Gun Issues in America

Part I

Before I begin, let me just print out a typical statement by an average well-fed American auto employee:

"If that son of a b**ch makes me fill out another _(something)_ form, I'm going to shoot him."

When you combine that attitude with zero gun control, its obvious why this westerly nation has the highest proportion of criminals in the world.

I often think how lucky I am to still be alive with crazy armed neighbors around me ! Not one week goes by before you hear of crime or everyday shootings. I live in Detroit, so the probability of hearing such things is significant.

Everyone knows that you can get murder weapons in any convenience store in America. The jewel in the crown was when a 10-month old baby got his own gun licence in the state of Illinois.

What happened at Virginia Tech was a glaring example of how a mentally unstable person was sold these murder weapons. What happened at the Colorado school or at the Amish Pennsylvania school were other examples.

What happens when some people lose their jobs. They buy a gun and shoot their employers, something that recently happened in a Michigan accountancy firm in April 2007.

Americans have historically used guns to settle their disputes. Guns kill.

There can never be Gun Control in America because the average American Joe wants guns. And the richer you get, the more you need guns. Apparently the civilian defence services - namely, the police only exist to clean up the mess after its over.

I've posted a few questions on forums, and I have got a 100% response blasting me for supporting gun control. Taking that as a snapshot of America, I can safely conclude that everybody wants guns.

People have raised all sorts of opposition to gun control, but the most lame of them is invoking the Second Amendment. Now personally I believe, as do the minority supporters of gun control, that the Second Amendment is defunct and ought to be reconsidered, but for the majority, it's a fabulous excuse to continue owning and using weapons.

The second amendment was created over 200 years ago, allowing citizens to hold guns for self-defence. That was a time when Europeans were expanding in America, more often than not, at the expense of the Native Americans, and so they had to use their guns whenever one of them resisted. You see, if they hadn't treated native Americans like we treat mosquitos or cockroaches - "Finish it the moment you see it", we might not have had the computer, or the telephone or the television today. And so the American culture grew and grew, and with it, grew the love for the gun.

"God Guns and Guts made America free. Let's strive to keep all three" - is a very popular bumper sticker in America. I am not sure what sort of equivocal history they teach them in schools, but I do know that everything has its time and place. And when something is no longer necessary, it ought to be removed.

Another argument - An armed citizenry prevents despotic governments and dictators from taking over. As was the argument raised by a supporter of gun control, I am not sure how domestic pistols are going to protect people in the face of a technologically advanced military, if it ever comes to that.

Pleasure shooting - The disgrace of the so-called nobility in the world, is practised by everyday Americans, and much more so, by the businessmen and the rich who effectively own America. Naturally, they do their best to maintain their lifestyle which consists of watching a hundred animals die for the fun of it, and maybe eat a couple of them for food. That's the next most vehement voter's base opposing gun control, and the most influential one by far.

Finally come the gun manufacturers, represented by the National Rifle Association. They say all it takes is money to have your say in Washington. There are official lobbyists for every industry. And so it is with the booming gun manufacturing industry. Gun control will take away their red-tainted source of billions of dollars. Quite naturally they spend millions trying to protect their vested interests.

Statistics say that handgun ownership has influenced the rise in crime rate. Violent, gun-driven crime in low-income, especially African American and Hispanic neighborhoods has soared. As America grows more and more multi-cultural, more and more Euro-Americans look towards guns for self-defence.

Maybe it's too late for gun control in America. Maybe America never was ready for gun control. Well, as an outsider, I don't think I have a right to formally express any opinion in this regard.

But what I do know is that this obsession with death and murder also motivates American foreign policy, just as, in the middle-east the obsession with death and murder motivates Arab foreign policy.

As far as outsiders can see it, most of the world today is caught between this battle among two trigger happy cultures.

Part II

"Guns don't kill, people do" is a strong catchline used by opponents of gun control.

This insightful comment about the motives behind crime carries a lot of weight, but only if we fundamentally presuppose that all people are rational minded all the time.

But more often that not, that is not the case. Even the most sensible of people can, and will carry out irrational acts when agitated, angered or frightened, which they may come to regret later. One hundred percent of the population cannot be psychologically stable one hundred percent of the time. And it is during those weak moments, if a gun is easily accessible, that you begin to see how dangerous these weapons can be in the hands of civilians.

Imagine what exactly happens in those momentary lapses of composure when you have access to a gun? Most won't resort to murder. But there is always a hot heated one who will. Some folks see red at the slightest provokation. Now imagine that all this man has to do is pull out his handgun! Think of the consequences. And if that isn't enough to terrify you, think of the last time you came across a drunk. Now imagine he has a gun. Guns and alcohol are an even deadlier cocktail than cars and alcohol.

One can apply the same philosophy to drugs. Drugs don't destroy you. People taking drugs do. And yet governments spend a lot in restricting access to drugs.

