Gun Control - Yay or Nay

Yes.  I am going to weigh in on the gun control issue, because it has become a big one.  Everyone from lobbyists to the NRA to politicians are fighting on this, and I think it is so stupid.

Why?  Because no one sees the problem.

Everyone thinks that if we put a bandage on a skin tumor, that the tumor has magically disappeared!!!  People think that if it is out of sight, it is out of mind.  The harsh reality is, that tumor will continue to grow, and will continue to spread, and eventually result in casualties.

So, what is the problem then?

People are still continuing to insist that guns kill people.  Now, yes, guns kill people.  So do knives, hack saws, axes, golf clubs, and bare hands.  All of those can be used as weapons and kill someone.  In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find ANYTHING that can not kill someone if used for that purpose.  People kill people, plain and simple.

Now, while everyone is trying to ban guns, why is no one working on the real problem?  The real problem is not guns.  The real problem is: people.  That's right.  The real problem is the people.

Let us look at the ages of these people who are going on these mass killing sprees.  You'll find most of them are young (or younger).  They are people in school or secondary education.  I would not be surprised to find that a lot of these mass killers came from unhappy homes (or unhappy school situations).  They are probably either victims of neglect, child abuse, or bullying.  They are people who spent most of their lives in fear.  They were afraid and stuck in a situation that they felt they had no control over.  I would understand this, because I was in the same situation.

I grew up in an unhappy home.  My mother would constantly remind me of how worthless I was if I made a mistake.  If I did something wrong, I was worthless.  If I didn't do it fast enough, I was worthless.  And then I'd go to school.  And I would deal with kids picking on me.  (Still remember being told that they didn't want to be my friends).  I would have kids just randomly run up to me, punch me in the stomach, and run away.  I didn't provoke any of this from any of them, and it was a hopeless situation.  I would tell my mother about it, who would then proceed to scold me for not fighting back.

I didn't fight back.  I didn't do anything.  And it is a good thing too...  because one thing held me back.  Fear.

Yes.  Fear was the one thing that kept me grounded.  Now, many would argue that being afraid is a bad thing, but it can be a good thing too.  For instance, fear kept me from acting out on the thoughts that raced through my mind as a child.  As a child, I considered the possibilities of punishing the people who hurt me.  I considered it for a long time.  I considered the possibility of starting up both vehicles in the garage of my house and closing the door and letting the carbon dioxide put me down for the eternal slumber.  Yes, I considered homicide and suicide.  But one thing kept me from acting out on it... fear.

For me, by the time the fear lifted, I was out of those situations.  My life turned into the long arduous process of trying to rebuild myself.  To go to therapy and to try to put the past behind me.  I was out of the situations that made my life hell, and things have been on the mend...

However, that fear is lifting at a much earlier age.

Kids shouldn't have to live in fear.  Kids shouldn't have to deal with the fear of going to school and getting beat up and pushed around.  Kids shouldn't have to be afraid of going home.  Kids need a support structure where they feel loved and happy.  They need to know that if they are being bullied in school, that they can talk to someone about it.  They need to know that when they go home (wherever that may be), that there is someone there who loves them and wants the best for them.  But no, kids live in fear.

When when these kids grow up into teenagers, they will see articles and news stories from the media about the next massacre.  In a world where fearful children want to no longer be afraid, news stories about the person who committed the most recent massacre catch their attention.  The media gives that killer a name.  The media gives that killer a face.  And that person lives in infamy.  But one thing is true...  that person who committed the atrocities... lost their fear.

This person becomes a role model.  Someone who overcame their fears and went down in infamy.  We, as adults, see the person as a murderer and a monster.  The media sees this "monster" as a money making opportunity (ratings) and will continue to posts more and more stories about this "monster."  The kids living in fear see this "monster" as a soldier against fear.  As a survivor.  They see this person as someone who probably understands what they've been through, and so the kids begin to idolize the killer.  This is why so many mass murders and massacres happened shortly after Columbine.

The problem is not the guns.  The problem is:  how do we give these kids the support they need while they are young, so they don't become the killers of tomorrow.  For instance, when I was a kid, social services came over and investigated claims on a couple of occasions, but nothing was ever done about it.  We still lived in that house, and I still continued to live in fear.  More programs need to be put into place to protect the kids.  For instance, every so often, all kids should have a meeting at school with a child therapist.  Yes, counselors can help with some of that, but a therapist might be able to see things that a counselor might have missed.  Either that or schools should have more than one counselor.  And kids should have a couple of sessions during the course of the year to see how the kid is doing.  (And yes, this should be mandatory).  Kids who seem to have problems can then get a little more time to talk about what is going on.

People in the community should also be more aware of their neighbors.  I do not mean spying, but often the community becomes the eyes and ears if there is abuse going on.  If there is child abuse, more than likely, the child will be too afraid to talk about it.  So, it often is up to other adults (or even other kids) to recognize the signs of abuse.  And when child abuse is suspected, action should be taken.  There were neighbors who suspected abuse was going on, but no one ever reported it.  They may have felt it was none of their business, but in this day and age, it is now more than ever everyone's business.  More programs need to be made available for kids who have been abused, and kids need to be removed from houses if abuse is going on. Kids who are growing up in houses of people who are alcoholics and/or drug addicts, should also be removed from that house.

To the parents who have kids, make sure you remind your kids of how much you love them, even if you aren't able to see them often (working, etc).  While you are working the thoughts in your head is: "I am working so that my kids can eat and live."  In the mind of that kid, they may be thinking, "My parent isn't around because he/she doesn't love me."  So, every once in a while, remind your kid that you work because of your love for them. :)

So, in summation:  The problem with the whole gun control issue is not guns.  It is people.  It is a troubled younger generation looking for role models and finding them in the killers that are plastered all over the media.  The media is helping in creating more mass murderers (unintentionally), and with no positive role model for young kids to look up to, troubled kids are finding it in killers.  We as a society need to protect the youth of this country.  We need to worry about our kids, and we need to step in when we suspect that a kid is in trouble.  Even if the government posted a ban on guns, people will find a way to get them regardless, or find other (possibly more creative) ways of killing others.  We can not just put a bandage on this problem.