Angels and Assholes #14…2016 - Lethal Absurdities

Headline: Murder rates jump in many major cities (Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, and LA the largest jumps). [Mpls Star and Trib., 5/14/16.]

Headline: Chicago’s weekend most violent in 7 months: 8 people killed, 43 wounded (in one frickin weekend!). [ Ditto, 5/13/16.]

Headline: No charges after child, 3, shoots self. (Why not? Wouldn’t you think leaving a loaded gun accessible to a 3 year old is criminal negligence? And that person(s) probably still have their ‘rights). [Ditto, 5/10/16.]

Headline: At least 265 people were accidentally shot by kids this year (2015). [The Washington Post 12/31/15.]

To repeat an earlier notion of mine: If something is wrong to the point of absurdity, maybe something should be done to change it, correct it? In a previous A&A, I mentioned I read in an article that more people were murdered in a single day in Baltimore than in a year in Canada. Absurd? I did point out that it wasn’t fair to lay it all on Baltimore…that there appears to be a war going on in major U.S. cities as pointed out in headlines above. Take Chicago:

That “…in 7 months…” means there was a worst weekend 7 months ago. The Mpls. article reported that at least 1,225 people have been shot in Chicago so far this year. That’s “so far!” Annualize that and you’re in the 2,500 range. Check Iraq or Afghanistan casualties and you’ll wonder where the most devastating wars for Americans are. In our own cities? 

I don’t want to venture into the firestorm of gun control, but, to follow up on our President’s recommendation, education is the answer. I believe this education has to happen at a very early age, especially in our cities. Disabled vets have been getting involved, which is a win-win. But how about any veteran who would like to make a huge difference. Even pay them. There’s a huge military budget…why ignore the war in our cities? Send soldiers, the Nat. Guard, whatever, armed not with guns, but educational resources. Can you imagine the higher quality recruits we’d have if they signed up to be soldiers of peace, not war?

The most absurd headline, although, are the last two. Of the 265 people shot by kids in 2015, most were by toddlers 3, 4, and 5 years old! What the shit! Obviously there are people who aren’t responsible enough, are too careless, or just plain too stupid to own guns (think lobotomies and sterilization). I’m sure these people feel bad (some don’t feel anything at all as many parents are shot, accidentally, by their own children), but like a drunk driver who kills somebody and feels bad, those are preventable accidents. Absolutely no excuse to leaving, especially if loaded, a gun accessible to children. If you don’t respect people or your guns, you’re an asshole, and you shouldn’t own a weapon.

If only ‘angels’ owned guns, you’d have no unarmed people being shot… as well as no protected animals. I have no solution to endorse, only to state the obvious: this is a problem that has reached absurd proportions (really re-reached if look back at statistics in the 1980’s). Isn’t it about time we not only acknowledge, but take action about this?

 Too bad there isn’t a test everyone has to take: no ‘assholes’ can buy or own a gun.