A Contributing Factor

The shooting of twenty people in Tucson has opened up the usual media frenzy. Experts in all imaginable fields are being dragged into the studios to provide the background the producers feel we all require to understand this tragedy. In only a few days we’re already getting tired, which is an unfortunate disservice to the victims.

There’s an attempt to sort through the head of killer Jared Loughner, if they can, to discover what motive he had for the shooting. He’s not particularly cooperative, saying little to police, and apparently only providing minimum answers and a few smirks at his first court appearance. His mug shot on being charged is a clown face. The “massacre”, as some are now calling it, was likely in a sense vaguely political, but distorted enough that few of us will be able to comprehend his reasoning. Friends indicate that his opinions about government and politics were usually so bizarre that they couldn’t get a handle on just what his agenda was. He seemed to have a particular paranoia about the government, made comments about mind control and brainwashing, and had a specific concern about the US money system.

A nut case, for sure, so the attention turns to what might have set things in motion, or made his assault possible.

A certain amount of effort was initially going into trying to lay the blame for the shooting of Congressional Representative Gabrielle Giffords and nineteen other people in Tucson on the doorstep of one Sarah Palin. The style-but-no-substance Alaskan had a website that featured a US map of gun sight “targets” (one of which was Giffords), Democrats in close contests that the Republican Party should “eliminate”. It’s a stretch to feel that this alone inspired Loughner, but that map is a symptom of a larger US disease that contributed to the shootings.

The Palin map is just another indication of the fascination in too many parts of the US with guns. The Palin camp withdrew the target map almost immediately after the shooting, showing that even they realized people might draw a line between the two. The map might have been an innocent attempt to connect the outdoorsy Palin and her Alaskan hunting trips to her political aims, using rifle targets “just for fun”, but for a moment imagine the reaction in Canada if a politician was marking the locations of political opponents (described as ones who should be “eliminated”) with scope sights, and was using comments like Palin’s “Don’t retreat—reload”. It’s a different mindset.

While we know there are plenty of guns in Canada, at least handguns are rarer than in the US. Canadian eyebrows rise when they see the pervasiveness of powerful guns in the US, and the fervour that the “right to bear arms” evokes. To the casual cross-border observer, the gun lobby certainly seems to favour the Republican Party. There seem to be a number of states where the absence of a gun in the home is viewed as almost irresponsible.

Recent Republican ads for political events in Gifford’s area list one gathering for her recent opponent, enticing people to “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office, shoot a fully automatic M-16 with Jesse Kelly”. Sort of like a picnic, but on a target range. Bring the whole family. Even the kids might be able to pump a few slugs into a target. Fun, fun, fun. Another event is a meeting with Deb Ferns, famous for her “Babes with Bullets” website and sponsoring gun products. Deb indicates that shooting a now popular Black Rifle that almost duplicates an M-16 has empowered her as a woman like nothing before. And you thought just Zumba workouts would do it…

Shooter Loughner had apparently walked into a local sports store in November and equipped himself with the Glock 9 mm that he used in the assault. I don’t know if the extended 33-shot clip that allowed him to shoot down twenty people before having to reload was a stock item, or if he had to purchase that elsewhere. I see them listed for $49.95. Certainly an accessory the homeowner needs, in case a burglar does make the mistake of climbing in a back window and you have to pump 33 shots into him before phoning for help.

Just try picking up those pieces at Home Hardware or Canadian Tire. Go to the courtesy desks and specifically ask for them. Be stern. See if Wally and Gordie from automotive aren’t soon just hanging around behind you until you leave the store, and if you notice an RCMP cruiser in your rear-view mirror soon after you head down the block.

Eyebrows, certainly in Canada, were raised in 2008 when a Kansas City area car dealership was giving out semi-automatic handguns with the purchase of a new car. Few people in that area saw anything wrong with that. The dealership owner Walter Moore said, “”I don’t understand what’s the bad idea. Telling people they have a right to protect themselves.” Moore said most of his customers already own weapons. “I get in a vehicle to bid a trade, there are guns in the seats, guns in the back windows. Everybody has a gun — there’s no backlash,” Moore said the dealership would hand the customer a certificate to get the gun, but they must pass a background check. The local police chief said he was OK with the promotion as long as the weapons weren’t handed out at the dealership.

I know the NRA supporters will chant the foolish mantra “Guns don’t kill people, people do,” but the average person is unlikely to be able to mow down 20 people in a supermarket parking lot with his bare hands.

Browsing the Internet on the topic, I came across one blog where an angry American was urging people to write to their representative to prevent Obama bringing in a law that would require “gun sellers in states bordering Mexico to notify the bureau when a person buys two or more semi-automatic guns that are .22 caliber or greater within five business days.” Gee, no wonder the fellow is upset. If a person can’t buy two or more semi-automatic guns (presumably in one store visit), what rights are left for a citizen? Next they’ll want a permit to supersize your Big Mac.

Much has been said about the “toxic environment” in American politics at the moment. Obama himself seems to be a tinder point for some of it, not of his own making. There is still deep-seated resentment of the US having a black president, and still amazingly strong support by crazies for ridiculous claims that he is (a) not even an American citizen, and (b) really an Islamic terrorist in disguise (after all, his middle name is Hussein). His Health Care reforms brought out hatred beyond what Canadians can comprehend, as it cut to the core of many US citizens’ beliefs that you pull yourself up by your own bootstraps… if you want healthcare, you pay for it, or it’s just too bad. Collapse in a heap in some alley, buddy, but don’t mess with my healthcare that I bought and paid for. Pay for your own. We got some clinics for you guys… down by the wharf. Waiting time ten hours.

Just a TV look at some of the protest rallies in the US brings images that are at least surprising, if not shocking to Canadians: blazing eyes and venom in the chants, hatred on the signs. It’s not a good situation, and not a good situation in a nation where a semi-automatic handgun comes as an accessory with your new Chevy Malibu.

Poor little Christina-Taylor Green, just nine years old and born on 9-11. She touches the most hearts in the listing of the six killed. Born as a ray of hope amid one of the worse tragedies in the US, and shot down in another.

But a warning: her birth amid a tragic crime rooted in forces from outside the US, but her death comes from a crime within. There are many fine people in the good old USA, but also enough crazies within the three hundred million to cause a lot of suffering.

And far too many guns.

Sometimes it’s not in the stars, but in ourselves.

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One thought on “A Contributing Factor

  1. This morning’s news indicates that since the shootings the sales of weapons like the Glock semi-automatic used by Loughner have spiked in Arizona. Observers think it’s a combination of people being fearful that gun restrictions might be brought in, and a desire to arm themselves for protection from other people with guns. It was also mentioned that you can quite legally carry a gun in Arizona– as long as it’s concealed. Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

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