Another tragedy, and yet another baffling and muted response
Once again the debate on gun control was reignited following another mass shooting, this time at a bible meeting at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in which 9 people were slain by a lone gunman.
It was widely reported that the perpetrator had immersed himself in an ideology of white supremacy, with photos released of him wearing a jacket adorned with flags synonymous with apartheid and racial segregation. In the pictures he is also holding the Confederate flag, now viewed by many as a symbol of racial oppression with its historic links to slavery in the Deep South, and an outdated and offensive relic that should now be consigned to history, and of course a pistol.
America’s love affair with the gun continues to hold sway, a political hot potato, with the familiar arguments batted away by gun lobbyists to counter any dissenting voices to their modus operandi, and maintain the status quo, as if this was a ‘rite of passage’ that should not be denied them. Chastened and dismayed their opposition are left will little option but to back down.
Distrustful of their government, could it be that many gun owners in the USA prefer a more combative lifestyle on some profound level, and gun ownership is one extension of this? Protection against any perceived threats, real or imagined. Perhaps taking the view that if there are casualties then this is only to be expected, as if in the midst of a battle, and it is therefore the mission that matters most.
The USA has had countless opportunities to change course down the years and has to date failed to achieve this. One might even conclude that if the killings of 20 school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School couldn’t stimulate enough true desire for change then alas nothing will, and all the bickering and politicking will likely be in vain.
With the passage of time, one fears it will not be long before the shock and revulsion of this latest tragedy subsides, if it hasn’t already, and normal service is resumed. America has chosen its own destiny, and we are its powerless bystanders.
Also read here: Ways to Make Your Community Safe from Gun Violence by Eliezer Pozner