In recent weeks I’ve begun a bit of a philosophical journey. Well, maybe not philosophical, but a journey all the same. It’s kind of involving a way of critically analyzing things about myself and about the world. My conclusion? I’m hardly normal, but I can be a lot moreso than a lot of people in the world.
In taking a firearms safety & defense courses, I’ve kind of come to realize a some things about myself; One of those things is, despite no prior training, I already think like a cop in a lot of ways, more off of instinct than any training I’ve taken. When I enter a restaurant, for instance, I always pick the side of the table that gives me the best view of the entrances (unless I’m with Kennon, in which case we each cover a door). I’m constantly looking around, ensuring that if there is a threat, I’m aware of it. If I’m going to my car, I’ve got my keys ready to gouge the throat of an attacker (so don’t sneak up on me in a dark parking lot, okay?)
I’ve also come to realize that you can’t make laws for people who won’t follow them. With all the media speculation over the next Columbine or Virginia Tech, a lot of people are pushing for more gun “controls” in public places like schools and malls. The only problem being, the only people who will follow those are people who abide by laws. Of course, we could forget about the fact that Columbine high school was a gun-free zone. Virgina Tech had strict rules against having firearms on campus. Most local shopping malls have signs posted saying that they are weapons-free. Columbine and Virgina Tech both clearly demonstrated, if the person’s determined, they’re not going to care about the rules, and if they kill themselves after they cause a rampage, they aren’t going to face the consequences of breaking said rules. The only people who would be reprimanded would be people who didn’t deliberately break the rules (or possibly did but without malicious intent). The rules are meant to keep people safe, but are sadly inadequate because they assume that people who commit these kinds of atrocities give a flip about the rules. Let’s not forget that Cho had to go by a post office to mail his manifesto, and he might have been concealing his two handguns (which, ironically, is a federal offense). The school had a gun-free campus policy (which he was in violation of). And if Cho carried the weapons concealed on his person, he was in violation of Virginia State concealed carry laws. Was he around afterwards to suffer the consequences of breaking those rules? No. As soon as he realized the police were coming, he blew his brains out. So much for throwing him in jail and confiscating his weapons.
I’m not calling for the repeal of concealed weapons permitting processes, mind you, I think that those who would conceal a weapon should have to prove themselves competent before they’re allowed to carry in public places and be aware of the weight they’ll be taking on if they chose to do so(And Washington State’s laws could use some revision in this aspect), but I think that people assume, entirely too often, that another rule is all we need to take care of the problem of violence, and the fact remains, it isn’t.
Banks are another prime example, it is a federal offense to bring a weapon into a bank (FDIC insured = Federal facility, essentially). Does a bank robber stop at the sign, ponder a moment, and say, “Wow, it’s against the rules for me to have a firearm in here, maybe I should try someplace like a grocery store.”? No. In fact, I mused to myself that Wells Fargo putting “Please remove sunglasses before entering the branch” on their doors was about as useful as putting a “Please, no ski masks” sign out there.
What’s my point? I’m not saying more guns equals less violence, I’m saying less announcing to the world that it’s a gun-free environment and not reprimanding those who have earned a right to carry weapons equals less violence. The reasons school and malls are the targets is because the killers know that there’s a low probability they’ll come up against armed opposition. Not knowing who may put an end to the violence may, in some cases, act as a deterrent.
And this isn’t to say that fear will stop them in all cases. Ultimately, there will always be Chos and Klebolds, Harrises and Kinkels. But what if, for instance, the student who was disciplined at VT for carrying a concealed firearm with a state-issued permit had been in one of those classrooms, and hadn’t been reprimanded earlier for violating a campus rule? Would the carnage have ended sooner? God only knows.
Because of the media, we’re all living in constant fear of what happens next. You or I could be the nest shooting victim, our next door neighbor could be raising the next shooter. There’s no hope offered in the media, and while they can postulate about whether it was the guns or the video games or the troubled childhood that caused it, the fact is that none of those explain what causes a person to go on a psychotic rampage and kill 30 people. They make a conscious choice to do it. Just like those who have the ability to defend, the hidden assets in the crowd, have to make the conscious choice to act. God forbid the day ever come where I am the last line of defense between a psychopath and innocents, but if someone starts opening fire in a shopping mall and I’m present and armed, I will make that choice, and whatever I chose, unlike a psychotic killer who causes the terror and ends his own life, I will have to live with that choice.
In my rantings against Jack Thompson, there’s one thing I will adamantly say that video games will not prepare a human being for; Despite the realism of the characters, or the realism of the blood spurting from the characters wounds, no amount of games will ever prepare a human being for the smell of death. It’s just not something that can be trained for. It’s a smell that, I’m told, lingers with you long after the sirens are silent and the night is again quiet.
And why shouldn’t it? The taking of a human life, that shouldn’t be something we soon forget, lest we grow too accustomed to it. I think that’s what separates those with a conscience from those without them. Once that decision is made, someone with a conscience will have to wrestle with that for the rest of their life. A psychopath won’t feel any remorse or regret, despite what he might say at trial.
Wow, this turned out longer and a lot more focused than I expected. Where’s the random? Dagnabbit.
If Hilary Clinton is our next president, I’m moving to Canada. Seriously.
(I had to keep this random, after all. =)
Cheers,
A
Tags: News, Personal, Politics, Writing by Andrew Laine
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