Enough is enough

Fule for Thought

 

I don’t feel much like being cheery or writing something a little bit entertaining. All I can think of are the kids and teachers who were killed last week in Connecticut. The fact that happy youngsters faced terror before this madman killed them is unbelievable to me.  

These kids should be alive right now, and the only things on their minds should be Christmas, family, and pals. Unfortunately, they’ll never have another Christmas, have a first love, get to drive, graduate, get married, or experience anything they should have.  

It’s all been taken by another crazed gunman who then cowardly, kills himself. I’m stunned, and I’m sure you’re in shock as well.

Right now, I’ve seen so many reports, tributes, and images for those lost. THAT’S how we have to think of the victims … they need to be remembered, not the gunman. The only thing I do want to know, is when will these killings stop? It’s almost become epidemic now. If 28 kids and teachers died of a mysterious illness at a school, EVERY available medical service would be mobilized. There would be a massive effort to make sure the disease was eradicated! But ever since Columbine, these mass killings have still been happening.

I don’t know if there’s any ONE answer, but it’s probably that more than one thing has to be changed in our, and especially American society. First of all, people faithfully watch American TV and movies that are full of violent acts. In a typical crime show, there are murders, images of corpses to be analyzed, re-enactments OF the killings for viewers.  How can people NOT become de-sensitized to these acts? They’re even in reruns during the day for kids to watch! The irony of American media, is that nudity and swearing must be kept to an absolute minimum, to protect viewers. If that’s the case with those two things, why wouldn’t they feel the same for violence on TV?

Adding to TV and movies, we have incredibly graphic violence in video games. Kids and teens can eagerly shoot up and destroy digital people on a regular basis. It’s no wonder that it doesn’t shock people to see crime scenes on TV, or hear of graphic descriptions of murders! We are, as a society, becoming more and more used to violence. It’s not a stretch then, for someone who has mental issues to act out on these and bring THEIR inner darkness into reality. If people already have personality disorders, killing in video may become easier to do in real life. Add to that, the fact that guns are easier to get in the US (especially handguns), and it’s a recipe for disaster. I watched a tearful President on TV talk of the recent killing. He stated that things needed to change. I was expecting something concrete that would now happen, but it didn’t. Perhaps it’s time for all major groups to get together: The NRA, State and Federal governments, and media representatives. Maybe it’s time that (at least) TV shows become far less violent, as well as limit the violence in video games. Maybe combined with that, it’s time that people can’t have easy access to guns, and especially handguns. There is a violence engrained in American society that is not as strong in other countries. Having easier access to handguns also makes it easier to murder.

I found some interesting facts on the gun homicide rates between three different countries. In 2009, The U.S. had three gun homicides per 100,000 people. The U.K. (which has very strict gun laws) had 0.07 per 100,000!! The closest year I could find for Canada was 2004, when we had 0.5 gun homicides per 100,000 people. Please don’t infer that I think all guns should be outlawed. I just feel that highly dangerous and easily concealed ones should be VERY difficult to get. Canada, for example has far more strict laws than the U.S. states regarding ownership of guns. We also have very rare examples of these mass shootings.

My point for this column was at first to express my sadness at the killing of all these little children and adults. I can’t comprehend how they must have been scared in their last moments. I hope I could be as brave as the teachers who protected, or tried to protect, their little students. We as societies have to find ways to stop, or at least drastically cut the numbers of killings like Columbine, the Aurora movie theatre shooting, and now the latest Elementary School massacre. Our grief and vowing not to remember the killers’ names is not enough. It must become more difficult for Americans to buy and keep handguns, and automatic/semi-automatic weapons. 

American and Canadian media need to limit violence shown in peoples’ homes. In addition, why not make buying certain video games, also become more difficult, like buying liquor, where you must be 18 to purchase? Anything to lessen the violent acts seen regularly on TV, in video games, coupled with more difficulty in getting handguns and rifles, has GOT to have some impact. If governments don’t start a process to identify and curb problems leading to gun violence, then it’s only a matter of time before another massacre happens again. This has to stop, because there are 20 little angels and their families who deserve more than speeches.