Saturday, December 15, 2012
Not a sailing post, just a blast at gun culture mentality
Americans, and us Canadians too, will have prayers, memorial services and lay flowers in all sorts of places in memory of this horrible and preventable tragedy. All that does is comfort the living. It does not help the murdered. It most certainly won't help the next bunch of victims, and there will be a next bunch, that gun culture will always have a next bunch lined up. Organizations like the NRA don't have an upper limit of deaths where they pull back the reins and say,"Hey, maybe we should do something about this!" . The NRA and people of their ilk, do actually do something when shit like this goes down, they buy more guns and ammo and hoard them "to prevent crap like that from happening again". Go on any gun site/blog/facebook page and that's what you read. It is sickening. They want to arm teachers. Unfucking beleivable. The furor of this will die down, then another event will occur, and the cycle will continue.
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Allan,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a horrifying tragedy. I am heartbroken about the killing that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary. I'm sure you don't want your sailing blog turned into a political forum discussing the pros and cons of "gun control," but I must respectfully present my opinion on a couple of items.
First, "gun control" is not the answer. So many people outcry when an incident like this happens, claiming we need more gun control laws. Connecticut already has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation, yet this still occurred. What people need to realize is there is no law that will prevent this type of mass murder from happening! Even if all guns were banned, the sick people who perpetrate this type of violence will still be able to do it with guns obtained illegally.
Secondly, with regards to arming teachers, I’d like you to consider one point. If there had been even one teacher, administrator [or even a legally-armed parent] on the campus who could have [and would have] responded, it is entirely possible that instead of twenty-six people being killed that number could have been drastically reduced!
My sympathies go out to all the victims and their families.
Mike
Mike, your message is most welcome. As for "gun control", I would put it in quotes too, I would not even begin to know what to do with this "American problem'. I just know you have a problem
DeleteIf I remember correctly, you are a police officer, right? Yes you are, I
checked without losing you here.
First a little of my backround. I made a carreer in the Canadian Navy, which included a shit load of small arms training, including Browning 9 mm, 9 mm sub-machine gun, C-7 (M-16), my department also had a 50 cal position so I am really not uncomfortable with firearms. I would be extremely uncomfortable firing one with kids about.
I guarantee, you, as a cop, have had way more training and experience than I with multiple weapons so you are most aware of the chaos that arises in a hostile situation, I might funtion adeqately, you would probably shine, but arming a teacher? I can see nothing good from that.
Look back to the theatre shooting (Black Knight Rises), imagine one or two patrons were carrying all proper and legal but returning fire in a dark theatre with people screaming and panicking, odds are the death toll would have been higher.
Admittedly the elementry school shooting was in daylight and the nnocents and assailant would have been easily dissernable, but all it kes is one bad stray shot....
No "gun Control" in the context you fear is not the answer, I don't even think its possible in your gun culture, education is though, it probably would take a generation or two to change this mind set. But it is you (Your generation) that has to begin this now. Not asking you to give your security up, just educates the youngsters that gunslinging is not the answer.
Thanks for the reply, Allan. I can certainly appreciate your point of view in this. There's so many different angles from which to look at this, and I fear there's no real answer until we begin focusing on the people behind the guns. But remember, even if we tighten the restrictions and require deeper background investigations, these people will simply revert to getting their guns illegally. Fact is, guns will always be present in the hands of the 'bad guys' so why make it that much more difficult for the good guys to defend themselves and others?
DeleteYou're right about the chaos that is inevitable during an active killing situation as these, but I'd estimate a very large percentage of the victims do not fight back or run. They will freeze or hide in place. The killer will be much easier for an armed (and trained) responder to identify and eliminate in that case.
Mike