Spare me the thoughts and prayers, OK.
That does not mean my heart does not ache for one more slaughter of the innocents.
It means I am tired of hearing about these mass shootings. I'm tired of reporting them. I'm tired of counting the dead and wounded.
All while waiting for something to be done.
Because the truth is nothing is going to be done. Nothing is going to change.
It's clear we do not have the moral fiber to stop this carnage.
If Newtown taught us anything, it should have been that.
A troubled young man with access to guns calmly walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire. Before he took his own life (and you won't get his name here), he killed 20 innocent children.
Kids.
They were 6 or 7 years old.
He also killed six adult staff members.
That was 2012, five years ago.
We offered "thoughts and prayers" then, too.
And did nothing.
Then came San Bernardino. And Orlando. And Las Vegas.
Wednesday, a kid described as "troubled teenager" who had been posting disturbing thoughts on his social media feeds joined the list of this nation's mass shooting villains.
He entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., outside Fort Lauderdale, equipped with a gas mask, smoke grenades, a semi-automatic weapon and multiple magazines of ammo, and unleashed his fury.
Seventeen dead, several dozen injured.
The suspect, who had been expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons, is now in custody.
Since 1997, when three students were gunned down and five wounded at a high school in West Paducah, Ky., there have been no less than a dozen mass school shootings.
It's been 18 years since two teens killed 12 classmates at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
And still we do nothing.
I am not going to argue why this kid in Florida had access to a gun. Or why any private citizens should need such a weapon. Or what kind of background check he - or whoever purchased it - had to go through to acquire it.
Because nothing is going to change.
We've proved that - again and again.
Instead I will simply wait.
For the next time.
We all know it is coming.
And we all know what will happen afterward.
Thoughts and prayers.
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