In the wake of the shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, CO today, I've discovered strange wisdom in many places I wouldn't have thought to look at first - from Kanye West (whose lyrics in "Murder to Excellence" are quoted in the title of this post), to Marilyn Manson, to friends whose opinions I thought I had pegged, but who continue to surprise and enlighten me.
This morning, some asshole whose name doesn't deserve mention took it upon himself to walk into a movie theater full of Batman fans and start shooting. The news media was abuzz this morning when I woke up, as were the social networking channels I subscribe to. Because this is close to home for me - both geographically, and because I was in high school in Colorado when Erik Harris and Dylan Klebold shot up Columbine in 1999 - I immediately went to Facebook to figure out if my friends and family were okay.
Fortunately, the human species still reacts with shock and sympathy in times like these, but shock and sympathy alone have yet to yield any tangible benefits to our society when it comes to gun violence. It is not my intention to belittle the feelings of pain, sorrow, empathy, and collective loss that underlie these well-wishes, but well-wishes mean absolutely nothing if we are not willing to look at the root causes of violence in our society, and engage, sometimes ferociously, in debate about what to do to fix these problems. Don't even get me started on "prayers..." THAT shit shows real detachment to me, as if solving problems was as simple as asking the clouds for help. Go ahead and pray if you want, but unless you are willing to pray AND write letters to your political leaders AND give blood to support the victims stuck in the hospital AND donate money to causes working to stem the tide of gun violence in the United States, then your prayers mean exactly zip. That's how I feel, and I won't apologize for it.
So, what do we do do with our collective shock if shock is not enough? We debate. We talk. We challenge ourselves to think about the aspects of these tragedies that are uncomfortable - the fact that it could have been any one of us in that theater that night, that this kind of thing SHOULD have been prevented, and that we really are NOT safe from gun violence here in the United States no matter how much we like to fool ourselves into believing that this sort of thing "would never happen in my neighborhood." That is, until it does happen. And then, for reasons that are well-meaning, but symptomatic of a much larger problem, we are "shocked."
We should not be shocked that this kind of violence continues to occur in our society. We should, however, be disgusted in ourselves that we have allowed this kind of thing to happen before, and will most likely allow this kind of thing to happen again in the future.
The following lyrics are Kanye West's from the song "Murder to Excellence," off the album Watch the Throne, the Jay Z and Kanye West collaboration album. Like I said in the beginning, wisdom can come from almost anywhere.
And I’m from the murder capital where they murder for capital
Heard about at least three killings this afternoon
Looking at the news like "damn! I was just with him after school"
No shop class but half the school got a tool
And a "I could die any day"-type attitude
Plus his little brother got shot repping his avenue
It’s time for us to stop and redefine black power
41 souls murdered in fifty hours
Is it genocide?I like this song for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I have a soft spot for hip hop music, which tends to be the only genre of music left whose mainstream is still unapologetically angry, where as as mainstream rock has gone completely soft in this regard. But there are two aspects of these lyrics in particular that I think are relevant to the greater debate on how to prevent violence in our society.
Cause I can still hear his mama cry
Know the family traumatized
Shots left holes in his face about piranha-sized
The old pastor closed the cold casket
And said the church ain’t got enough room for all the tombs
It’s a war going on outside we ain’t safe from
I feel the pain in my city wherever I go
314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago
First, although Jay and 'Ye were talking specifically about the prevalence of "black on black murder" (another line from the song, the hook, actually), it is time for ALL of us to stop and redefine what it means to have power, or to be in power, and in particular how we choose to exercise our power over others. Guns, in our society, are a symbol of power. If you have a gun, you can protect your family, you can contribute to a well-armed citizen's militia, should the need for one arise, and better yet, you might even be able to take matters into your own hands, as recently happened when George Zimmerman gunned down Treyvon Martin for no other reason than that Mr. Zimmerman fealt threatened by this African American male with his hoodie sweatshirt pulled up over his head. This is our current definition of power, one perpetuated (I almost can't believe I'm saying this) by the frequency of violence on television, in movies, and on the Internet. The archetype for power that we aspire to is far closer to Jack Bauer than it is to Nelson Mandela.
