Over the weekend this country experienced its new norm:
Another train derailment, this time in Maine, where three rail workers were treated and released after three locomotive engines and six train cars carrying lumber and electrical wiring went off the track in Somerset County. With each passing day we learn more about America’s garbage rail infrastructure, and there’s no indication that it’ll ever get upgraded, so this is apparently what we can expect going forward.
Another mass shooting in Louisville, KY, where people haven’t yet had the opportunity to recover from last week’s mass shooting. This is truly the new normal for American gun violence; no breaks; no respite, just a constant onslaught of human suffering.
A massive plastics fire in eastern Indiana, where the EPA has detected hydrogen cyanide and benzene, I’m no chemist, but that sounds bad. Contractors collected debris over the weekend that landed near schools or in parks and private yards, with some debris testing positive for asbestos, definitely bad. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but it quickly turned into a massive inferno, destroying six run-down buildings holding recycled plastic and creating clouds of smoke so high and dark they cast a shadow over a city of 35,000 people.
This is the American 21st century, a constant and steady barrage of poisoned air, water and soil coupled with an ever-present danger of gun violence.
Side Items
Not So Sweet Sixteen: Another mass shooting took place over the weekend in Dadeville, Alabama, killing four people and injuring 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party. Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday
Kansas City Hate Crime: A Black teenager was shot in Kansas City, MO after going to the wrong address to pick up his siblings. Ralph Yarl, was just trying to pick up his siblings when he confused Northeast 115th Terrace with Northeast 115th Street, a perfectly reasonable mistake to make. The homeowner, however, was less understanding, choosing instead to shoot Ralph twice, including once in the head. The homeowner was then taken in for questioning by police, but was subsequently released, which leads me to question the abilities and motives of Kansas City PD
Trucker Driving Nightmare: Finally, this article wonderfully explains the exploitative madness of the modern American trucking industry. Highlighting factors like declining union membership and decades of deregulation, the author illustrates a professional field that only rewards those who overwork themselves. Working to the point of exhaustion is bad enough when your job involves staring at computer screens for hours, but it’s absolutely a lethal liability when your job is operating several tons of metal at high speeds on public roadways