This year's Fourth of July was a somber occasion for several reasons, not least of which were two shootings at July 4 festivities in suburban Chicago and the city of Philadelphia.
And in the wake of the latter, the city's mayor's comments about the incident have become a master class in how not to handle a mass shooting.
During a press conference about the incident, which left two police officers seriously injured and scores of Philadelphians terrorized, Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney lamented the terrifying frequency with which shootings occur all over America.
He then finished his remarks with a comment that has gotten him in a lot of hot water: Kenney said he'll be "happy" when he's no longer mayor so that he can "enjoy some stuff."
You can probably imagine how well that has gone over. See his comments below.
Kenney's controversial comment was part of a longer statement in which he expressed a sentiment relatable to most people in this country—he is sick and tired of being terrified of gun violence all day, every day, everywhere he goes.
As he told members of the media:
"This is a gun country. It's crazy."
"We are the most armed country in world history and we are one of the least safe."
"So until Americans decide that they want to give up the guns and give up the opportunity to get guns we are going to have this problem."
Few reasonable-minded Americans would argue with those sentiments. Kenney went on to describe the constant worries he has about gun violence erupting in his city.
"I'm concerned every single day."
"There's not an event or a day where I don't lay on my back at night, look at the ceiling, and worry about stuff."
Kenney went on to list a number of large events his city has hosted during his tenure, which he said filled him with anticipatory anxiety about gun violence.
"[E]verything we have had in the city over the last seven years, I worry about."
"I don't enjoy the Fourth of July. I didn't enjoy the Democratic National Convention. I didn't enjoy the NFL Draft."
"I'm waiting for something bad to happen all the time."
But then Kenney's comments went just a tad too far. He said:
"I'll be happy when I'm not here — when I'm not mayor, and I can enjoy some stuff."
To many people watching, and many more on social media, Kenney's comments landed like self-centered complaints in the wake of a tragedy that he was lucky enough to have evaded.
And on Twitter, many people were furious about it.
But others urged people to consider the full context of Kenney's comments.
Regardless of the controversy, Kenney seems to have meant what he said. Asked to clarify if he truly looks forward to no longer being mayor, he replied, "Yeah, as a matter of fact."
@IrnaEnglish/X
