer run.)
The rest come from the story itself.
2. Gun glorification culture. Cops couldn't figure out what weapon / weapons was / were used at first because ... the dance floor was decorated with stray bullets, among other things. Or maybe it was part of Halloween decorations. (And there, the University's official Twitter, at a secular state university, also does #ThoughtsAndPrayers.
3. The binge drinking culture. Yeah, I did it when I was in college, but that much? And with that much enticement? Doubt it.
4. If correct and the gunman was targeting his first victim, we need to address sex-fueled machismo or whatever.
5. The not talking to cops culture. We need to address youth in general clamming up, partiers in general clamming up, esp if drugs as well as booze are there, and minorities in general not trusting cops to talk to them. We have to address the "whys" behind this. Some are legit, others are bullshit.
5A. Using the cops to pay off old grievances. Given that we have an anonymous witness who sold the HCSO on his claims, that seems to be what's up.
6. Gang and gang wannabe-culture, if the rest of the story as updated is correct.
Sadly, since then, re point 2, and probably re point 4, and definitely re point 5, further shooting broke out at a vigil in Dallas.
Brandon Ray Gonzales has now been arrested. He claims he has witnesses to corroborate his innocence but none have come forward yet. No motive has been named at this time. That said, his being dressed as a security guard, by his own admission? Doesn't look good.
Meanwhile, The Rev. (say that in a Rush Limbaugh way) Dr. Jeff Hood says he believes Gonzales is innocent. That's even though an updated version of his arrest story says that one friend, at least, fingered him via his Facebook profile. A couple of pix on that profile show him gang-signing, or gang-wannabe signing.
Update: I've pulled the picture down. No need to keep it up. But the note about it, and see more three paragraphs down? Stays.
Per my updated Point 6 above, if this is indeed the case, university kids? It may be tough, but if you have a past that it would help you to break from, put the small-town environment of a place like Commerce to your advantage. (And, no, I'm not saying "act white." I'll update that to say, try to rise upward in socioeconomic class, no matter your ethnicity.
And now, as of Nov. 1, per NBC-5 and contra the Revvvvvvv. Dr. Hood and Gonzales' family, things look even less good for him.
First, the fact that a "protected witness" is talking, and that said witness needs legal anonymity protection at this time. That alone seems to point at general thuggishness, if not gangbang or gangbang wannabe. And, he identifies as "fml jefe." "Fml" most likely stands for "fuck my life," which also doesn't help.
Update: So why was this witness "protected"? Did the HCSO vet the witness more? Did they talk to Gonzales' family? Or his attorney? If their evidence was available so early, why did he sit in jail 9 days?
And, WHO screwed up? Per who all was in on the investigation, was it HCSO? Texas Rangers? FBI?
And, per my 5A addendum, will they run a tighter investigation from here on out?
That all said? Three kids, one by an ex-girlfriend and two by another ex-GF, with the younger of them 1 year old, just like the one kid by the first ex? Doesn't argue for the best of lives as is. Probably made it easy for the anonymous witness to sell his story. All the info is per the first link in the "update" at top. Friends and family think he's great. But, since he's off the hook, the Morning News didn't ask either ex what they thought of him.
Second, the fact that "a dice game" was taking place — let's just call it a craps game for this and giggles — at the party and Gonzales was (update: Should have had ALLEGEDLY) sitting in on in it, shortly before he went to the john then came out brandishing (cliche alert!) his pistol? Makes the party look less on the up and up, at a minimum. (Also, outside the range of the crime itself, makes the facilities owner look less than totally in control.)
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