But let me clarify. I would never claim that TV is responsible for kids killing kids. Chances are that millions of viewers tune in to watch Dexter, but it's not as though there are millions of knife-wielding vigilantes out there taking the law in there own hands. Taking up arms to destroy a fellow human being is a personal choice, one that can only be owned by the person engaging in the acts of violence. Marilyn Manson is no more responsible for the shootings at Columbine than Batman is for the shootings today in Aurora.
(Click the link, it will take you to an essay Manson wrote in 1999 responding to the Columbine shooting, and his supposed role in it. It is as relevant today as it was back then - more wisdom.)
However, we have grown complacent in our acceptance of gun violence if all we can do is be shocked, then change the channel, or worse yet, be shocked then find a convenient scapegoat. The fact of the matter is that this kind of gun violence happens way more often than we are willing to admit, and every time it happens, we agonize for a day or two, saying things like "we'll never forget," and then promptly forgetting until the next time some armed gunman walks into a public place and starts shooting. It is time for us to stop and redefine power, and to redefine our role models. Not that we should adopt Jay Z and Kanye West as the standard, but like I said, wisdom can come from anywhere.
Second, the numbers stuck out to me, and made me curious. "314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago." Could it be true? I did some research.
As of May 29th, 2012, there have been 4409 US Armed Forces members killed in the line of duty in Iraq since the beginning of the war.
As of July 9th, 2012, there have been 2021 US Armed Forces members killed in the war in Afghanistan.
In the year 2010 alone, there were 12,996 murders committed in the United States. Of those, 8775 were committed using firearms. This number is actually down from the number of murders that occurred in each of the five years previous to 2010. The FBI confirms these numbers.
That means that in 2010, there were 2345 more gun murders in the United States than there have been US deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan combined since the beginning of each war. We are killing each other faster here in the United States than our supposed enemies are able to kill us in two wars overseas.
Turns out "Murder to Excellence" was right (although the numbers and the exact context differ somewhat) - there IS a war going on outside we ain't safe from, and it's the war we are waging on ourselves, using guns as our primary vehicle for violence.
And yet, despite the data (another source of wisdom), we are still shocked when gun violence happens.
Even more surprising is that despite our perpetual shock, gun violence has not been seriously discussed in politics since Bill Clinton was in office. More over, a simple Google search for "school shootings" reveals that this kind of violence happens all the time in our society. Here are some examples of the tragedies we will "never forget."
- 1992–1993: 55 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1993–1994: 51 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1994–1995: 20 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1995–1996: 35 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1996–1997: 25 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1997–1998: 40 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1998–1999: 25 Deaths from school shootings in the U.S.
- 1999–2000: 25 Deaths from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2000–2001: 19 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2001–2002: 4 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2002–2003: 14 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2003–2004: 29 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2004–2005: 20 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2005–2006: 5 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2006–2007: 38 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2007–2008: 3 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2008–2009: 10 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2009–2010: 5 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2010-2011: 12 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
- 2011-2012: 11 Deaths resulting from school shootings in the U.S.
In any rational society, we would see this data as wisdom - indications of deep problems, problems that cannot be solved by legal means alone, or by bandying around the 2nd amendment. We need a paradigm shift, and we need one fast. I spent the morning (among other things) debating gun control online via Facebook, with those who were willing to do more than just be sad about what happened, and was simultaneously appalled and inspired by the exchanges. Dialogue is how difficult issues get sorted out, but it also reveals a set of frightening ideologies that, in my opinion, are directly responsible for the data above.
"You're never going to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. They will always find a way to get guns."
This is nothing but an excuse for doing nothing, and is most often voiced by those who think "gun control" means taking away legally acquired firearms from responsible adults. You might as well say that we'll never be able to keep husbands from beating their wives or children, so we might as well quite trying. The analogy reveals the absurdity of this argument.
"People will find a way. If we take away their guns, they will just find other ways to kill people."
