My condolences to the families affected by this shooting, nothing that we say or do will even begin the healing process after this tragedy, however I still like to express my empathy and I believe God will help you find peace one day.
The crusades had Christians and Muslims kill each other for centuries as was dictated by their laws, all to spread the reach of their own empires.
I remember when I was in the 8th grade, the Columbine shootings happened. One of my classmates made a very detailed presentation in front of the whole class, and it seemed to include even their video game routines. To this day I remember Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's names without looking them up. I also remember that edition of newsweek magazine, I read that magazine cover to cover up until the point where I knew exactly what I needed to do if I ever wanted to pull off such a hateful act. I also remember some of my classmates "yahoo-ing" (different times) "How to make a bomb". I wonder how many hateful middle and high schoolers went through the same experience and saw this as a prime act to get a little attention.
We live in the richest country in the world, where these type of crimes are committed, in my opinion, out of psychological disorders, egoistical desires or even boredom, and not necessarily by need or desperation. The media covers these tragedies very thoroughly and provide exceptional background stories of the criminals, giving them their so-called "15-minutes of fame" prompting disturbed individuals looking for attention as their only way out, most opting for the coward exit, taking their own lives so they don't have to face the consequences of their actions.
But our knee-jerk reaction is to ban all guns. Did you know that schools are a gun-free zone, by law? Did you know that the movie theater in Aurora, place of the "Batman shooting" was also a gun-free zone? That hasn't stopped shooters to enter a gun there either. Laws are only followed by honest people. How many honest criminals do you now? Unfortunately in China, a similar act happened almost simultaneously, where the killer did not shoot his victims, he stabbed them.
But we tend to ignore the big picture and use these isolated incidents and manipulate data to promote our own agenda. It is not a secret that the majority of this country is liberal and one item on their agenda is to ban guns in civilian hands. And it is no secret that most of the 2nd amendment advocates sound like "ignorant rednecks". Also, our President and Congressmen waste no time to get quality tv exposure after tragedies like this to propose laws that mirror the American sentiment. However, the second amendment was not written by "ignorant rednecks" it was written by some of the most brilliant free thinkers our country has seen.
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one" - Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria, Criminologist in 1764.
People have been killing each other way before guns were invented. Anyone that attended the UCF College of Engineering read the following bumper sticker every morning on their way to class "Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage". If guns were illegal do you really think they will not find a way to fall in the hands of people? criminal or law-abiding? Have you ever smoked illegal marijuana? How difficult was it to get it? How many different varieties and amounts are you able to get? Has the police been successful in keeping drugs away from prison? government officials? homes? schools? Have you ever seen someone under 21 drank alcohol?
I was outraged after what happened and before I was able to figure out how to react, rants about gun control and stricter laws were being spread all over the internet. When people think about how something like this could have been prevented, our immediate reaction is to resort to government and demand them to guarantee more security as we trade it for our liberties.
"A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both and deserve neither" - Thomas Jefferson
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" - Benjamin Franklin
Our founding fathers understood that our biggest threat is a growing government.
"We live in the most violent of times" is what people say when news like this are smeared all over. But I think these are people who probably failed history class several times.
The Roman Empire, the height of civilization at the time, had unarmed Christians slaughtered by lions as a form of entertainment, and had slaves battle each other, who then the loser would be ordered to be executed by Caesar himself as part of the spectacle.
The crusades had Christians and Muslims kill each other for centuries as was dictated by their laws, all to spread the reach of their own empires.
The British Empire, height of civilization at the time, had public hangings up until the 1860's, and in fact, the word Gala, comes from the day of the gallows tradition, thought to be a day to be looked forward to by British citizens.
On a side note, the terrorists that hijacked the planes in 9-11 did it with a knife.
And all of these senseless acts of violence happened without guns, and, with the exception of the last example, allowed by the established governments. The most advanced governments during that time, if I may add.
I remember when I was in the 8th grade, the Columbine shootings happened. One of my classmates made a very detailed presentation in front of the whole class, and it seemed to include even their video game routines. To this day I remember Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's names without looking them up. I also remember that edition of newsweek magazine, I read that magazine cover to cover up until the point where I knew exactly what I needed to do if I ever wanted to pull off such a hateful act. I also remember some of my classmates "yahoo-ing" (different times) "How to make a bomb". I wonder how many hateful middle and high schoolers went through the same experience and saw this as a prime act to get a little attention.
We live in the richest country in the world, where these type of crimes are committed, in my opinion, out of psychological disorders, egoistical desires or even boredom, and not necessarily by need or desperation. The media covers these tragedies very thoroughly and provide exceptional background stories of the criminals, giving them their so-called "15-minutes of fame" prompting disturbed individuals looking for attention as their only way out, most opting for the coward exit, taking their own lives so they don't have to face the consequences of their actions.
But the ones that live the aftermath are "studied" and people try to "understand" them. Then our lawyers and psychiatrists take these "cases" and present their results explaining, if not sometimes excusing, their behavior, to get their sentences lowered, or relocating them from prison to a psychiatric hospital.
But our knee-jerk reaction is to ban all guns. Did you know that schools are a gun-free zone, by law? Did you know that the movie theater in Aurora, place of the "Batman shooting" was also a gun-free zone? That hasn't stopped shooters to enter a gun there either. Laws are only followed by honest people. How many honest criminals do you now? Unfortunately in China, a similar act happened almost simultaneously, where the killer did not shoot his victims, he stabbed them.
But we tend to ignore the big picture and use these isolated incidents and manipulate data to promote our own agenda. It is not a secret that the majority of this country is liberal and one item on their agenda is to ban guns in civilian hands. And it is no secret that most of the 2nd amendment advocates sound like "ignorant rednecks". Also, our President and Congressmen waste no time to get quality tv exposure after tragedies like this to propose laws that mirror the American sentiment. However, the second amendment was not written by "ignorant rednecks" it was written by some of the most brilliant free thinkers our country has seen.
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one" - Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria, Criminologist in 1764.
People have been killing each other way before guns were invented. Anyone that attended the UCF College of Engineering read the following bumper sticker every morning on their way to class "Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage". If guns were illegal do you really think they will not find a way to fall in the hands of people? criminal or law-abiding? Have you ever smoked illegal marijuana? How difficult was it to get it? How many different varieties and amounts are you able to get? Has the police been successful in keeping drugs away from prison? government officials? homes? schools? Have you ever seen someone under 21 drank alcohol?
My dad taught me to never make decisions when I'm emotional. It is very difficult to do, and when I do I usually end up making wrong decisions that can cost me money, time or the loss of an opportunity forever. I will have to learn to live with that. The problem when government makes these decisions is that they affect an entire country. Rarely these decisions made advance freedom, liberty and place the responsibility back in the hands of those that make their own decisions.
"I have never fired a weapon, and probably will never own one, but I will not hesitate to pick one up to defend the constitutional right to own one." - Me, 2012.
Comments
Post a Comment