I debated making any kind of statement today about the VA Tech shooting yesterday, but I decided that I must. This situation has given those who dislike America an opportunity to criticize us for what they perceive to be ridiculously lax gun control laws. Speigel Online International does a great job of collecting the reactions from around Europe to this tragedy and I am slightly disgusted by the lack of respect (and in many cases obvious misrepresentation of our laws). In most of the selections there is an overriding sense of "they had it coming." I liked how Michale Medved put it yesterday: Why would it help to make guns illegal? Murder is illegal and that didn't seem to make any difference for those poor, terrified kids in Virginia.
Regardless of your stance on gun issues, let's at least wait a few days before we start flinging mud.
If any of you feel that it is in bad taste to write about the political fallout so soon, please let me know. I covet your opinions and respect most of you.
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It's not even about gun control, is it? It's about our society's desire to avoid responsibility for the lack of morality that is causing these things. As long as we continue to blame the things that destroy our relationships (guns, drugs, divorce, domestic partnerships), we'll never address the true issue: the need for individual accountability.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. I don’t see why it is so difficult for people to place blame at the feet of those responsible for the situation. 9/11 was Bush’s fault; or Clinton’s. School shootings must be blamed on the principle or president or police. Glock and Springfield are at fault for violent urban crime. It is almost as though blaming just the perpetrator isn’t enough. We need a larger entity to be the outlet for outrage. It’s a strange phenomenon.
ReplyDeletePhil actually wanted to go out and get a gun last night after all of this. He said, "If one person -- a teacher, a janitor, a student -- had a concealed weapon, they could have stopped this crazy guy."
ReplyDeleteWe (as a country) are obviously missing the point of gun control. Most people who are actually raised around guns learn a healthy respect for them. But that probably goes back to Mike's point above about relationships and accountability, too. All my friends who had guns in their house growing up were taught the responsible way to have and use guns by their dads. They respect the power they hold while holding the gun and don't take that lightly.
The next points the media will bring up will be focused on video games even though this fella probably has never even played Gears of War. Pitiful.