My generation has seen so much tragedy, much of it in the form of senseless violence. We experienced the Oklahoma City Bombing, Columbine, 9/11 and now Aurora. I know that the generations before have also seen their share of war and displays of inhumanity. It is never ending. In recent history we have seen the Holocaust, Vietnam and Rwanda. Mothers and babies killed by fathers and sons. Unimaginable cruelty from one person to another. Over and over and over again. I do not believe it will ever end. Humans are not above it. Perhaps, this is just part of the human condition. There will always be crazy. There will always be injustice. The unimaginable will become reality.
Where does that leave us?
In the wake of the tragic events in Colorado there has been a great deal of conversation regarding gun control. I have seen verbal spats played out on facebook, both sides of the fence pointing fingers and calling names. I have my own opinions on the topic. I don't like guns. Period. Guns are created for a single purpose, and I'm not comfortable with killing. Yet, at this point, while the wounds are still fresh, I can only see one thing clearly. There is no easy answer. While limiting access to guns, particularly the semiautomatic 100-round barrel variety the Aurora shooter used may seems logical to me, I am also aware that in this day and age we will never be truly "safe." There will always be insanity. Just look a the wack jobs of the Westboro Church who plan to picket the Aurora victim's memorial. I wouldn't want to run into one of those nut cases in a dark ally. Yet, if we can keep guns out of the hands of the insane and the angry, I'm all for it. Although it may be a losing battle, we have to do whatever we can to try and prevent such horrific acts from happening again.
I don't pretend to have the answers, quiet frankly the issue is clearly complex and I haven't done my research. I just want my kids to be able to attend school and go to the movies without fearing for their lives. Making it more difficult for people to obtain semiautomatic weapons that can take down 50 plus people in a couple of minutes just seems logical to me. What else can we do?
I didn't start writing this with the intention of getting on a soapbox. My real purpose was actually to express my fear and sadness over these terrible, terrible events. Like Columbine, Aurora has been written into Colorado and American history. We are in a new era, one where none of us can ever really feel safe, and that perhaps is the greatest tragedy of all.
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I not only share your sadness, I share your exasperation and, for lack of a better word, flummoxed-ness. I am flabbergasted. I don't understand. I don't think any of us do.
ReplyDeleteWhy should any person outside of the military need a gun like that? EVER!!!!???? I know nothing about firearms, but I'm sorry, it just seems a little unnecessary. And weird.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone is feeling super sick and sad about this...
It is a crazy crazy world we live in....
ReplyDeleteDespite my opinion about guns, the reality is that crazy people will do whatever it takes to obtain semi-automatic weapons. We can create laws and rules and waiting periods, but the people we are trying to regulate are exactly the ones who don't follow the law anyway and will do anything to get them illegally.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I'm trying to say is that I agree. It's a scary world. It seems like these people are all over the place (remember the VA Tech shootings?). What I plan on teaching my boys (when they are much older) is how to protect themselves and what to do in an emergency. It's terrifying, but it seems that's all I can do.
Hey there, I agree gun control isn't the only solution, but I do wonder if it would help if it were more difficult to obtain weapons. I know, some people might not stop at anything, but who knows what we could prevent if there were fewer guns available, and they were harder to get. Like I said, I don't have the answer, and I'm not educated on the topic.
DeleteI'm experiencing a lot of sadness over this too but my bug is the state of mental health care in this country. Many hands are tied due to privacy issues and laws that simply do not do enough to protect innocent people from mentally unstable folks such as this guy. Granted, identifying someone as mentally unstable is difficult in the first place and hindsight is 20/20 but somewhere along the way, there has to be better options for helping someone who clearly is heading down the wrong path.
ReplyDeleteMental health beds are full and they are sending people back out into society before they are ready. Sad but I think we will see more of this until funding for mental health and support gets more attention.
I'm with you on this (and a lot farther than this too, really) because now, I'm ashamed to say, I'm afraid to go to a movie. Afraid to have my back to a doorway where some nut can just walkin and start shooting. My husband and I were in England recently where it's illegal to own a gun and what a difference! A car was pulled over somewhere and a gun found and the shock reported on BBC was refreshing. My husband, a bit to the right of me, says we have to defend ourselves against these kooks, but have you ever seen one instance yet where anyone had a gun and put it to good use? I haven't.
ReplyDeleteI don't get why any one needs a gun - self defence? But isn't that just to defend themselves against someone else with a gun? Accidents happen too all the time with them. I agree with you, there will always be the sick, violent individuals out to harm but they can do far less harm at least if they can't get hold of the gun.
ReplyDeleteI found out my son's school has been practising "lock down' procedures. He showed me how they hid under desks or crouched down below windows. It totally broke my heart to think about.