Time for a Change

Most things that I bother to post here are merely for my own amusement, or in some cases, just for the purposes of expressing some random thought on my mind. And while I don’t blog very often, I still consider this site a safe space to use for those very reasons. Whenever the urge to write strikes, the blog is here.

Keeping that in mind, this particular post may seem a bit silly, random, and out of place…but here it is anyway.

Ever since my introduction to the blogosphere, I’ve been known as Shooter-B. Why I picked that particular moniker is beyond me. At the time, I was just getting into online poker…and was mainly looking for a name that fit. To set the right attitude, I imagined a gambler in the old west…and somehow Shooter-B was born. Even then I realized I could have easily thought of something better. Bully the Kid. Riot Earp. General Cusser. Dusty Rhodes. But instead, I chose Shooter.

The name didn’t really make a whole lot of sense in the blogosphere, but I kept in anyway. From there, it only made sense that I refer to my blog as “Straight Shooting”. Unoriginal as the title may be.

So I kept blogging, never giving the name or title a second thought. Or at least not until last week, when I saw this:

There it was, a picture of a Rush Limbaugh billboard from Tucson…featuring the words “Straight Shooter” and a bunch of bullet holes. Yikes! I cringe at the thought of being associated with Rush Limbaugh in any way, shape, or form.

And not only that, but it made me realize that for years…I have casually used a reference to gun violence in my blog title and name. Though I’ve never purposely used any violent rhetoric, it made me stop and think about how such references are completely engrained into our culture. It may sound silly, but it really caught me off guard.

Ever since the terrible shooting tragedy in Tucson, I’ve been trying to think of a way to express my thoughts…but was unable to make any sense of them. Sure, there was the usual distracting noise of the shameless media blame game. But there were others that delivered a simple message that hit home. We all need to be more responsible for our behavior, and also our words.

There were several politicians and pundits that became very defensive about that message (see Sarah Palin). But the message wasn’t about playing the blame game, it was about taking the opportunity for much-needed self-reflection…which inevitably reveals that we can all be better. We are better than this!

There is a vast majority of reasonable people in this country who understand that the tragedy in Tucson can’t merely be blamed on political rhetoric. And like me, these people also understand the political climate in this nation is a complete mess than needs to be improved. For years, mainstream media has capitalized on selling extremes in the interest of ratings or profit.

Even before this incident, I’ve often wondered why our nation so easily gravitates towards extremism. All the dehumanizing, fear-mongering, fact-twisting hate speech we hear every day leaves us more and more polarized. It isn’t necessary, and it impedes the progress of our society.

I don’t have any illusions that a new blog title will make much of a difference, but nevertheless…I’ve decided that it is time for a change. For my own reasons, it is just my way of saying that I hope we can all engage in a little self-reflection…in the interest of improving the world we live in.

Besides, my momma didn’t name me Shooter anyway. And I imagine that the 3 readers I have can adjust to the change. Call me what you will, just don’t call me late for dinner.

p.s. - Though I’ll try not to make a habit of it, I may end up changing the blog name again if I ever think of anything better or get bored with this one. Serious & sarcastic suggestions are always welcome.