So here it is, &
I’m sure you’ve seen it coming. 28 dead, by the hand of one individual, w/ a
9mm. Glock, a 9mm. Sig Sauer, & a Bush Master .223. The most devastating
part of it all for most of us; I believe, is the fact that so many are
children, none older then 10yrs.
Inevitably these
things happen, & they have before, & will again, we live in a very
broken world, at a very broken moment in its history. Predictably, the
discussion starts, enter Facebook, & the Oh, so wonderful world of social
networking. Now we can see, firsthand the faces of those devastated friends and
family arriving at the scene. We witness, as if we were right there, the
tragedy, as it unfolds. We hear and see reporters interviewing children,
recounting their experiences, “out of the mouths of babes”, never before has it
been so palpable.
I honestly can’t
remember a time when I made such a concerted effort to avoid comment, or to
stifle my own opinion. I posted a status, in an attempt to encourage those in
my Friends List not to bye in to the predictable dialogue & commentary,
& at times it seems that even these efforts did no more then provide more
fodder for discussion.
“Gun Control”, “God
Doesn’t Exist, or How Could He Let This Happen”, the usual comfortable demons
that do little more than fuel rants, yet add little to any sort of solution.
Should we expect any more than that? No, I think not, because so many of us
aren’t used to contributing much more than emotion fueled opinion. That is
after-all, all these threads ultimately devolve into, anger filled rants that
do little more than contribute to the rhetoric, if they don’t destroy
relationships along the way.
Sure, I’m an asshole
because I’m a gun owner. In one sentence, I get to hear how much fun she had
shooting her friends gun, in the next, from the very same mouth, I become an asshole
that shoots targets when I should be supporting a ban on guns that will
certainly save lives. (because criminal enterprise obeys bans don’t they? all
the bad guys are gonna turn in their guns right!?) I’d ask here: what have you
done to contribute? What efforts have you made to become an active part of the
solution? I mean besides spewing opinions from a keyboard on your iPhone?
I could list my own
efforts here, but I’d almost bet that most would expect me to do that. Like I’m
some holier than thou, announcing his good works to the world, but I maintain
my belief that to announce one’s good works only devalues them. If its ideas you
need, I’d be more than happy to discuss this add infinitum, please, feel free
to contact me for a private IM. }:)
1’st let’s discuss a
ban on Hand Guns, Automatic & Assault Weapons. To be sure, Guns
Are Here to Stay, they are never going away, at least not in any of
our lifetimes. Short of a Global effort that is un-fathomable in its
implications, we must admit, “Guns!? Yeah! We Got Guns, & Lots of
‘em”. So where do we go, as a society, from here? If you feel,
however strongly, that a ban or prohibition is the answer, then I would suggest
you look back in history to the Prohibition era, United States of 1920-1930.
Open bans & prohibition made Al Capone a very rich man, & gave rise to
modern organized crime as it had never been seen before. If you think the
average Joe liked to “get his bathtub gin buzz on”, try to take away his sense
of self protection.
Open bans &
prohibition helped guys like Sam Giancana make the Kennedy family American
Royalty. At the end of the day, even if you take firearms away from the general
population, do you really think that the bad guys don’t have them anymore? If
corrections officers are confiscating (jail house made) fully auto-matic .9mm
“Mac 10’s” from San Quentin, what do you think happens to the Jesse James, or
Paul Teutuls of the world? Fabricators like these men become the most sought
after “underground figures” on the planet. It’s their genius that now fuels the
“illegal firearms” trade.
Even considering the
removal & ban of all of these firearms is to imagine a herculean task, that
pre-supposes a co-operative 311 591 917 individuals, (that’s just the U.S.).
