If you have ever felt like things were getting more violent in the United States of America, your feelings are correct. It almost feels like we are having a mass shooting every single day, and we almost are. Here is my theory of why this is happening. I think in most cases it’s where someone determines they are tired of living and they decide if they are going to die, they may as well take as many other people with them as they can. If you want the statistics, just go to the Internet, as I have done, and look up the number of mass shootings in the United States, going all the way back to the 1800s. This may surprise and even shock you.  

One site I found listed the greatest number of deaths from a single incident, from the largest to the smallest number, and it also gave the location, the year and the number who were killed and injured in the shooting. You may recall that in 2017 we had a shooting in Las Vegas where 60 people were killed and 267 injured. Now, I would say that person was mad, wouldn’t you? We also had a shooting at a nightclub in Florida, where a gunman took the lives of 49 people. We all know about the mass shootings in schools, the most notable being the Sandy Hook school where 26 children were killed, and the Uvalde, Texas, shooting that took the lives of 21 children. 

The reason I am sharing these statistics is because we had a mass shooting here in Arkansas back on June 21, 2024, that took the lives of four individuals and injured 11 others. This shooting took place at a Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas. This one hit close to home with me because I personally knew the Mad Butcher and he was a friend of mine. 

Now, the purpose of writing this column is two-fold — first to commend and brag on the good people of Fordyce. These good people have really stepped up to the plate and have taken care of the families who lost loved ones. They are still doing things to show their love for them. While it may sound like bragging, this is the spirit of many, many communities not only in Arkansas but also across the Bible belt. It’s just a simple fact, that people who know Jesus are kinder, more helpful and more loving than others.

My other reason is to talk about the Mad Butcher who was a friend of mine. Allen Bellamy was his name, and he lived in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He’s gone now but he and his mother, Mrs. Nugent, started a grocery store in Pine Bluff back in the 1950s. One day he was standing behind the meat counter chopping neck bones with a meat clever. The company selling neck bones had just had a price increase, and Allen was mad about it. As he chopped down on the neck bones he said, “I’m mad, I’m a mad butcher,” and it stuck when they built their first store. 

Allen was big on customer service, and at the time I was working for the Nightingale, Conant Company, producer of training materials. We had a program called “The Boss” and the boss is the customer. Allen bought $2,600 worth of these materials from me. Good man.

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. For a personalized copy of “Keep Your Fork” send $25, which includes postage and handling and tax, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)