Gun Violence, God, America, and Assholes

Before I get into this, let me say, please, take a moment and send your thoughts, positive vibes, and prayers to the survivors, the friends and family of the taken, and the community at large. Like so many on this planet, they could really use them right now.

This isn’t going to be long, in-depth, or profound. Just my thoughts about some things related to this event. Because I learned of this tragedy via a thread on a forum I frequent. The thread wasn’t about the event itself, it was a screeching call for MOAR GUN CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!! I saw very little from people yesterday that was actually about the event. What I saw was everyone coming out of the woodwork to politicize the event, and use it to try and legitimize their views, regardless of where those views fell on the spectrum.

And that’s some insensitive, shame-worthy bullshit.

Gun rights activists – I would love to see the statistics to back up your idea that more guns would make things like this less likely to happen, or when they do, how it would reduce the number of victims. I’m not asking for arguments, because I know, understand, and don’t completely disagree with those. But I also recognize that in those arguments, I’m working off a gut feeling. At the same time, I have a gut feeling that more guns, when not preventing mass shootings like this, would only enable a greater number of shootings in general. Because people are short-tempered assholes. Arming more of them with weapons of convenience seems like a poor idea. We’re not number one in firearm deaths. I think this would propel us towards the number 1 spot.

Far too many people seem to truly believe in the idea that an armed society is a polite society. That’s. . . simplistic at best.

Gun control activists – taking away all the guns won’t stop this kind of thing from happening. It will simply change the narrative from “X People Shot to Death” to “X People Stabbed to Death”. I know you like to point to places like Canada and the U.K. as an example of how super tight restrictions of firearms would reduce the number of firearm deaths. And it would. Can’t argue with that. Fewer guns =- fewer gun deaths.

It’s not going to stop people from killing each other. Hell, it wouldn’t even stop people from committing these large mass killings. Check out the issues China has with school attacks and mass killings using small melee weapons.

The problem isn’t the guns. It’s not even the ease of access to the weapons. The problem is the people. Some people are broken. If you really, I mean really want to reduce the number of incidents like this, then your best bet is to support a massive overhaul of the mental health care system in the United States.  We need to find and help these people before they break completely and cause such tragedies.

But even then, you’re not going to stop them all. Because if you all (rights and control activists) would take a look, you’d find that school shootings and mass killings are, at the end of the day, and American tradition that stretches back to near the founding of the country. That includes a time when near everyone was armed.

Now, there is a discussion to be had on reasonable regulation of firearms. Personally, I endorse licensing them like we do cars, including safety and training courses (on a Federal level also). I think kids should learn from an early age what a firearm is, and how you use one properly, and how you properly respect the death you carry in your hands.

But the people that legitimately want to have that discussion are being shouted over (as always seems to be the case these days) by the extreme ends of the group. At this point in time, culturally, we simply are not going to get rid of the guns or make them illegal. The cultural impetus isn’t there. And it shouldn’t be. There’s something like 300,000,000 guns in America. The numbers of firearms deaths are in the low thousands per year. As tragic as event s like this are, they are, statistically, anomalies, and you don’t legislate based on outliers. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take a look at the rules and regulations in place, and see if we can’t make them better. Everyone needs to learn one word:

Compromise.

Now, what saddens me about the commentary on yesterday’s event more than the Gun Rights/Control activists getting their dander up is the reaction of some so-called Christians. Some of whom I had some respect for. There is an image making its rounds with the Christians I know, and they are sharing it and endorsing it and saying its “perfect!” and this sadden me.

This is wrong in several ways.

First, it tries to reduce the complexities of the situation to a pithy statement that I guess is supposed to be funny or something. But it isn’t. It’s ignorant. But I would normally just shake my head a little and move on along. But to share it around on that day, well, that was just incredibly fucking tasteless.

Second, is your God bound by the laws if the United States? I was always taught that God is everywhere and omnipotent (though it’s my understanding that his omnipotence is not clear-cut in some dogmas). Because if he is lawbound, well, that’s pretty weak. Just because all school children everywhere are not being forced to recite a prayer (possibly to a god in which they do not believe) doesn’t mean God is there with them. Oh, right, there is nothing stopping them from praying, I forgot. Or does God not hear silent prayers? If he is lawbound, can we bring him up on charges for Accessory to?

Third, by supporting, endorsing and sharing this you’re telling me something important. You’re worshipping a being, giving your devotion to a God who, because of a legislative decision, is willing to let 18 children be slaughtered. Now it’s my understanding that while God may have used to roll like that, he stopped that shit with the coming of Jesus. But maybe I’m wrong about that.

I also think it’s pretty messed up that God isn’t allowed in movie theatres, homes, spas, malls, apartments, street corners, and all the other places where people are murdered. In fact, one might speculate that, using this logic, God isn’t allowed anywhere.

This is the important part though: If your God is willing to let these children be murdered because he’s “not allowed in schools”, then your God is a petulant child, and unworthy of your devotions. And you’re unworthy for giving him your faith and devotion. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Since apparently we can all speak for God, then I can only say that I think he’s weeping for all of us.

And rightly so.

And no, I’m not going to argue about these things in the comments. So don’t bother trying to pick that fight.