The Laughing Wolf

Dangerous Weapons

I can’t believe that The Media hasn’t been in full cry over the last few days with all the stories of shootings out there. That these stories are getting coverage may be all they dare do right now, but usually this type of coverage comes complete with lots of editorializing – in the guise of reporting – on the evils of guns, handguns in particular.

Before The Media and the usual suspects can get going, let’s do some preemptive discussion. Mr. DuToit has already said everything I am going to say, perhaps even better, but I want to add my two cents worth as well.

First, no knife, sword, pistol, or rifle woke up this morning and decided to kill or maim someone. They did not sharpen or load themselves, conceal themselves somewhere, lurk in wait until the victim appeared, and then do something evil. The evil takes a human, or something passing for same.

What has happened are indeed tragedies, but not necessarily in the way most would take it. It is indeed a tragedy that a struggling model and actress is critically wounded and in the hospital. It is a tragedy that a high school principal is dead. It is a tragedy that a teenager lies dead after being shot by another teenager after they found a gun and started playing with it. But there are other tragedies here as well.

It is a tragedy that the teenagers in question had never been taught gun safety or gun usage. From all appearances, not even basic “don’t touch” had been taught, and the gun hidden to keep it safe. Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest, and if a child – or someone child-like – gets a weapon under those circumstances, they will play with it. If they have no training at all, that play will be dangerous or deadly.

It is a tragedy that people are shot by estranged spouses, lovers, and others. It is a greater tragedy that in many jurisdictions, those potential victims are denied the right to carry a weapon of any type at all to defend themselves; that they are subject to waiting periods that keep them from timely self-defense; that they are told to let the system protect them when those in the system know full well they can’t do the job. It has never been the place of law enforcement to provide 24/7 security to every citizen. Self-defense has always been both a right and a responsibility of the citizen.

The largest tragedy of all is that in every case I fully expect to see “the weapon” or “the system” or some such take the blame. That arrant bit of mental masturbation has done more harm to society and the societal compact than almost anything else you care to name. It is easy to blame some inanimate object or some artificial construct with no basis in reality for all the tragedies that happen. It is so much better and easier to accept, to manipulate for political or other reasons, than to place the blame squarely where it belongs: with individuals.

No weapon got up this morning and decided to hurt or kill someone. Individuals did. Only individuals can accept or receive the consequences of their actions. Only individuals should be held accountable for their actions, for to claim or act in any other way is the height of hypocrisy and deceit.

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