Also americans thinking they're living in some third world country where you need guns to protect yourself from the government is insane
right, almost as "insane" as simplistically talking about America in this conversation as if it is one monolithic thing, and not lots of different people, social and economic strata, places (cities, inner-ring suburbs, exurbs, etc.), and sets of circumstances that need to be considered if you're going to say anything of practical value.
i responded to this Oblow post in the "I Survived School Today" thread, but since the conversation is over here now, I'll say my peace again...
“trade in your guns, save a life”?
i get it--most of us are scared, confused, and worried and trying to figure out what can be done to counter this awful shit that keeps happening, but if his guns were secured when he wasn’t using them, and he was a sane, rationale, and responsible gun owner/enthusiast, nobody’s life would have been in danger in the first place. i know, so this is a
symbolic act meant to inspire--and he's just the humble dude to inspire us all, right?
also, it kills me that poor, marginalized, minority populations of young people in America's CITIES have been getting shot and killed daily from ever since, but there’s never been such focused and sustained “outrage” for these shootings and deaths.
“mass shootings”/“active shooters” at schools are almost wholly a SUBURBAN phenomenon. they have little to do with the daily circumstances and experiences of poor, working, and minority populations in this country’s CITIES, such as here in Detroit, where you regularly hear about armed citizens successfully defending themselves/loved ones with their legally owned guns, which the chief of police recommended.
in my eyes, only a perspective cultivated in the safest and most secure kind of privilege could possibly believe that poor, working, and minority populations especially in this country’s cities should be so absolutely outgunned by armies of criminals and criminalized youth armed with semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons, with "high-capacity" magazines that are almost all derived illegally; by increasingly militarized police forces with lots of sweet hand-me-down stuff from the military; by an increasingly organized and mobilized white nationalist movement; and--perhaps most importantly--by massive privately owned armies such as those which men like Erik Prince wield (
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/09/the-strange-ascent-of-betsy-devos-and-erik-prince)…these can’t be the only people who are armed in this country.
instead of the half measure of discussing HOW these rampages are being carried out, people should also be honest and accountable and talk about WHY they keep happening. what do all of these “safe,” “pleasant,” “nurturing” suburban communities do to some of their young men to consistently create the conditions for these homicidal rampages? what is it about American suburban environments and ways-of-life that consistently generates such explosive degrees of isolation, loneliness, and anomie in these young men?
and for those of you posters from other country's talking about how fucked and violent the U.S. is, you're right--this is what it looks like when "one of the world's richest countries" reaches a point of TERMINAL decline...so many of us will continue to hope and work for the best, but you better bet that we will be prepared for the worst too.
love,
an english professor in the city of Detroit, with a CPL, who legally owns a number of "high-capacity" rifles and handguns that are always secured in a gun-safe when at home, who is completely fine with lengthy and rigorous background checks on all gun-purchases, and who will never be a member of the NRA
Topic: Mark Oblow is a certified KOOK (Read 21909 times)