Commentary: Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Code-Talkers ... school shooting victims?

[That Derek]

A speculative posting.

Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I thought they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were only about two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or three-hundred.

Does anybody else but me realize the following reality? A generation from now, those of us left will begin noticing obituaries headlined with "Sandy Hook school shooting survivor" ... "Columbine shooting survivor" ... "Parkland, Florida, survivor" ... ?

It's sad. Too many school shootings and the fact that they have become more commonplace. Let's hope we do not all become too de-sensitized to this madness.

[c***@aol.com]

By the time those douchebag students die, no one will remember them. Unlike the Tuskegee Navajo, they have accomplished nothing than being professional victims.

[David Carson]

Post by That Derek
A speculative posting.
Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I thought they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were only about two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or three-hundred.

I've been wondering why you even post their obituaries.

[Anglo Saxon]

On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:07:40 -0800 (PST), That Derek

Post by That Derek
A speculative posting.
Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion

fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo
Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I thought
they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were only about
two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or three-hundred.

I've been wondering why you even post their obituaries.

Well, they did do pretty cool stuff. Plus good names.

[That Derek]

Post by David Carson
I've been wondering why you even post their obituaries.

Just so I can say "ka-ching!" like a cash register every time an airman or code-talker passes.

Rest assured that unless they had another superseding accomplishment, neither type makes it into my own rolling necrology which I attempt to generate monthly as "That Derek's Showbituaries."

[RH Draney]

Post by That Derek
A speculative posting.
Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I thought they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were only about two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or three-hundred.
Does anybody else but me realize the following reality? A generation from now, those of us left will begin noticing obituaries headlined with "Sandy Hook school shooting survivor" ... "Columbine shooting survivor" ... "Parkland, Florida, survivor" ... ?
It's sad. Too many school shootings and the fact that they have become more commonplace. Let's hope we do not all become too de-sensitized to this madness.

It's already happened...reporters were quick to point out that one of
those killed in the attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had been
born on September 11, 2001....r

[That Derek]

And one of the Parkland survivors is the granddaughter of a guy who, as a 12 year-old, survived what many writers refer to as the first random shooting mass murder spree in history -- as executed by Howard Unruh in Camden NJ in 1949.

It seems victimhood can be multi-generational.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/teen-survived-fla-school-shooting-shares-family-trauma-article-1.3824007

Teen hid in closet during Florida school shooting nearly 70 years after her grandfather survived first U.S. mass shooting BY

Jessica Chia
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, February 15, 2018, 10:55 PM

Nearly 70 years after a young boy hid in a closet while his family was killed in the first mass shooting in American history, his granddaughter faced a similar threat and climbed into a closet while a gunman killed 17 people at her Florida high school.

Carly Novell, a senior at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., tweeted about the remarkable experience she shared with her grandfather on Thursday and wrote, “These events shouldn’t be repetitive. Something has to change.”

Novell’s grandfather Charles Cohen was just 12 years old when gunman Howard Unruh killed 13 people during a rampage in Camden, N.J., the teenager told HuffPo.

On Sept. 6, 1949, Cohen followed his mother’s instructions to hide in the closet, while Unruh — their 28-year-old next door neighbor — killed his parents and grandmother in what became known as the first mass shooting in the country.

When suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz returned to the school where he was expelled last year and unleashing a torrent of gunfire, Novell clambered into the closet of her school’s newspaper room.


She tried to comfort her fellow classmates, and shared the flood of relief she felt when police ushered them out of the building.

After the harrowing experience, the teenager thought of her grandfather, who passed away in 2009, and said they “share something really important.”

Her mother, Merri Novell, also told HuffPo about the lasting trauma her father experienced and said she was glad he didn’t witness Wednesday’s massacre because it “would have been too much for him to handle.”

“I am proud of Carly for carrying on my father’s message and speaking out against gun violence,” Merri Novell added. “None of this is new ... history keeps repeating itself.”

“When is society going to wake up and realize that guns kill people. There is no use for guns in a civilized society. We need new laws to protect our loved ones from all of this senseless grief,” she added.

[David Carson]

On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:07:40 -0800 (PST), That Derek

Post by That Derek
A speculative posting.
Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I thought they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were only about two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or three-hundred.

As I wrote before, the last of the *original* Navajo code talkers died
in 2014. They were the ones who developed the code. There were only
about two dozen of them.

I haven't seen any obits of people who worked on the Manhattan Project
in a few years, but that was another alt.obituaries standby for a long
time.

We still have obits of ladies who played in the AAGPBL, but I don't
know whether ones who were the inspiration for Rosie O'Donnell's
character in "A League of Their Own" are still dying.

[Sarah Ehrett]

On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:07:40 -0800 (PST), That Derek

Post by That Derek
A speculative posting.
Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I thought they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were only about two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or three-hundred.

As I wrote before, the last of the *original* Navajo code talkers died
in 2014. They were the ones who developed the code. There were only
about two dozen of them.
I haven't seen any obits of people who worked on the Manhattan Project
in a few years, but that was another alt.obituaries standby for a long
time.
We still have obits of ladies who played in the AAGPBL, but I don't
know whether ones who were the inspiration for Rosie O'Donnell's
character in "A League of Their Own" are still dying.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Briggs

Not one of the early players but Rhode Islander and North Kingstown
school teacher Wilma Briggs is a former left fielder who played from
1948 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League. She still lives in RI. A very gracious lady to all her fans
both young and old. Her family are still very well known here in
southern RI. I went to school with her cousin, Fred Briggs, who died
at 14 in a terrible car accident.

[Steve Hayes]

On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:07:40 -0800 (PST), That Derek
<***@yahoo.com> wrote:

A speculative posting.

Yes, we regular <alt-obituaries> habitués grow weary with compassion
fatigue by the dwindling numbers of WWII-era Tuskegee Airmen and
Navajo Code-Talkers. When I first heard about the Tuskegee Airmen, I
thought they were super-special; but at the time I thought there were
only about two or three dozen of them, and not the actual two- or
three-hundred.

Does anybody else but me realize the following reality? A generation
from now, those of us left will begin noticing obituaries headlined
with "Sandy Hook school shooting survivor" ... "Columbine shooting
survivor" ... "Parkland, Florida, survivor" ... ?

It's sad. Too many school shootings and the fact that they have become
more commonplace. Let's hope we do not all become too de-sensitized to
this madness.