Because people are basically vulnerable. Freedom of access to anything under the sun means that you only end up tempting man. And man, by nature, will be tempted. The mind of a criminal is no different. Easy availability of a weapon that can kill with little effort and no personal risk can make a little child a criminal. It is easy for a person who is on the verge of building up enough hatred, violence, lust or greed to be become a criminal, to actually become one if such an easy-to-operate weapon is around.

Opponents of gun control, however hypothesize that if guns are not accessible as easily as they are, all these potential criminals would have ultimately still committed the same murders, albeit using machetes and chainsaws? Well, international statistics disagree. Remove access to criminal temptations, and you reduce the temptation itself.

Why does the United States have the highest civilian crime rate in the whole world? Does that mean that Americans are more violent than the rest. Hardly. The same genetic material as Euro-Americans is to be found in Ireland, Germany, England, Scotland, Holland, Sweden and Poland which is found in the United States. And yet, these European countries rank among the least criminal nations in the world. Because they have gun control.

Besides, look at the citizen profile affected most by this easy access to guns. Young unemployed, frustrated African American men. Now imagine a situation where there was perfect gun control. Young African American men would not be able to lay their hands on guns easily. Think what a difference it would have made to their communities, to their parents and younger siblings whom they are examples for, and to their own careers, and to the nation.

Guns transform petty crimes into murders, petty criminals into murderers. Ordinary road rage, squabbles between neighbours, small time convenience store robberies can turn into death and carnage.

Look at all the incidents of gun misuse. All it takes is one maniac in a mall or one frustrated individual with a gun to end all your dreams and aspirations and also your loved ones.

"Criminals will always have guns". Not quite true. The mere possession of a weapon that can kill at the touch of a lever can transform you and me into a criminal just as easily. Guns often make criminals. Not the other way around.

Restricting access and having a stricter judicial system proves itself. A ban on smoking in public places has reduced the incidence of smoking. True, die-hard smokers will continue to smoke wherever they can. But the Average incidence has reduced. If I could have smoked in the train, or in the bar, I would have. But now both are off limits. So I smoke less, not because I like to smoke any less, but simply because I have no choice. I am forced to replace my craving with something harmless like chewing gum or munching on a buttered bagel because I am running out of places to smoke in. The same applies to weapon use. Take away the opportunities, and people WILL use it less.

Then comes the issue of punishment for gun misuse. A prison sentence often depends on the skill of the defense attorney and the mood of the jury ! And what about laws against gun possession - in most states, there aren't any! Had the law at least been stronger, a substantial number of crimes could have been avoided.

Degenerate attorneys can get a murderer out of prison by pleading temporary insanity. The judicial system can let you off the hook easily. Trial by jury allows the oratory abilities and antics of the attorney to sway the opinion of that mob which passes judgement - the jury. The judicial system relies on precedents and case law, which in turn depends on prior rulings. The disciplinary system in the United States is far more lenient than in many Arab countries, where the people are genetically more predisposed to violence than Afro- or Euro- Americans. But crime statistics in these countries speak otherwise.

The study of the causes of violent crime and criminals and the impact the legislative and judicial systems of the state can have on it, is an intricate subject that calls for more critical analysis than we can provide at this stage.

And unfortunately, in the case of gun control, in this battle between rationality on the one side and money, power and personal ego on the other, it is the latter that has so far, won.

Living in the US

It feels strange and not in a good way - Living in a foreign country populated by a strange people who believe that their country is God's greatest creation on earth and is therefore superior to the whole world, and who therefore, sadly think of our Asian countries as extra terrestrial places meant to be intimidated, or which are teeming with colored third world natives trying to steal their jobs, some of whom have even immigrated into their country! - Living in such a place where one is just an alien, alien in appearance, language and habits, and where one's social interaction with the local inhabitants is limited to the office, stores and malls and public utilities - All this does feel strange.

But I suppose the greater monetary advantage compared to India compensates for the temporary loss of self-esteem.

But what about India? Hearing a pack of gujarati traders shout loudly in public trains "Marathi log baddhu Harami chhe" isn't very self-esteemy either :) Try earning money and buying a house in Walkeshwar - First of all you can never earn that much, and second of all, even if you do, you will be told, that there is nothing available. Its known as ethnic exclusion and is shamelessly practiced in India. I can relate it to racism in the United States and also to caste-ism in Hinduism. In the modern world, Maharashtrians have become low-caste, who worship different gods. In the US National Geographic edition, there was an interview of some gujarati builder called Mukesh Mehta in Mumbai and he actually told the interviewer (who directly wrote it down without any verification), that "Ganesh" is the "God of the Working Classes". What does THAT mean ??? Is even God going to be ethnically excluded now?

Perhaps it's better to be treated like an immigrant in a foreign land (where one is literally one) than be treated like an immigrant in your own home. There's not much self-respect either way. But the disgrace at least, is less in the former than the latter.

Thanks for patiently reading this rave/rant. Your comments are welcome.