This is another excuse. It assumes, falsely I am convinced, that people murdering people is unavoidable, that these things just happen, by one way or another. Plus, it ignores the real issue, which is the prevalence of violence in our society. But it is no coincidence that a lot of that violence is committed with guns.
Guns are a major tool for committing acts of violence, the single greatest contributor to violence in our society, but I will be the first to admit that there are many other confounding factors that may lead one person to kill another. That's why we must see "gun control" as more than just legally regulating guns. Just as medicine is more than just prescribing drugs, gun control must include more than just writing and enforcing laws. Laws a a big part of it, but a complete paradigm shift would acknowledge the other contributing factors to violence as well, and work to solve all of them as part of the same problem, rather than treating things like violence, poverty, mental illness, apathy, and access to guns as separate issues.
"It's in the Constitution."
True, the second amendment gives citizens the right to bare arms, but as with the Bible, when we take a document created by humans and cite it as a source of ultimate authority, we are in for a world of trouble, not to mention apologism for everything from abortion clinic bombings, to the subjugation of women, to the shooting of almost 70 people in a crowded theater. Using "it's in the Constitution" as an excuse not to look critically at issues of gun violence, and what we can do to stop it, is probably exactly the opposite of what the founders intended, for whatever the opinions of the Constitutional Convention are worth (more wisdom, perhaps?), because we amend the constitution all the time! It took us only a little over a decade to create the 18th amendment, then repeal it in the 21st amendment, but gun violence has been tolerated in our society for hundreds of years! Since this kind of appalling double standard definitely warrants swearing: What The Fuck?!?! I'm not advocating for the repeal of the 2nd amendment, but the fact that our right to drink alcohol seems to take precedent over our right to not be shot at is, once again, despicable.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about, and therefore have no rights to comment on the issue of gun rights."
Ah, my favorite, and the most offensive justification for pretty much anything you could name. It's the calling card of the ideologue - those people so set in their ways they can never even consider the possibility that there is more to the story than they already know. I get this one thrown at me all the time, usually by people who don't know me personally, and who get aggravated by the fact that I address each and every one of their points systematically, and with supporting evidence. Sometimes, friends and family members throw this one at me too, and that can be hard to stomach, especially when I really do know what I am talking about. I am ashamed to say that on more than one occasion I have lashed out at a friend for dropping "you don't know what you're talking about," and I've ruined more than one friendship this way (I may have ruined some today), but here's the thing, the thing that makes me keep coming back to the debate rather than cave to "you don't know what you are talking about..."
People who are scholars, and not ideologues, people who are committed to the dialogue, and the positive benefits difficult conversations have, these people will never tell you "you don't know what you are talking about," they will try to teach you as well as listen to you, they too will cite data and evidence to back their points, and they may even be willing to look for the common ground that actually lays between you, and to cede that certain arguments against them are in fact good arguments. These are the people we need to turn to for their opinions because their opinions ARE malleable given adequate cause to reexamine them. And these people bring a great deal of wisdom to the table, because ultimately their challenges to your assumptions are what cause you yourself to grow as a person.
But there is no such dialogue talking place in Washington regarding gun violence, at least, not at the levels such a conversation most needs to occur. So far, neither major presidential candidate has expressed a significant opinion on gun control. Ron Paul has, but he wants everyone to have guns, making him a BIG part of the problem, and earning him a share of the blame for the tragedies that happened today in Colorado. Talking about gun issues is politically toxic, which is why no one has since Clinton. There is big money to be made by catering to the gun lobby, and tacit support at the very least in return for remaining mute on the subject of gun violence. More than that, gun owners (caveat: in my experience), are generally the kind of people who vote strictly based on a candidates opinion on gun control. So rather than risk losing voters, who may turn their back on you at the very mention of gun control, it's safer just not to talk about guns and gun-related violence.
This toxicity has spread to the public, which is why we are content to be shocked periodically when gun violence strikes close to home, and who are content to simply pray for the victims rather than insist that steps be taken to ensure that there are no more victims in the future.
Until we are willing to demand the kind of changes that might have prevented it, this kind of violence will continue to happen year after year after year, shocking us periodically as we pause to watch the news during a commercial break from the latest episode of Breaking Bad.
