Paul Turner: The thoughts that follow in the wake of violence

There’s a scene in 1987’s “Roxanne” (filmed up the road in British Columbia) in which Steve Martin’s character purchases a newspaper from a sidewalk vending box.

When he glances at the front page, he finds the news so horrific he scrambles to insert more coins in the box and then hurriedly puts the newspaper back inside.

Too bad reality doesn’t work that way.

We can try to look away, but the grim truth is still there.

This is a nation populated with an alarming number of broken, unhinged people. Many of them have guns.

You knew that. But have you considered what it’s doing to the rest of us to constantly (or even occasionally) wonder if the stranger headed our way is an armed menace?

It can’t be good.

Almost always, after some heinous crime, the perpetrators turn out to be white males. You might have noticed that Spokane has a few of those.

Does that make all of us automatic suspects? No, of course not.

But at some point the relentlessness of these shootings messes with your mind. It can change the way we perceive strangers, on I-90 or on a sidewalk in downtown Spokane.

You start to silently ask questions that weren’t part of the social equation a few years ago.

Is that guy walking into our building going to pull out a gun?

Is that angry emailer going to load up his assault rifle and get in his car?

In the aftermath of the incident at a newspaper in Maryland, it’s almost unavoidable to wonder. Is that sketchy-looking stranger walking toward you going to be the next active shooter?

It’s crazy. But is it really paranoid if these incidents keep happening?

You can do whatever you want with statistics or comparing us to other countries. Still, this is 2018. We have seen so many multiple murders that some of us fluctuate between numbness and a state of being almost blase about it.

So when I say we might wonder about strangers now, I’m not suggesting we necessarily do so in an anxious, hand-wringing way. It’s a more matter-of-fact calculation.

Is that guy who seemed upset about his bill going to barge back in here with guns blazing? Is that man in the waiting room metaphorically ticking? Who knows?

OK, there have always been insanely angry people. And shootings aren’t a new development. But why so many lately? What can we do about it?

I suppose we all have our theories. I certainly have my favorites. (Hint: I don’t think more guns are the answer.) I’m sure you have your opinions.

I can’t imagine the experience of victims’ families and loved ones. That has to be awful beyond belief. Nothing compares to that nightmare.

But these mass shootings take a less obvious toll on all of us. They erode our sense of trust about being in public. They turn us into whacko-profilers.

Is that bearded guy over there in the Trader Joe’s parking lot going to be the next shooter to show up on the nightly news? Is this nondescript man standing next to me on the corner of Riverside and Monroe itching to make himself famous by attacking some “enemies of the people”? Does that quiet dude at NorthTown resent women so much, that well, you know?

Murderous, rage-filled fantasies are not new. But something seems to be nudging a few broken people toward creating all-too-real mayhem.

And all our hearts are heavy, weighed down by the certain knowledge that it will happen again.

That’s no way to live.

Far from the Madding Crowd

What would be a good name for those who never go anywhere near Spokane’s handful of mega-events?

The Opt-Outers? The Prefer Not To’s? You tell me.

These individuals apparently manage to lead happy, fulfilling lives without partaking in Bloomsday, Hoopfest or whatever. Still, it makes you wonder.

Why do they skip the city’s premier outdoor shebangs? I have a few theories.

1. Not interested.

2. “I didn’t move here because I wanted to spend time in crowds.”

3. Thinks all these events ought to be called Sweatfest.

4. Underdeveloped herd instinct.

5. Fun fact: Spokane is actually home to all kinds of people.

6. Was not aware the events are compulsory.

7. Don’t own any T-shirts.

8. Think of themselves as the loyal opposition.

9. Thought of going never occurred to them.

10. Ex is gaga about Hoopfest.