There have been something like 18 school shootings in this country in 2018. Despite what gun-rights activists say, that is insane. Americans react to guns far differently than they react to everything else. The mental gymnastics that people go through to justify their views on guns is astounding to me. To highlight that point, my friend Ray posted on Facebook, "I have decided to make the Third Amendment central to my identity." Ludicrous, right? "No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war..."
I understand gun ownership and I know that many gun owners are all for some common-sense restrictions. What I don't understand is the fear tactics that cause people to literally make the Second Amendment central to their identity. You will never build up an arsenal big enough to defeat the United States. That doomsday scenario is NOT more important than solving, with a multi-faceted approach, the problem of gun violence in our schools. But as soon as someone argues that it's not a gun problem, it shuts down the discussion. After Stoneman Douglas, the students there started a campaign that has gained national traction. Second Amendment fanatics have discounted it! They say it's driven by the media and big sponsors. I say it hit a nerve and took off, because so many people feel like we have to do something. The kid that shot 17 classmates was a mentally ill 18-year-old who had been reported to local police and the FBI for threatening to do exactly what he ended up doing. And yet he was able to purchase a military-style assault rifle without a waiting period, at age 18, an age when his frontal cortex is not fully developed. Surely we can change that without threatening the Second Amendment.
This is where the arguments come in like, "Should we ban your car because it kills people?" How can you not see that a car accident and a school shooting rampage are different? Your car is not designed to slaughter people. An AR-15 is designed to slaughter people. It is not for hunting. It is for killing. If it were anything but a gun, we would carefully regulate it. America's fetishization of guns is making people unreasonable and putting our children at extreme risk. I know, when you were a kid, everyone had guns and nobody got shot. But just like a soldier isn't going to knock on your door and ask for room and board, guns are different now, and so are the purposes people want them for. We have to adapt in any and all ways we can. I'm sad that we can't all agree that a mentally ill 18-year-old should not own a gun. I know he could get his mother's gun or whatever, but I think it's harmful for kids to see adults defend gun ownership not in a reasonable way, but in a militaristic way that doesn't allow discussion, and this after seeing more children get shot in school.
The other argument that is being pushed is that it's not the guns, it's the KIDS who are responsible for their own murders because they weren't nice to the misunderstood outcasts who shot up their schools. Now we're asking today's teenagers to be kinder and more inclusive than any generation before them. Guess what? They already are, so that's not a problem. But you can't ask them to be super human. Araceli is a child who is acutely attuned to people around her and their needs. Ever since a friend of hers committed suicide when she was in 8th grade, she has been hyper-aware of suicidal tendencies in her peers. She has spent hours talking to friends, talking them down. She notices people and she tries to help them. This comes at an enormous cost, an unbearable cost. I can't even overstate the cost. One year ago, we got a call from the school, and Scott pulled Araceli out of school and drove her to a concert in Las Vegas because the weight of taking on so many of her peers' problems was sinking her.
My brother asked me, "Why would they drive all the way to Vegas to see a B-grade band?" What do I say? "Scott did it so Araceli wouldn't kill herself this weekend." Asking more of children is not the answer. They get it. They are far more inclusive and accepting than any generation before them, but they cannot save everyone. They cannot be asked to. They are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, and they area asking for help from adults. I say we help them in every way necessary.
This is my opinion. I have heard yours. Please don't. Thanks.
I understand gun ownership and I know that many gun owners are all for some common-sense restrictions. What I don't understand is the fear tactics that cause people to literally make the Second Amendment central to their identity. You will never build up an arsenal big enough to defeat the United States. That doomsday scenario is NOT more important than solving, with a multi-faceted approach, the problem of gun violence in our schools. But as soon as someone argues that it's not a gun problem, it shuts down the discussion. After Stoneman Douglas, the students there started a campaign that has gained national traction. Second Amendment fanatics have discounted it! They say it's driven by the media and big sponsors. I say it hit a nerve and took off, because so many people feel like we have to do something. The kid that shot 17 classmates was a mentally ill 18-year-old who had been reported to local police and the FBI for threatening to do exactly what he ended up doing. And yet he was able to purchase a military-style assault rifle without a waiting period, at age 18, an age when his frontal cortex is not fully developed. Surely we can change that without threatening the Second Amendment.
This is where the arguments come in like, "Should we ban your car because it kills people?" How can you not see that a car accident and a school shooting rampage are different? Your car is not designed to slaughter people. An AR-15 is designed to slaughter people. It is not for hunting. It is for killing. If it were anything but a gun, we would carefully regulate it. America's fetishization of guns is making people unreasonable and putting our children at extreme risk. I know, when you were a kid, everyone had guns and nobody got shot. But just like a soldier isn't going to knock on your door and ask for room and board, guns are different now, and so are the purposes people want them for. We have to adapt in any and all ways we can. I'm sad that we can't all agree that a mentally ill 18-year-old should not own a gun. I know he could get his mother's gun or whatever, but I think it's harmful for kids to see adults defend gun ownership not in a reasonable way, but in a militaristic way that doesn't allow discussion, and this after seeing more children get shot in school.
The other argument that is being pushed is that it's not the guns, it's the KIDS who are responsible for their own murders because they weren't nice to the misunderstood outcasts who shot up their schools. Now we're asking today's teenagers to be kinder and more inclusive than any generation before them. Guess what? They already are, so that's not a problem. But you can't ask them to be super human. Araceli is a child who is acutely attuned to people around her and their needs. Ever since a friend of hers committed suicide when she was in 8th grade, she has been hyper-aware of suicidal tendencies in her peers. She has spent hours talking to friends, talking them down. She notices people and she tries to help them. This comes at an enormous cost, an unbearable cost. I can't even overstate the cost. One year ago, we got a call from the school, and Scott pulled Araceli out of school and drove her to a concert in Las Vegas because the weight of taking on so many of her peers' problems was sinking her.
My brother asked me, "Why would they drive all the way to Vegas to see a B-grade band?" What do I say? "Scott did it so Araceli wouldn't kill herself this weekend." Asking more of children is not the answer. They get it. They are far more inclusive and accepting than any generation before them, but they cannot save everyone. They cannot be asked to. They are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, and they area asking for help from adults. I say we help them in every way necessary.
This is my opinion. I have heard yours. Please don't. Thanks.
2 comments:
Well said, Circe. A big fat AMEN from me.
xo
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
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