I can't believe that I'm sitting here, writing THIS again. But I have to because the unthinkable has happened - again. A deranged person has used a gun to kill, maim, and destroy. WHY? WHY? WHY? We may never know truly why. The perpetrator of this heinous act took the cowards way, as most of them do, and wasted himself after inflicting his unspeakable carnage. And we do need to know why. We need to know how and why this obviously deeply troubled young man came to this place of horror. We need to know how and why our mental health system has failed, once again, to protect us from the evil that lurks in men's hearts. But I do not want to focus of this subject for today's discussion. I'd rather focus on how and why, once again, someone turned to, and OBTAINED, weapons of mass destruction to achieve his demented goals.
Adam Lanza was 20 years old when something seriously snapped in his brain and he resorted to the most extreme violence imaginable to ease his own pain. Details are still emerging, but we do know this: he got his hands on some guns. They were legal guns. They were owned by his mother. And they were powerful guns. In, perhaps, the greatest bit of irony in this story, he took one of his mother's guns and shot her in the face. He then took two more guns, his mother's car, drove to the school where his mother was a teacher and preceded to brutally execute 26 more people, including 20 young children, before taking his own life. All the victims where shot with a high-powered rifle, multiple times and at close range.
Of course, the reaction was immediate and visceral. After the shock of what had really happened started to wear off, the debate began. People on both sides of the so-called gun debate started to fill the air defending their positions, me being one of the many. The pro-gun lobby, headed by the NRA (the National Rifle Association), started their spin immediately with their trite, inane, insane slogan, "guns don't kill people. People kill people. Really? Well, that PERSON sure didn't use a fucking butter knife to achieve his perverse goal - he used a fucking HIGH POWERED ASSAULT WEAPON - WHICH CAN BE LEGALLY PURCHASED IN THE US!! So, fuck you NRA!! One "pro-gun" friend even tried the equally inane, insane argument that maybe we should ban driving and flying because those things cause more deaths than gun violence! WTF? Forgive me for being so direct, but that's just fucking stupid. Deaths in cars and planes are ACCIDENTAL. Shooting someone to death is no fucking accident!!! GUNS ARE MADE TO KILL. They call upon the 2nd Amendment that protects the so-called right of Americans to bear arms, not REALLY knowing the true spirit of the law. They use fear as a tactic: what if someone breaks into your home and threatens you and your family. You have a right to defend yourself. Well, you most certainly do. However, what the NRA doesn't tell you is that the DOWNSIDE of keeping a gun in the house FAR outweighs the potential benefit. Every statistic that I could find shows that the chances of something bad happening with that gun (including it being used AGAINST you) are so much greater than any good.
Every industrialized nation in the world looks at us and our obsession with guns and violence and wonders what happened to the dream of America - a benevolent, peaceful America. They look at the number of people killed with guns in this country and are shocked! NONE of them, even those with strong hunting cultures, can match us for pure, unadulterated gun violence. Why? Simply put, because too many of worship guns and the violence that surrounds them.
The NRA is, hands down, the most powerful lobby in this country. Simply put, any politician who screws with their agenda is annihilated in a barrage of money given to their opponent by the NRA. They will slay anyone who opposes their goal of unfettered gun ownership. THEY HAVE BLOCKED EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF REASONABLE GUN LEGISLATION PUT BEFORE CONGRESS. And this will never change UNLESS WE MAKE IT CHANGE. And I'm not even asking people to give up their guns (although they SHOULD) totally. That would be unrealistic. Unfortunately, guns are a part of our history and culture - after all, we were created by violent revolution. But let's work to insure that the NRA does not dominate the scene as it has in the past. Show your righteous anger and indignation. Let your voices be heard. SCREAM if you have to - before another child is blown away by fear and ignorance in the form of a gun.
Frank, I known you since High School and understand your passion, but this has nothing to do with the NRA. If anyone wants a gun, they will buy a gun, period. You should be ranting at the media for glorifying these cowards. Thier 15 minutes of fame worldwide, thanks to todays electronic media, are putting ideas into copycats to commit greater destruction. Whats next, a bomb in a day care center, a nusrsey ward at a hospital? These animals need to be put away if they are mentaly unstable, and not glorified. Case in point, in Leonia NJ, a mentaly unstable man robbed the CVS store with a knife. 2 Palisades Park and 1 Leonia PO caught up with him. He charged them with the knife and was shot dead. His family is suing claiming that the Police should have known he had a mental condition. Bottom line, you can pass all the gun laws you want, but guns will always be available. See you at the next reunion. Joe Nicoletti
ReplyDeleteJoe, I respect you opinion but strongly disagree! The NRA has EVERYTHING to do with this. They have actively blocked EVERY piece of gun control legislation put forth. EVERY FUCKING PIECE. And, now, 20 children are dead. Why? Because the guns were easy to get - that's why - ultimately!!! 20 fucking kids and 7 other sre fucking dead. Could he have done that with a knife? Fuckin' no, Joe!! Fuckin' NO!!!! Sorry, Joe, but fuck the NRA and god damn them!!
DeleteAnd the media does play a role. But what would you have them do? Not report a story where 20 children are killed? Unrealistic.
DeleteThe media should report the story, yes. But responsibly! Not sensationalize it! These are very valid points:
Deletehttp://kottke.org/12/12/roger-ebert-on-the-medias-coverage-of-school-shootings
And whether Morgan Freeman actually said this or someone else did, it's right on point:
"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.
