Sick of it all

[pegkerr]

Two men were shot to death in the middle of the night about a block and a half from my house last night. Apparently, there was an altercation at a party. Another woman was taken to the hospital. The girls could see the police tape wrapped around the trees, sealing off the block of the crime scene from where they got on the school bus. I drove by there this morning on my way to work. If I'd been a half an hour earlier, I would have seen the two corpses, one in the street, and one on a lawn. The girls were out there early enough that they could have seen the corpses, if they'd just walked down a half a block. I pray to God that they did not.

This week, two high school students were shot in a Minnesota school. One died, one is in critical condition. The shooter, a freshman, is by all accounts unable to explain why he did it.

Yesterday, a woman brought a gun into the county building a few blocks from where I work and shot to death her cousin, whom she'd been wrangling with in a probate case, and her cousin's attorney.

I am sick of news of violence. I am sick of news about guns.

Most of all, I am sick of my state, which just passed a conceal carry law, which will ensure that we'll have more guns out there. And I'm sick to death of my country, that allows things like this to happen, that seems to expect it, and perversely, accepts it as a regrettable but necessary price we have to pay for the "freedom" of the wonderful right to own guns.

Edited to add I didn't say that these crimes occurred because of the conceal carry law. The jury is still out on this question, although I'm inclined to think that with conceal carry, there are going to be more guns out there floating around, which can be filched by an impulsive kid or angry spouse, whether or not the permit holder is law-abiding.

But what I'm getting at is my own perceptions, my own personal visceral revulsion, looking the world around me, which has really gone up in the last several months. Security, as B says, also involves states of mind. Do I feel more secure since conceal carry was passed? I look at all those signs on just about every building I enter, I look at the news, and I look at the police tape a block and a half from my home, and I say, hell no. I don't.

And I absolutely hate it.

Comments

[silme.livejournal.com]

Well, I've never owned a gun and I don't want to. And over here, unless I start hunting, it might be difficult for me to obtain one anyhow. (And I'm anti-fox hunt. I don't have a problem with hunting -- just the way the fox hunt is run.)

On the other hand, I don't see why hunters and other enthusiasts can't keep guns at their gun clubs, etc. Why do they need them at home?

When I taught in Colorado, I wasn't that far from Columbine... Our faculty and our students knew too many people there, including the teacher who died saving students.

[aynjel.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that everyone should own a gun. I just wanted to clarify that. I just think that the people who want to own a gun should have a choice in the matter (though I do think they need to educate themselves thoroughly before they make that purchase).

I'd be perfectly content for gun-owners to keep their guns in gun-safes at appropriate places (like hunting clubs, or firing ranges, or whatever). But in a culture where fast-food is the norm and "gimme now" seems to be the motto, I think the best I could practically hope for is for people to keep their guns in gun-safes at home. The problem is that many people who own guns don't have gun-safes. In the horror stories of, "Let me show you my dad's gun!" the gun isn't always the problem. The lack of safety as far as the gun is concerned and the lack of control over that weapon is the problem: no gun-safe, loaded wherever it's "hidden", etc.

My sister used to go skeet shooting out in the desert. Fun, harmless sport. She kept her shotgun in the gun safe in her friend's garage with her friend's dad's shotguns. They only came out in the desert, and only got aimed at the skeet.

My office was close to Columbine when that happened. Again, I think that there were deeper-rooted issues behind that. It's just easier to point at the guns as the demons. I realize that if they hadn't had guns, that it's more likely no one would've died, but I think that there were probably other problems before they got their hands on the guns (which they probably saw as an "acceptable solution" to those problems).

[silme.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely, there were many problems with the boys at Columbine. However, had they had knives, it wouldn't have been nearly as dramatic, I should think -- just as you said. But yes. I've taught for 21 years. There are always lots of other issues regarding teenagers -- so many issues. It's amazing a lot of them are still alive, to be honest. :(

I am sort of happy the only fast food I have near me is fish and chips and kebabs. ;) It's 20-some miles to any American fast-food type place. And the nearest drive-in is probably about 50-60 miles away, if not further. :) I have a different perspective of the US living here.

[aynjel.livejournal.com]

I really think finding and understanding and dealing with underlying issues is the answer in most situations of criminal violence. In restructuring society so violence is not seen as an acceptable solution to every problem.

And I totally understand having a different perspective. I spent 6 weeks just outside of Amsterdam for business a few years ago and there was one "fast food" place nearby that I knew of. And it wasn't a drive-through and it wasn't a chain. Most of the restaurants were of the sit-down variety and a dinner took several hours. A delightful change of pace initially, but maddening when I didn't have the option of anything else (not even cooking my own food) two weeks into the trip.

[snippy]

I think more gun safety (and gun use) education is an excellent idea. I think it should be taught in public schools. I was taught gun safety and use as part of physical education/gym class, in high school, in a public high school in Oregon in the late 1970s.