The last time I was in Oak Creek Wisconsin, it consisted mainly of field after field after field of corn. The soil was clay-rich, most likely representing a modified Pleistocene lake-bed. Although there are surely some interesting prehistoric sites in the area, the excavation of a few hundred test pits by a crew of us failed to yield anything of interest. Now, when I look at Google Map I can see that the development for which that archaeology was being done has happened and Oak Creek is no longer fields, and is now pretty much connected directly to Milwaukee by suburban sprawl.
White guys with guns seem to be a real problem. Isn’t there something we can do about that?
At least six people were killed Sunday when a gunman opened fire at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, authorities said. The suspected shooter was later killed in exchange of gunfire with police.
Police were called to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the suburb of Oak Creek on Sunday morning, when witnesses said several dozen people were gathering for a service.
Police in Wisconsin say one suspect has been “put down” outside a Sikh temple and they do not know if other shooters are inside the building Authorities were called to the temple Sunday morning with a report of shots fired.
Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt said the first officer to arrive encountered a man police believe was the shooter. The two exchanged gunfire, and the suspect was killed, he said.
For the last shooting, in Colorado, a lot of people took the effort to tell other people what to not say after it happened. They were not disagreeing with the comments being made, they were just saying that they knew a Magic Number that no one else seemed to know, a magic number of days after which it would be OK to speak your mind after a heart-numbing tragedy like this one.
The problem with telling people shut up until the right time has arrived (aside from the fact that the “right time” is made up and the “proper” delay is arbitrary) is that the next shooting by some white guy with guns may well happen before the Magic Number of days has passed. What do we do then?