Fear Sells Guns

Guns and US - part 2

Something is clearly wrong in this country. Too many people are dying from gunshot wounds.

In this series of brief essays, I am exploring some facets of the issue. I do not pretend to know many answers. Nor do I imagine that this exercise will win me many friends.

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Some people do not see gun violence as a national crisis. Yet the United States has the highest rate of gun violence of any advanced nation in the world. It should not be this way. For various reasons, hardly anyone in America feels safe anymore. It should not be this way.

Some preliminary questions.

Why do people shoot other people?

Why are shooters so afraid, or so angry, that they think shooting another person is an appropriate response to their fear or anger?

Why is the gun the first, or at least the primary, solution they think of?

To use the phrasing so popular with right-wingers, who “groomed” them to think this way?

Many factors are involved:

Guns are widely available and easily procured.

Most laws that are perceived or touted as restricting gun purchases or gun usage are ineffective, either because they are poorly drafted, or poorly enforced, or both.

“Stand your ground” laws give some people the idea that they can shoot anyone whom they perceive as threatening. They don’t have to prove that the person they shoot actually threatened them; only that they felt threatened. States with such laws report a higher gun homicide rate than other states. Victims are usually Blacks shot by Whites who feel threatened by anyone who is Black. And don’t you wonder if that wasn’t probably the intent all along?

Gun manufacturers and gun sellers routinely market firearms for self-defense.

Some politicians (and some “news” outlets) routinely exaggerate the threat of violence, especially in cities. They maintain that crime is on the rise, even when it isn’t. It’s the perception of crime that is on the rise, created by politicians who exaggerate the threat of violence.

Some politicians routinely say that the problem is not guns, it’s mental health. If that’s the case, you might think these politicians would be working to advance mental health in some way. But they’re not. “Mental health” is a dodge, not a serious attempt at a solution.

Individual “mental health” may be a factor, but the “mental health” of the nation is a larger part of our problem. We are a sick society. Gun violence is one of the factors that make our society sick.

More children and youth die by gun violence than in car accidents.

Kids are afraid to go to school. I grew up in the days of nuclear war drills at school. We crawled under our desks and put our heads between our knees with our hands clasped over our heads. It would not have done much good, but hiding under your desk in “active shooter drills” doesn’t do much good either. Still, I don’t think we were ever as afraid then as kids today are afraid of being shot while learning arithmetic.

Christian theologian Kevin Hargaden, who lives in Ireland, recently said that he would never consider moving to America, largely because of the gun violence.

In response, Christian theologian Michael F. Bird, who lives in Australia, says he has lived in America and loves it. “But here’s the thing. America has for me both a sense of seduction and revulsion, somewhere I want to be, and somewhere I fear to be.”

Guns don’t create less fear. They create more fear. And that, alas, may be an intentional result of how guns are marketed. The more people are afraid, the more guns are solid.

Next: Guns rule.