Sam Stein: We've basically become totally callous to the idea that someone can gun down eight kids

The speaker reacts to a horrific mass shooting in which one man allegedly killed eight children across two homes, with victims aged 3 to 11. The main thrust is moral outrage: the speaker says the event was among the worst mass shootings in a while, particularly because all the deaths were children, yet major news coverage was surprisingly limited and did not rank among top stories. The speaker contrasts the incident with a school shooting scenario, noting that this case involved two homes, a father, and apparent mental-health issues, but insists those circumstances do not change the central fact that eight children died. The speaker argues the tragedy was preventable, that there are measures that could reduce these events, and that society simply chooses not to act.

1. The speaker is focused on a mass shooting that killed eight children, not on markets or finance.
2. A central complaint is that major news outlets gave the event too little attention.
3. The speaker frames the killings as part of a broader societal numbness to gun violence.
4. They argue the incident was preventable and that policy inaction is a choice.
5. The speaker distinguishes this case from a school shooting but says the moral conclusion is unchanged.

• The speaker asserts the event was under-covered, but does not provide data beyond one referenced columnist’s observation.
• The claim that the tragedy was preventable is asserted in general terms without specific measures or evidence.
• The comparison to a school shooting is acknowledged as a circumstantial distinction, but the argument does not fully address why those differences might matter for policy response.