Tragedy strikes again.
People killed.
People injured.
Shock!
Grief!
People's lives changed forever by loss.
The same old arguments ensue. Blame placed on ISIS, guns, and lack of laws.
For whatever it's worth, the following is my opinion only and whether you agree or not, I hope you will read it to the end without emotion and think about it and see if any of it resounds within you as well.
Every time one of these horrendous tragedies happen - from Columbine to Orland and all those in between - it seems like the same old arguments begin again. I hear and read the same things. It's like we are stuck in some groove and can't get out of it.
People keep blaming guns. Guns are metal, or metal alloys usually. They are not alive, not able to move on their own, they are inanimate objects unable to think or feel. They are a tool. Guns need a living being to enable their use.
People also rally around the cry for more laws. And this raises a lot of emotional response, so let's look at this shall we? But before we do, let me ask....Where is it legal to kill people out of malice with intent? Nowhere. No country considers that legal. No religion considers that just dandy. Killing someone out of malice, intending to commit that act by planning and thinking it through, even by no more than buying or borrowing the weapon and gathering the ammunition and loading the gun, slingshot, blow tube, etc. shows intent. It doesn't have to be "intended" for weeks, days or months - a few minutes or hours will do. There are plenty of laws about this. More laws will not make the existing laws any stronger. More laws will not suddenly convince the lawless to suddenly follow all the laws.
Law-abiding citizens don't need more laws. I don't need any law to tell me not to kill people. Thou shalt not kill is the first commandment in the Christian bible, isn't it? Criminals are criminals because they don't follow our laws. They break laws all the time, that's the definition of criminal...they aren't suddenly going to obey new laws. They will continue to break the laws we create. Creating new, or additional, laws about guns only adds restriction to the law abiding citizens who already follow the laws. So for those of you who are clamoring for more laws about guns, please be aware that you do not now, nor have you ever, had to be afraid of law-abiding citizens. You need to be afraid of those people who don't follow the laws that we already have.
I believe that one of the main reasons so many people react emotionally to those who say "more laws please" is because some of those calling for more laws also clamor for the removal of ALL guns from everyone. THAT will not happen, and it shouldn't happen, either. Let me explain why:
"The Problem" is a set of things, and these are the ones that I recognize - and I am not a rocket scientist so I'm sure others could find more problems that these. But for this little old grandma in cow town USA what I see is:
The Oklahoma City bombing committed by Timothy McVeigh didn't involve a gun nor did the many other bombings and suicide bombers that have littered our history.
The point that too many people are missing is that -----
--------this is a problem with our society, with people, not with laws or guns.
We need to be demanding that violence not be portrayed as anything glamorous - we need to demand that Hollywood stops creating violent heroes for our youngsters to grow up on. They can set an example. We need to stop supporting violent TV programs, movies, music etc. Because while many people understand the humor, tragedy, anomaly, analogy, alliteration, and satire...there are still far too many people who don't understand any of it and take what they see on the silver screen as the way things should be. Too many people failed to recognize the sarcasm of "All In The Family" and saw it instead as justification for their attitudes. This still happens far too often and far too much today, so I guess in essence, I also place a little blame on our school systems for not providing high school graduates who are able to tell the difference between justification and sarcasm.
To sum up:
We need to teach more responsibly and stop antiquated ideologies.
We need to be more aware of mental illness and we need to provide help for the mentally ill.
We need the same gun laws nationwide; laws that keep gun ownership in the hands of the rational
minded. And, yes, by that I mean a mental health check up.
We need to do our best to end poverty.
We need responsible government that helps provide job security and decent healthcare.
We need to put an end to this great divide between the two classes because while America used to
have multiple classes, we are rapidly becoming the rich and the impoverished with no middle
class(es) in between.
We need to let go of these circular discussions fraught with emotional non-thinking rhetoric and get busy having discussions with solutions. But maybe most importantly here...we need to respect one another no matter what! That's why I end all my posts with "Namaste", because I recognize all the same things inside you that are inside me and I honor your right to be you. I don't ask you to be anyone else. I respect your right to be who you are, to have your own mind, your own thoughts, your own opinions. I am willing to listen, respectfully, to what you have to say and even if it is opposite my opinions, I will listen to you and try to find some common ground for us to reach an understanding.
