Demonizing the Inanimate
In our modern times – guns have become a hot topic in America. We expect new mass shootings to occur, and have lost our sense of shock. It would appear that anyone who has a problem with society ends up kicking in a school, church, or theater door – and spraying the occupants with hell fire, Or perhaps mass shootings are just overplayed by our modern media, which makes it appear that we have a new and foreign human problem in our midst.
But let’s not forget the numerous traditional style shootings that occur across the country everyday involving both legally and illegally purchased firearms. The gang/drug shootings, the domestic crimes of passion, etc. Does the shock value vanish if 300 innocent people are shot to death slowly over a summer, rather than suddenly in a classroom over the course of seconds? And emphasis on the word “innocent”. You’ll pardon my apathy concerning the violent death of a drug dealer or violent gang member. It’s my humble opinion that we might have a safer future society if one of our beloved pastimes involved using giant sports arenas for letting the chronically violent convicted career criminals (now burning up tax dollars in prison) thin out their own herd with sword and shield.
But I digress…
The Great American Gun Abuse Epidemic
It’s been said that if we put all our efforts toward getting guns out of the hands of people who would abuse them – should we then launch campaigns to keep forks ut of the hands of the obese? We take that route towards drunk drivers with breath meters and wheel locks. I mean, if we refer to the mistreatment of drugs as “drug abuse”, shouldn’t we then refer to the mistreatment of firearms as “gun abuse”? Even with a monolithic obesity problem in this society, I hear no rallies regarding “fork abuse” in the media. However, I do hear the cry for proper nutritional education, and the cry for businesses to stop promoting unhealthy eating habits.
Los Diablos in Los Angeles
Many believe that 9/11 was the modern generation’s Pearl Harbor. That it enlightened the youth of today to how vulnerable they were to age old horrors lying in wait. As far as domestic terrorism – the same might be said about the L.A. riots of 1992 – which have, thankfully, not yet resurfaced to introduce our children to the raw fear of bloody, fiery urban chaos and anarchy.
Picture the average millennial hipster, in a coffee shop ordering his/her favorite thirty-five syllable latte, or taking a selfie next to the Cinnabon – whatever. Then ask yourself – do these people have any idea what it feels like to genuinely fear for their lives? When the feeling of absolute panic and primal self preservation kicks in? Now imagine them at home, browsing their sexy bathroom mirror photos, then turning on the idiot box and being fed 24 hour looped video of mass shootings. They only see guns on television – and when they do, be it news or entertainment, someone is getting shot. And much more often than not – it’s not the criminal taking the bullets..
How do you think someone like that will side on the gun debate?
Now take someone like myself. I lived through the L.A. riots. And even though I was miles and miles away from the chaos – I knew it was real. I knew it was live. I knew those people were dying on camera. It both scared me, and angered me simultaneously. I know that what happened in 1992 can happen again in the blink of an eye.
The most amazing aspect of the riots was that most, if not all, of the horrors that unfolded live on television – appeared to be done without the use of guns. L.A. was taken barbarian style – with fire and rocks. Police cars sped away from people in distress. People ripped from their cars and beaten. Pillars of smoke looming over the landscape as fires destroyed entire city blocks. I found myself wondering why nobody had a gun to defend themselves with. None of this had to happen. But it did. Nobody seemed to be able to defend themselves or their loved ones. But on that afternoon – many of the people of L.A. would have given everything they owned for a firearm.
Everyone seemed defenseless. Everyone, that is, except the merchants of Koreatown.
The Ten Plagues of L.A.
The cavalry did finally show up in L.A. – but they weren’t wearing riot gear and badges. They were wearing slacks and button downs. The merchants of Koreatown saw the chaos heading their way, and decided to turn their small section of neighborhood into a modern garrison. They’d worked too hard their whole lives to have it all burned to the ground by a mob of angry, opportunistic thugs. The makeshift barriers went up, the UZIs came out, and the thugs never crossed the line in the sand. As night fell, surrounded by sirens, braking glass, and screaming, you could hear a pin drop in Koreatown. Guns had literally saved not only their lives, but their livelihood.
II’ll never forget it. It reminded me of the scene from the film “The Ten Commandments” that depicted the origin of Passover. Moses wiped lamb;s blood over his door so that he would be and his family would be spared from the destruction that surrounded them. L.A. didn’t have frogs falling from the sky, but it had its own plagues: gangs, drugs, smog. But this was Koreatown. And if any dirty thug tried to make off with as much as a Milky Way bar – God would send a plague of bullets from the sky faster than you can say “Justice for Rodney King!”.
During the L.A. riots, you could tell the ethnicity of the business owner simply by looking at their building. If the building was on fire – it was owned by a white person. If it wasn’t on fire, but filled with looters coming and going like bees in a hive – it was owned by a black person. And if it looked like a brilliant light at the end of a long dark tunnel – it was owned by a Korean.
Who Shouldn’t Have a Gun? Let’s Pump the Brakes!
Obviously, we want and need police and military to possess firearms. We base our trust not only on their training and knowledge of the weapon, but also (hopefully) their mental discipline. Then what about the citizenry? Which of us should be allowed personal access to such a powerful weapon? After all, the police will be on their way – but they can’t just beam themselves into the situation. People need protection. And to protect yourself with anything less than the weapon being used against you, seems pretty fruitless.