It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.
CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.
You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."
Greg- we did everything in our power to tell this story the "right way". Always do. I can't speak for the others.
DeleteFrank my good friend, what more gun control do you want. NJ and CT have the most strict gun control there is and it prevented him from buying a gun when he wanted to.
ReplyDeleteStatistically more people die because of gun control.
Had someone in that school been armed lives could have been saved. Instead gun control created a gun free zone, another name for that is a criminal empowerment zone.
All of these shootings have taken place in gun free zones. Except the mall shooting early in the week which was stopped by guess what? a man with a gun. But you didn't hear about that on the news did you.
The violence is not in the weapons, it is in the people. You want to disarm everybody?, everyone in that school was unarmed and look what happened. It's time to fight the violence with violence.
Want to save lives put guns in the schools, let the teachers carry. Sounds crazy right, well Israel does it, Thailand does it and it has been very successful. Germany may as well. Now some schools In Texas as well. I don't like that idea in the sense it should not be necessary. However the time has come to do something, Laws will not stop the violence. We can fight back or be helpless victims.
Guns save lives, stop rape, robbery's and deter the bad guys very effectively over a million times each year in this country.
I will keep my gun, I like having it on my hip when I leave the house. It makes me comfortable knowing that if faced with violence I have the means to protect my life or the life of others.
The problem is not guns, the problem is society. We are a violent country. There are other country's armed just as much as we are and don't not have the violence we do.
http://www.a-human-right.com/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57559179/china-school-knife-attack-leaves-23-injured/
Greg - I love you brother, but my statistics counter yours. More guns will NEVER be the answer. You know my feelings on that.
DeleteMerry Christmas, be careful of what you wish for.
Deletehttp://jpfo.org/articles-assd02/correia-gc-opinion-01.htm
The same to you and your daughter, Greg. Perhaps I'll see you in D.C.
DeleteSo you believe that he could not have gotten a gun if mommy hadn't purchased it legally? I have no use for the NRA, but with or without legislation a gun is very easy to get. As far as the media goes, of course it must get reported, however, there is no need to give Lanza, any type of mention by name. You enjoy freedom of the press. Many people enjoy the freedom to bear arms. Would I own a gun if I wasnt a Police Officer (retired 12 years ago) No. Do I still shoot and carry a gun? Yes, legally by maintianing my qualifications by state and federal law. But that is my choice, just as your choice to blame the NRA. I say Fuck Lanza, and Fuck the press if a copycat does the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on one point, and one only- assault weapons have no place in society. There is no reason any civilian should have one. These are made for one purpose, to kill many.
Love you, Joe, you are a good man. But I remain firm in my conviction - more guns just breed more violence. We cannot live in fear and I do not - without a gun.
DeleteFirst, let me thank everyone for responding! This is such an important issue and all of your points are well taken and much appreciated! I will say this in response to all: for me, this is about a mindset - one that is violent and pervasive is nature. In other words, it is dangerous and it is everywhere. Violent movies, violent games, violent behavior is EVERYWHERE. It seems that virtually everyone of our heroes solves his problems at the point of a gun. THIS MUST STOP. Guns have never been the answer - and NEVER will be. MORE GUNS just breads MORE VIOLENCE. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to love - for only love can conquer hate! It's only hippie bull shit if you don't believe. I believe and, so, am not afraid. Who will join me?!
ReplyDeleteFirst full disclosure: I own pistols, rifles and shotguns and I keep some within reach. I share my life in a very rural environment with mountain lion, bear, coyote and hybrid wolves. There's a meth lab within driving distance that the local Taos police will not confront (with its associated out-of-their-mind addicts - which is nothing like a coke or heroin jones, btw). While I'm not a hunter, there is a local industry based on elk/deer hunting that helps supports a very, very poor agricultural community. We personally have a sanctuary for horses and provide for dogs, cats and other animals. When age, disease or attack injures one beyond rehabilitation, a bullet is the most humane method - end of life chemicals can be painful, take time and a body with chemicals in it can not be recycled back into the circle of life, where animals in the wild do still starve to death. And we don't have a local vet.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, there's already a blueprint for gun control that should become a federal mandate: the same one that's used for concealed carry permits that involves training, safety, testing, handling, storage and extensive background checks. If every gun sale in America required the same standards of a conceal carry permit we'd all be safer while not infringing on our so-called gun-carrying rights. The NRA is not a policy provider, it is a lobbyist for the wealthiest industry in America: gun manufacturers. The NRA has no business in this debate. Guns in schools, churches, government, etc have no place other than fostering the NRAs lobbying efforts to sell more of them. Assault weapons have one purpose only: to kill a maximum amount of people as quickly as possible. They are for war zones, not American streets or wilderness.
What we need to do for our children is provide a safe environment (meaning if you have weapons they need to be under lock and key); surround them in love; teach them respect and personal responsibility; and provide all the help, support and positive direction possible. What we need to do for ourselves is turn-off the mindless blabber that's filling our minds with nonsense (i.e. the NRA). - Pite
Thank you, Jonathan. Well thought and well put. You are a responsible gun owner - Thank god. I respect that. However, I continue to maintain that more guns still just creates more violence.
Delete