Anyone who knows me personally will tell you that I do this, even though sometimes I want to slam a chair across your face for being ignorant, I won't do it, and most of the time I won't even let on that I'm having an emotional reaction to what you're saying. But...I am human after all...so yeah, I get angry, but I get over it and I will bend over backward trying not to impose my emotions on you. You see, I understand that I have the "right" to feel my emotions. I also understand that you have the right not to feel my emotions.
We need to hold corporate media responsible and stop them from sensationalizing crazy. Give us just the facts and don't keep it alive and in the spotlight for weeks on end. Get off your butts and find some new news, don't keep recycling the same thing over and over. Don't make monsters seem like the good guy.
We need to really demand better mental health care, we need to stop associating a mental disorder as something to keep secret at all costs. The more openness we can bring to the subject without stigmatizing those who have some issues the more easily we will be able to help those who need it.
So...as you can see, I believe this is a multifaceted problem that will require a multifaceted solution.
But I think we can begin by offering each other respect. Then we need to tell our legislators they work for us and we want our Constitution to be held in absolute respect and be untampered with while they create a federal set of regulations regarding the sale of guns that will be upheld in all states, cities, municipalities, etc.
Let's demand Congress forgoes pay until they settle the debt crisis in this country and get wall street and insurance companies and drug manufacturers under control. Let's stop taxing the middle class into extinction. Let's enact term limits for ALL offices, elected and appointed. No one should have the right to hold a job until they die just because.
Well, that's it for now. Whew!
Namaste.
People killed.
People injured.
Shock!
Grief!
People's lives changed forever by loss.
The same old arguments ensue. Blame placed on ISIS, guns, and lack of laws.
For whatever it's worth, the following is my opinion only and whether you agree or not, I hope you will read it to the end without emotion and think about it and see if any of it resounds within you as well.
Every time one of these horrendous tragedies happen - from Columbine to Orland and all those in between - it seems like the same old arguments begin again. I hear and read the same things. It's like we are stuck in some groove and can't get out of it.
People keep blaming guns. Guns are metal, or metal alloys usually. They are not alive, not able to move on their own, they are inanimate objects unable to think or feel. They are a tool. Guns need a living being to enable their use.
People also rally around the cry for more laws. And this raises a lot of emotional response, so let's look at this shall we? But before we do, let me ask....Where is it legal to kill people out of malice with intent? Nowhere. No country considers that legal. No religion considers that just dandy. Killing someone out of malice, intending to commit that act by planning and thinking it through, even by no more than buying or borrowing the weapon and gathering the ammunition and loading the gun, slingshot, blow tube, etc. shows intent. It doesn't have to be "intended" for weeks, days or months - a few minutes or hours will do. There are plenty of laws about this. More laws will not make the existing laws any stronger. More laws will not suddenly convince the lawless to suddenly follow all the laws.
Law-abiding citizens don't need more laws. I don't need any law to tell me not to kill people. Thou shalt not kill is the first commandment in the Christian bible, isn't it? Criminals are criminals because they don't follow our laws. They break laws all the time, that's the definition of criminal...they aren't suddenly going to obey new laws. They will continue to break the laws we create. Creating new, or additional, laws about guns only adds restriction to the law abiding citizens who already follow the laws. So for those of you who are clamoring for more laws about guns, please be aware that you do not now, nor have you ever, had to be afraid of law-abiding citizens. You need to be afraid of those people who don't follow the laws that we already have.
I believe that one of the main reasons so many people react emotionally to those who say "more laws please" is because some of those calling for more laws also clamor for the removal of ALL guns from everyone. THAT will not happen, and it shouldn't happen, either. Let me explain why:
- There are too many undocumented guns in America to remove them all. People who don't trust the government or police force to protect them will not hand over guns that no one knows about. That's just human nature.
- The criminals already refuse to obey the laws that exist so they won't hand over guns that are in their possession.
- There are a lot of people in America of Jewish decent. They were told the stories of what happened in Hitler's Germany during the holocaust, or more accurately perhaps...before the holocaust. In case you don't know or remember the order of those events...1) New laws were enacted that put tighter control on guns 2)then all the guns were confiscated 3) Jews were driven from their homes and taken to concentration camps or death camps and the rest is, as they say, history. A history we can not allow to be repeated.