Some believe that any and all American citizens should be allowed to carry a loaded gun in public. But before we start passing out hand-cannons to everyone like band flyers on First Friday, perhaps we should ask: How safe would we feel if anyone who wanted to be a police officer was instantly issued a firearm? How safe would we feel if they didn’t even evaluate our police officers before pinning a badge on their chests? Policemen are citizens before they’re police officers, right? It seems to me that if we use the logic that says that simply being a citizen is enough qualification to pack heat – that same logic says we should also eliminate all firearm training and testing in our police academies, since academy cadets are already citizens.
Things That go Bang in the Night
As a child, I spent several seasons acting in local haunted house attractions. And one thing that I learned during my many years of bringing Halloween nightmares to the customer’s reality, is the public’s responses to being surprised – and their reaction to sudden fear in the dark hallway of a haunted house.
The truth is: (With the exception of the occasional panicked male – as seen in the photo) The vast majority of men panic less than women. And a few women don’t even really panic at all, until they encounter something that sets off a certain type of suppressed fear – like a roaring chainsaw, for example. I myself have been literally trampled by several panicking female – and the occasional panicking male customer while acting in a haunted house. I’m talking sincere, genuine fear. Fear that was inside them long before they bought their ticket.
Perhaps we could regulate gun ownership based on whether or not a potential gun owner can pass some kind of random, hands on stress test. Where applicants are surprised at random in dark alleys by undercover agents posing as muggers in attempts to evaluate each person’s reaction. The concept sounds strange, but wouldn’t it weed out incompetent gun owners? Because in the end, what’s worse? A thug with a gun and a chosen target – or someone with a loaded gun who will whip it out and turn everyone into Swiss cheese if someone asks them for the time at a bus stop?
Common sense and reason will tell us that it’s not enough to simply be able to own a gun. For the sake of innocent citizens, it seems logical that owners be tested and trained – at least to carry a firearm outside of the home.
Panic vs Mental Illness
Would I have worked in a haunted house if the customers were permitted to carry guns? A-hell no! Not unless they encased all the actors behind three inches of bullet-proof glass. Nor would I consider it wise to issue a person who screamed, pissed their pants, and ran through a wall with arms flailing like the robot from Lost in Space – a loaded gun.
Are most of the customers that buy tickets to Halloween attractions, mentally disturbed? You would hope not. Still, when they feel that their self preservation is in jeopardy, many of them resort to behavior that is indistinguishable from the behavior of those suffering from severe mental retardation.
It is a fact that self preservation is the main objective of anyone involved in muggings, carjackings, or other attempted crimes. Panic fogs our judgement and reason. So does it even matter if gun owners are officially diagnosed and categorized as mentally disturbed? If many “normal” people are prone to react with a suddenly lowered level of brain function, then why would any sane person support a law that allows them to brandish a firearm? When guns are involved, isn’t temporary insanity just as dangerous as permanent insanity?
Do we want gun laws so lax that anyone can buy and carry a firearm without training or background examination? Should only those who are officially deemed “calm under pressure” have the right to pack heat?
America: The “Prepper” of the Global Community
The issue of gun control often evolves into the issue of quantity and firepower. So when it comes to what’s considered necessary defense – what better example could we follow than the United States government? The government with all the right priorities, beliefs, values, and seemingly with a pretty dead-on outlook of the people around us.
The term “prepper” brings to mind visions of bearded white loners and underground bunkers stocked with weapons. It’s true, those we call “preppers” are ridiculed, laughed at, and criticized by much of society. Among the majority of citizens, the tem “prepper” is now synonymous with terms like “conspiracy theorist” and “tin foil hat”.
But are we not being hypocritical in the big picture of things?
If we look at countries as if they were people, all living next to eachother in their little community – a very ironic image of the world emerges. With a defense budget that ridiculously towers over all other countries, hollowed out mountains stuffed with deadly missiles, and countless underground bunkers ready for occupancy should world war 3 be suddenly upon us, it would appear that the society that makes fun of “preppers” sure appears to be supporting ridiculous, and some might say, paranoid, preoccupations. When viewed in this light, America then becomes the neighbor with tin foil on the windows, thinking the world is out to get them, and garnishing a vast array of weaponry. So why do we as a society, scoff at people who plan for improbable – but possible occurances, yet say absolutely nothing about our own collective paranoia?
But what it comes down to is this: Law abiding citizens, good people – should take top priority in any society. If our president can both possess an arsenal the size of Mount St. Helens and still be seen as a good person – than any sane American without a violent record should be seen in the same light. The rehabilitaion of those who decide to eliminate innocent people from the face of the earth because they feel ostricized should come only after the public’s right to safety has been improved and reinforced. And then you must ask yourself ” What exactly are we, the good citizens of America, most vulnerable to?” our own motivations – or a nickel plated hunk of steel?
, The God-Given Right to Panic: Haunted Houses and the First Korean Passover www.ozeldersin.com bitirme tezi,ödev,proje dönem ödevi