Violent America

The shooting in Arizona on Saturday is a tragic event that killed six people and injured 14 people. It is however, neither the first time nor will it be the last incidence of this kind. Some people believe we have a gun problem, which might be partially true. I believe we primarily have a violence problem which plus the easy availability of guns and the general unpleasantness of day-to-day American life make an unpleasant combination.

 I am never sure why average people needs more than one gun, or automatic or semi-automatic weapons, hand grenades, rocket launchers or other military grade weaponry. I am sure we all know people who have guns and think they are necessary to defend themselves and their families. I am never sure who they are defending against. Most of us do not have the training to defend against commandos, a group of robbers or even one person with a gun. If their house was surrounded by crazed killers, I am sure that they probably could not keep them out until the police arrived. It’s probably smarter to call the police if such a situation arises.  Most of us do not have lives like Scarface or routinely act out the last scene of Heat in our lives. If someone wants to “jack” your car, let them have it. If you think there are robbers in the house, call the police and hide until the police get there or leave the house. If you are in a public place and there is a robbery, having a gun will not help the situation. What are you going to do, draw down on the criminal and shoot them? Does it actually matter if a store is robbed? Do you need to be a hero?

In our films and on television, there is a lot of violence. There are a lot of people with guns using them regularly. Shoot outs, robbers, arrests, all of them very graphic and very violent. We all see so much violence on TV; we don’t even realize how it is affecting us. Violence is just as American as mom and apple pie. It’s not just gun violence, we see wrestling, fist fights, martial arts, boxing, rape, knife fights, sword fights and lots of other violent actions and images all the time.

We beat our wives and children. Some people lament days when you could spank/beat your children or your wife for that matter. We torture prisoners, against US and international law. Police use Tasers on people, instead of talking to them. We get road rage on the highways and injure and kill people. People go to bars and get into fights.  Some people like the brutality of dog fights and cock fights. Students bully each other, until they commit suicide. We watch violent movies and play violent video games. We find glory in violent war. We went to war in Iraq because of lies. We hold people in secret prisons and torture them. When our children have a rough time at school and they decide the only way to solve their problems is shoot their teachers and classmates. If your spouse has left you, you shoot them and then shoot yourself. If someone is going to commit suicide, the police shoot them instead of trying to talk them down. If you hate your job, you go to work and shoot your colleagues. If you hate the government, you blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City.  We have had four presidents assassinated. We enslaved Africans and beat, raped and tortured them. We are the only country which has used a nuclear weapon on a population.  We have the largest prison population in the world. We love the death penalty, even if we sometime convict and execute the wrong person. I could continue the list but it is too long to write down. Violence is all around us but for some reason we only get upset when there is a gun and a lot of people get killed.  We need to be more upset about all violence in our society.

The level of violence in the United States is so high and so integral to American culture that I think most people don’t even notice it so much anymore. If violence is the answer, what is the question? I do not ask this question as a rhetorical device. It is something every person needs to think about. Why do I like to watch or think about violence so much? What is the attraction I feel toward violence? Can I actually use a gun to fight off an attack? Do I really believe that I can kill someone? How would you feel after you injured someone? How would you feel after you killed someone? Perhaps you would feel like the five soldiers who try to kill themselves every day? Or maybe you would feel like the thousands of soldiers who have Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from continuously being in extremely scary, violent, dangerous and deadly situations?

We need to think about how violence is affecting us. We need to think about how our society is making us miserable with all the uncertainty and insecurity; how all the divisive rhetoric makes us angry, scared and could lead to violent acts. We need to think about how we need to change our country so violence is not what we want, need, expect or fear.  Try turning off the TV or the gaming device, stop watching violent movies. Try removing violent words from your speech. Try interacting with people without angry thoughts or actions. Try talking, instead of yelling. This will be hard but be it will be worth it; you might be happier.  There is no magic cure to our violence problem. Decreasing the level of violence in America will only happen, one person at a time.  Start now and make the change.

Ciao for now,

Fobbsie