Mike’s Musings: Traverse City violence too close to home- action needed

Here we go again. This time it is too close to home. Another alleged nut-job gone crazy injuring a dozen people, some critical at a Wal Mart, not with a gun, but with an ordinary pocketknife. If it weren’t for Marine veteran Derrick Perry, who pulled out his legal concealed weapon and a couple other brave fellows, others could have been hurt by 42-year-old Bradford Gille.
This time, the incident occurred in Traverse City, a beloved Lake Michigan resort town more associated with cherry festivals and tranquil bay views than gunfire and chaos. Yet in late July, it joined a long, tragic list of American communities torn by a mass violence incident.
While details of the Traverse City shooting are still emerging, what’s clear is that the emotional scars will linger far longer than the headlines. Residents are reeling, families are grieving, and yet again, a community is left asking: How did this happen here?
The uncomfortable truth is that there are fewer places in the U.S. where it doesn’t happen. In fact one of the last place places I would ever suspect an incident like this is Traverse City.
Mass shootings and other forms of public violence are now so frequent that they barely disrupt the national rhythm of news cycles. They happen in schools, grocery stores, malls, parades, and churches. The settings vary, but the aftermath is always the same: stunned faces, candles and flowers, politicians offering condolences — and a paralyzing lack of action.
We’ve become a nation where violence in public spaces is as American as fireworks on the Fourth of July. Even our president has been the victim of two assassination attempts. And that should chill us to the bone.
What happened in Traverse City isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a broader, troubling trend of societal breakdown. Mental health crises, ideological extremism, and a pervasive sense of alienation are converging into a volatile and deadly mix. Many of the perpetrators of these incidents are young men, often with prior red flags, acting out in anger, desperation, or delusion.
So, what can be done?
The answer is not simple, but it is urgent. We need a multi-pronged approach: sensible gun reform that respects rights while keeping weapons out of dangerous hands (the keyword is sensible, I am not advocating taking guns out of the hands of responsible citizens); more robust mental health infrastructure; renewed community investment; and a media and social environment that does not glorify violence or deepen division.
At the heart of it all, though, we need to confront an uncomfortable cultural truth: America has a problem with violence. It’s embedded in our mythology, our politics, and too often in our entertainment. Until we, as a nation, begin to value peace and human life above ideology and profit, Traverse City will not be the last headline of its kind.
The people of Northern Michigan are strong, and they will heal. But they should not have to. Not like this. Not again.
It’s time we stopped accepting mass violence as inevitable and start treating it like the national emergency it truly is.