You just may think a
scenario like this is laughable, but let me paint a picture, current numbers
show an estimated 89 firearms for every 100 residents in the U.S. quick math
tells us that means there are: wait for it … 277 316 806 firearms in the United
States (estimated & rounded down). One can presume that these are legally
owned & registered to appropriately licensed citizens. What we do not
account for here are the illegal firearms. Recent numbers indicate that some
69% of crime guns in Canada & 83% of crime guns in Mexico can be directly
traced back to U.S. dealers & manufacturers. Is there a “Gun Culture”, in
the U.S.? Is There a North American Gun Culture? Does it really matter? Quick
answer: Yes, Probably, & no, not at all. Labels mean little when children
are massacred.
I quoted some news
yesterday (Dec.14/2012): “today in China, 22 were injured in a knife attack as
children were arriving for classes, from (our) spring of 2010 to (our) fall of
2011, some 20plus (mostly) children were killed & almost 100 injured in a
series of attacks in China, box cutters, knives and hammers were used in the
commission of many of these crimes”, also worth note: The Beslan school hostage
crisis also referred to as the Beslan school siege or Beslan massacre, of early
September 2004 lasted three days and involved the capture of over 1,100 people
as hostages including 777 children, ending with the death of over 380 people.
The important things
to note here are (A), a man, or men, bent on destruction will find a means to
an end, be it guns, knives, box cutters, hand tools; etc. a broken mind seeks
only the end game; implements be damned. & (B) we are a very small part of
a global epidemic; we are small in comparison to the loss and destruction being
inflicted at a global level.
2’nd let’s consider
all the bullshit ranting, & un-educated opinion we hear every single time
these tragedies occur. Yes, I am a gun owner; I take courses repeatedly &
often. I take very seriously, safety, education & fun. I take part,
actively w/ Sara, in the education & instruction of new shooters &
those that have shot before. As a result of these choices, I can assure you
that Sara & I are more actively monitored by more Government Agencies then
most of those reading this are even aware of. (for eg. who or what is the CFO
of Ontario? copy/pasting & googling is cheating)
I have and offer my
opinion because I am actively involved in the debate, Sara, myself & many
members of our club hosted members of parliament this past summer discussing
current & future legislation. Asking questions, & pondering possible
answers that will ultimately affect the future of firearms legislation in our Province,
& our Country. What are you doing?
If you are a faithful
person & a member of a church, have you organized a gift collection that
may be delivered to any of these families, in their time of such great need?
Maybe you don’t believe in a God: then are you actively discussing these issues
with those who can make change happen, are you writing to your MP, or your MPP?
Maybe as a non-believer you’re "more practical" and you're actively arranging a group of friends and family
to write letters of condolence & taking up a collection of money (and/or) gifts to send to these
families to ease their holiday season ... ... Yes? No? ... I can tell you of a (very) small group
of truck builders that organized, filled & drove (two) 53’ trailers from St. Thomas, ON. Canada to Juarez Mexico,
built multiple shelters & out buildings, installed a furnace, & brought
Christmas to an entire community; they did this twice. The only things that can stop “Practical”
help are the lack of imagination and motivation to get things done.
While I enjoy
writing, & have few passions as great as my love for the written word, I
can assure you that little change happens in front of a word document. Mountains
are moved one shovel full at a time. This involves a bent back, blood,
blisters, sweat & tears. Practical help, changes lives, & lives
affected by change, change the world we live in.
If we are to save
even one life, we need to get to know our neighbours. We can’t pass judgement
on their beliefs, we need to understand why they believe what they do, & be
willing to be changed by any idea or experience that comes our way. The tragedy
isn’t limited to the children that died, it becomes the families that are
devastated, including, in yesterday’s case a father whose wife was killed, whose
son became a murderer, & committed suicide, leaving no answers for anyone.
We must find reasons
to connect to one another, not hold on to imagined reasons to maintain
distances. When we can look at an armed security guard protecting a truck full
of money & not give it so much as a second glance; yet the idea of the same, protecting our most valuable resource, our children and the institutions
that educate them sickens us; we must re-examine our priorities. An
armed policeman behind the counter of a Beer Store becomes commonplace, but the
same at the front door of your child’s school is un-settling; this is a reason
to re-asses what’s really worthy of such protection.
I remain, lovingly
yours; S.
