When I was 10 years old I got mad at fellow ten year old
Billy Wise. It was the kind of instant and overwhelming anger that makes you
want to throw something. I threw a rock. I hit his ear and drew blood. The
emotion came from such a primitive place in my mind that there was no rational
or analytic thought involved. I didn’t aim, with my eyes fixed on his head, I
just picked the rock up and threw it with a force and accuracy I could never
achieve by trying...then I looked for another rock. Thankfully, there wasn’t
one. I never spoke to Billy Wise again after that.
12/14/12 was an
unimaginably sad day in America. There
are no words that can adequately explain the actions of Adam Lanza or the grief
that will be with the parents, family and friends of the victims for the
remainder of their lives.
No amount of laws
will ever stop human beings from killing human beings…and gun control in
America is such a complex and politically charged issue that even if we all said
in unison, “enough is enough”, it would take many years and many more tragedies
before a radical change in gun ownership laws could be in place in this
country.
Dooley suggested,
“Let humans keep their guns, but restrict how many bullets one can own. It’s
not the number of guns you have, but the number bullets that are allowed to go
in them. The most common legal justifications for guns are for personal
protection and hunting. I think three bullets for personal protection and two
for hunting would be plenty. Why would anyone need more than that? If you use
your bullets, you could turn your spent cartridges in for new ones. It wouldn’t
stop gun related murders but it might inhibit the ones that begin with
“mass”. There is no honest reason why
anyone needs to own and fill 4- 15 shot clips for their handgun.”
Yes, I know this is too simplistic. Here at our secret cabin simple ideas work
well. It isn’t just the guns and bullets…. although,
I can say for sure it that ten year old Billy Wise was far better off because I
only had one rock to throw.
If I were still a
ranter this is where I would spew about the decline of the American family unit
and how its growing disfunctionality is spawning more and more socially
repressed and morally devoid children who compress years of lonely rage into
one explosive and deadly act of terror….one cathartic expression of “Here I
am!” that is instantly echoed throughout the world on the wings of our global
information technologies. Or I might say something like “the proliferation of
guns in entertainment shows and video games have made them the tool of choice
as an equalizer for the repressed or the would-be infamous”. Unfortunately, that nonsense, too, is
simplistic.
Somehow, together, we need to shorten the chain on whatever
cosmic pendulum is swinging so tragically far away from the center of what so
many of us would consider “normal”. I think I’ll start by calling Billy Wise.
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1 comment:
Wise words, Roger. As to the tragedy, I can only feel the pain of the parents and families of all. Why he did it, how we can prevent more of the same, I cannot answer. All I can do is grieve with them. Being TV-less meant it was a good while before we hbeard this news, and also means we're immune to the constant repetitions and discussions and arguments and politics that will surely follow.
It is good to catch up with you today, as it's been a while since I last visited your blog. I hope all is well in the secret cabin and that the coming of winter will give you more time to write.
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