Just a few days ago a 64-year-old man armed with an arsenal of high-powered guns shot and killed 59 people and injured almost 500 more.
Now is the time for grieving those victims killed while attending a Las Vegas country music festival.
Now is the time for rallying around the families who lost loved ones in an act of senseless violence.
Now is the time for US citizens and those in positions of power discussing tighter gun control in their nation. Better yet, now is the time to be acting on these discussions and doing all possible to ensure this kind of atrocity can never happen again.
Now is not the time for raising conspiracy theories.
But that’s exactly what Chloe Lattanzi has done in a bizarre Instagram post, shared on Thursday.
Next to a photo of herself next to a steaming pool, surrounded by snow-covered trees, the 31-year-old daughter of Olivia Newton-John sends her “prayers” to the victims, but also shares her doubts that Stephen Paddock was the sole perpetrator of this mass murder.
"My heart and prayers go out to all in Las Vegas affected by this absolute tragedy. My heart goes out to all the world. I must say I do not believe the accused man is the one who did this," she says.
"This may upset some, but I think there's a much bigger darker organization behind this abhorrent event. Look into it. It doesn't add up."
Lattanzi then gushes about the beauty in nature, but fails to give any background or explanation to her theory.
Of course, lack of credible evidence has never stopped conspiracy theorists before. But let's put the actual act of suggesting the theory aside and instead focus on the timing of this.
This is a time when the US and the world is reeling from another mass shooting, which is in fact, the worst of its kind. Ever.
Listen: Mia Freedman and Amelia Lester discuss the shooting at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Hotel that left 59 people dead.
We've been told it's not appropriate to be talking of "politics" at this time, but parents who have lost loved ones and US politicians like Democrat senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy will not be silenced.
Chloe may think she's adding to the debate, but what she's really doing is offering up a distraction. Something that detracts from the discussion about what is really at the heart of this issue: America's lax gun laws and its leaders' unwillingness to do anything to tighten them out of fear of angering the country's powerful gun lobbyists.
The problem is that by bringing up a baseless conspiracy theory, she offers Americans something to focus on that isn't the cold, hard reality of the situation.
She and others spouting these theories allows people to shift their attention to something erroneous instead of what would be the difficult task of regaining control from the NRA over the wild systems that have allowed men like Stephen Paddock and Adam Lanza and Omar Mateen to get their hands on high-powered weapons and wield them against innocent victims.
Because what we need to be focusing on now, is doing everything we can to ensure this is the last time we need to talk about a tragedy of this kind.
Now that Grand Final weekend officially behind us, it's likely you're probably thinking one of three things.
1. Thank goodness that's over and I can reclaim my television.
2. I am counting down the days until the cricket starts. Or Tennis. Or any other tournament to watch next.
3. There was a Grand Final?
Whatever your feelings about all things sporty, we want to know (yes, even if it's number 3) - take our quick 10-question survey to tell us!
Top Comments
To ensure this is the last tragedy of its kind (not that it will be) we need to find the truth. Chloe doesn't know, but neither do you. Whether it was a lone gunman, multiple gunman, ISIS, ANTIFA, or he just was someone who didn't like country and western music who knows, but we NEED to at least determine what the truth is.
The reason why some people are rushing to conspiracy theories, is twofold, firstly the American government occassionally tell furphies, such as with the JFK shooting, secondly they have not only been inconsistent in what they are telling us, they also within a few hours said it wasn't ISIS, despite ISIS claiming it. Now this could well be the case that it is a false ISIS claim, but I thought how can they know for sure within a few brief hours that it wasn't ISIS?
If instead they had said, that first day or two, that at this stage it is too early to rule in or out anything, (such as ISIS involvement) then it would have seemed to me a more genuine investigation, but almost immediately they said lone gunman, no ISIS. But then that was inconsistent with the Las Vegas sheriff who doubted it was a lone gunman.
So I do not think we are being told the full story at the moment, maybe they don't know the full story or are keeping their cards to their chest whilst they conduct a full investigation. But the fact that they were so definite within a few hours that he was a lone gunman (now contradicted by the sheriff) and there was no ISIS involvement (despite ISIS claims) makes many of us feel like they are covering things up.
As far as the guns go yes regardless of the cause they are indeed a problem, and personally I think yes gun control needs to be looked at, but we also need to know the REASONS why he did this and if a terrorist organisation, accomplice etc were involved so we can tackle that problem too.
The issue that everyone seems to have with this whole thing, is the whole tribal left/right thing.
You guys are left so you desperately want to play down any potential ISIS/ANTIFA/leftist possibly but drum up the guns side of it.
On the other hand the right want to drum up all that possibility, and play down the guns side of things.
Would be lovely if commentators could just be open to finding the truth and tackling whatever comes from that, even if it doesn't fit their left or right agenda.
Well, the lead Iaw enforcement on the case has just released a statement that they believe he had at least one accomplice, better tell them to shut up as it's not the time for conspiracy theories.
But we can have conspiracy theories on the NRA apparently. NRA doesn't even make the top 10 of lobby group donors to US parties and candidates. But you can say they financially control congress if that makes you feel better, even if what they contribute is pittance compared to tech, media, oil, pharma, retail, car makers, defence contractors, telcos, airlines and of course every female presidential candidates favourite, Wall Street.
The lead law enforcement on the case would have sufficient evidence and behind the scenes knowledge to make that claim. Chloe is pulling crap out of the air to make that statement. That is the difference. I can’t believe anyone reasonable or rational would listen to the daughter of a celebrity as some sort of gospel.
True. But we still don’t really know why. Maybe there was no reason, like the shooter at the Batman screening who just said he believed he was the Joker. Maybe we will never know why he did it.