Unthinkable?

Why do we still refer to mass shootings as “unthinkable”? They happen so often they fit the very definition of thinkable. Our first response when we hear of them now is, “Another one?” We’re not surprised and they’re almost commonplace. Hardly “unthinkable.”

I suspect we use the word “unthinkable” to fool ourselves into believing they’re not regular occurrences in American life. We try to relegate them to some other room in our minds so we don’t have to face the horrific truth that that this is the new normal.