As I write this, not sure if it'll be an entry "in the clear," but... Now that I've had a chance to calm down a little, there are some things that I would like to say. Some thoughts I'd like to share, with regards to the tragedy that happened yesterday.
Do guns have a purpose other than killing people? No. But then, it depends on how you look at that purpose. If you look at it as a purpose to kill someone else in self-defense, then they seem a little less "evil." If you look at them as a tool for hunting, as a sport, such as target practice and marksmanship, or as a way to ensure national protection... Then we get into some grey area.
Before I go on, I will also say that I own two firearms. A Walther and a Luger. I inherited them from my father. We would occasionally go to Targetmasters and fire off several rounds. Though he was military-trained, I rivaled him on accuracy. However, right now, the guns sit secured, and I'm
pretty sure I know where the key is. They've been unused since Dad died, since he never got around to teaching me how to dissassemble, clean, oil, and reassemble them. I
do know that the safeties are engaged and that the ammo is in a different container. Clips are empty, and nothing is in a chamber. At some point, I may ask Rich if he remembers enough from his Marine days to help me figure out how to take them apart and clean them and such.
Would I want to give them up? No. First off, there's the sentiment that they were my father's. Second, I'd like to be able to go to a range again. Third, ever since I took martial arts, I've been of the mindset that the only person you can ever truly count on for your own personal safety is you. Fourth, there may come a day when, like my parents, I can't just run away or fight my way out of a situation. In fact, that's why both my parents obtained conceal/carry permits. Mom worked in an area that it somewhat treacherous after the sun goes down, and Dad often would go into town and pick her up. And since some people were never taught to not touch other peoples' stuff, well, I find it repulsive that I shoudl just give up my property to someone else. And in the same spirit of the people who fought the American Revolution, yes, it IS worth my life. I'd rather stand my ground, protecting my car, my wallet, my cats, than to live in fear of it happening again, knowing someone else can just take something because they want it. Living with that would diminsih me in ways I can't imagine.
Do I have a carry permit? No. I'd like one, but right now, I just plain don't have the money. The permit itself is a couple hundred dollars. Plus the cost of a safety course. Plus the cost of an ad in the local newspaper stating my intent to obtain said permit. Plus time at the range to pass a proficiency test. All told, it's about $800 I don't have right now. Oh, in addition to all that, there's the petition to the local judge, getting letters of recommendation stating my need, and so on. Lastly, since UD is a state school, I can't even carry on campus. Which sucks, when considering that last weekend, a grad student was mugged and beaten so severly she'll be blind for life. So, I am a law-abiding citizen who owns two guns, but can't carry them legally. While the criminal element carries them and other weapons, regardless of the law. Something about ignoring the law being a requirement of being a criminal.
I'd be wary of a national ban on handguns. Then the people who would have guns would be military, police, and criminals. That means that I'd be at a disadvantage for my safety. Furthermore, I've ranted enough about cops who are bullies, and I'm pretty sure giving them an added advantage of being better armed would just make them even more assholish. The military? Right now, I trust them. But then, an armed populace
does kind of serve as a check against the military rising up and staging a coup.
So, what do we do?
First off, not sure there's any easy, simple solution. More laws? Possibly. Since I inherited my firearms, I don't know how hard it is to purchase a gun. I know that there's a background check, waiting period, and so on. Mom and Dad both...skited those a little since they had some, uh, government work, and such. Can't say too much. Well, probably could, but, to be safe, I won't. Let's just say that a former Navy nuke in the sub service has some pretty decent clearances. It's already fairly difficult to get a gun the legal way, leaving it a little too easy to obtain things via black market or just plain stealing them. Meanwhile, the extra laws essentially punish people who are following the law and being proactive for their safety.
Then there's the mental health bit. Mental health is stigmatized. Hell, a LOT of things are. But...look at what I had to deal with for a sleeping disorder. What I still deal with. Mental health is another "invisible" illness or disability, and people are shitty about it. And general public perception is that those with a mental illness are people who are broken, who shouldn't be socialized with, people who just need to "suck it up and deal." And...we won't go into overmedication and such. Yes, some people do need meds, but, I still think meds are over-prescribed. And then there are people who are tossed pills who shouldn't be given pills, because they really need cognitive therapy, and the pills alter brain chemistry to make problems and such.
Access to mental health care? Well, that's probably part of it. Especially since people clean out the hospitals and put the mentally ill in jails instead. Or out on the streets. But there's some problems with mental health care, at least as how it's being used by government and such. Most people think that you send someone who doesn't conform to a mental health specialist and get them to be "normal." Hell, look at my recent experience at UD, where I was told that my living arrangements wasn't normal and I needed to get my own place and declare my independence. And then there's profiling... "This guy lives in his mother's basement, has cats, and plays video games. He was bullied in school and likes Cheetoes. He
must be about to snap!" These things are abuses of psychology and the science of human behavior, not to mention insulting to the notions of individuality.
Let's then couple it with the media. After Columbine, goth kids around the country had to put up with an extra dose of bullshit. Well, goth kids, kids who were bullied, and so on. The media took the warped profile of any non-conformist kid and made us all out to be ready to snap. I was in college when it happened, but I know a few people who were in high school at the time who were singled out for not being "typical" teenagers. When they were interviewed by local media, the questions were leading, and the interviewers were often disappointed, frustrated, and sometimes downright angry when these misfits were not only not loners about to go over the edge, but were in fact emotionally healthy kids who had friends, different hobbies, and were active in the community with volunteer work and so on. Other kids were just brought in to the school counselor and told to conform or else. In short, in addition to being bullied by their peers, they were now bullied by adults, authority figures, and yes, memebers of the very mental health profession who were supposed to help them.
Note: not all mental health people are craptacular. I happen to know a few who are pretty good at what they do, actually.
There is, however, an overarching problem in the mental health profession: hubris. Let's go back to Columbine. Harris and Klebold were both being seen by mental health professionals. But were recorded as making progress. Both, however, knew what to say to their respective counselors to hide their psycopathic tendencies. There is an unfortunate tendency to believe that a psychologist or psychiatrist or social worker can read minds and can't be fooled. There's an unfortunate tendency in our society to believe that the mentally unbalanced can't...blend in. Can't fool all of us.
Since I'm getting sick of talking/blogging about this, I'm going to wrap this up. Once again, I find myself feeling somewhat profiled, thanks to the media. Again, we have a kid who was atypical. I look at my own situation, wat with "living with Mom" and such to match up to any profile in a federal database where they're looking for the next looney. Except... I rescue cats. Anyone who knows the hell that my summer was will know that I have just...too much empathy to go bonkers.
There's a meme going around attributed to Morgan Freeman that this happened because the shooter wanted to kill himself and decided to go out spectacularly and memorably, and the media coverage and sensationalism of this just fuels the fire for the next incident. I think there's some truth to this.
On a final note, and why I got so upset and frustrated with the internet yesterday... All the comments and memes going around that it's people like
me, people who own firearms, people who don't have a problem with others who own firearms... That what happened yesterday was
our fault for wanting to own these tools of death, that we should be
ashamed of ourselves because there's
no reason for us to need a gun, let alone anyone else. That if we just gave it all up like decent, rational,
good, law-abiding people, then yesterday would never have happened... Blaming people like me, or flat out blaming me, for what happened yesterday... Yeah. Thanks, people. During the elections, I tried to keep from saying that all Republicans were rich assholes who just wanted to keep people like me down and instead just focus on Mitt Romney being a rich asshole who saw people like me as a parasite. Be careful what you say, what you spout, because you may be talking about someone you know.
Just my $0.02...
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