- The number of Americans who have guns in their homes is one of the main reasons we have never been invaded by another country...they are afraid of all the crazy Americans with guns...that may not sound wonderful, but it keeps us safe in many ways that we don't even think of.
- I once overheard a hoodlum, being arrested, say that the reason he didn't target the country people was because "it's dark out there in the sticks and all them crazy crackers have guns". Perhaps another reason to keep guns in the hands of responsible Americans.
"The Problem" is a set of things, and these are the ones that I recognize - and I am not a rocket scientist so I'm sure others could find more problems that these. But for this little old grandma in cow town USA what I see is:
- we don't have consistent laws nationwide.
- we give the same "rights" to the insane as we do the sane.
- we are failing to recognize and treat the mentally ill. Why?
- what are the historical factors? Poverty? Lack of job security?
- Media - misplaced media attention,
- lack of respect for life
The Oklahoma City bombing committed by Timothy McVeigh didn't involve a gun nor did the many other bombings and suicide bombers that have littered our history.
The point that too many people are missing is that -----
--------this is a problem with our society, with people, not with laws or guns.
We need to be demanding that violence not be portrayed as anything glamorous - we need to demand that Hollywood stops creating violent heroes for our youngsters to grow up on. They can set an example. We need to stop supporting violent TV programs, movies, music etc. Because while many people understand the humor, tragedy, anomaly, analogy, alliteration, and satire...there are still far too many people who don't understand any of it and take what they see on the silver screen as the way things should be. Too many people failed to recognize the sarcasm of "All In The Family" and saw it instead as justification for their attitudes. This still happens far too often and far too much today, so I guess in essence, I also place a little blame on our school systems for not providing high school graduates who are able to tell the difference between justification and sarcasm.
To sum up:
We need to teach more responsibly and stop antiquated ideologies.
We need to be more aware of mental illness and we need to provide help for the mentally ill.
We need the same gun laws nationwide; laws that keep gun ownership in the hands of the rational
minded. And, yes, by that I mean a mental health check up.
We need to do our best to end poverty.
We need responsible government that helps provide job security and decent healthcare.
We need to put an end to this great divide between the two classes because while America used to
have multiple classes, we are rapidly becoming the rich and the impoverished with no middle
class(es) in between.
We need to let go of these circular discussions fraught with emotional non-thinking rhetoric and get busy having discussions with solutions. But maybe most importantly here...we need to respect one another no matter what! That's why I end all my posts with "Namaste", because I recognize all the same things inside you that are inside me and I honor your right to be you. I don't ask you to be anyone else. I respect your right to be who you are, to have your own mind, your own thoughts, your own opinions. I am willing to listen, respectfully, to what you have to say and even if it is opposite my opinions, I will listen to you and try to find some common ground for us to reach an understanding.
Anyone who knows me personally will tell you that I do this, even though sometimes I want to slam a chair across your face for being ignorant, I won't do it, and most of the time I won't even let on that I'm having an emotional reaction to what you're saying. But...I am human after all...so yeah, I get angry, but I get over it and I will bend over backward trying not to impose my emotions on you. You see, I understand that I have the "right" to feel my emotions. I also understand that you have the right not to feel my emotions.
We need to hold corporate media responsible and stop them from sensationalizing crazy. Give us just the facts and don't keep it alive and in the spotlight for weeks on end. Get off your butts and find some new news, don't keep recycling the same thing over and over. Don't make monsters seem like the good guy.
We need to really demand better mental health care, we need to stop associating a mental disorder as something to keep secret at all costs. The more openness we can bring to the subject without stigmatizing those who have some issues the more easily we will be able to help those who need it.
So...as you can see, I believe this is a multifaceted problem that will require a multifaceted solution.
But I think we can begin by offering each other respect. Then we need to tell our legislators they work for us and we want our Constitution to be held in absolute respect and be untampered with while they create a federal set of regulations regarding the sale of guns that will be upheld in all states, cities, municipalities, etc.
Let's demand Congress forgoes pay until they settle the debt crisis in this country and get wall street and insurance companies and drug manufacturers under control. Let's stop taxing the middle class into extinction. Let's enact term limits for ALL offices, elected and appointed. No one should have the right to hold a job until they die just because.
Well, that's it for now. Whew!
Namaste.
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