Societal insanity in the forms of greed, bigotry and entitlement is playing out in ways we may not have imagined 20 years ago. And it is packaged in delusion.
We delude ourselves into thinking this planet we are destroying has infinite resources to sustain life. Bigots hide behind religion and white supremacy to justify treating the “other” with disdain and violence.
Guns are a right? They are only used to harm. Maintaining this right as primary is immoral and insane.
Other species hold life dear — at least their own. We are hell bent on destroying ourselves and, in the process, taking down other forms of life. If we become used to this, we are responsible participants. Specifically, mass shootings are becoming all too commonplace.
The facts include the preponderance of white males, with an average age of 32, who have committed 70 percent of these shootings since 1982. And more than three-quarters of the guns obtained for mass shootings are purchased legally.
This entitlement to own guns is a significant element. Add to it the feeling of being victimized by the other or buying into the bigotry of xenophobia and racism or extreme misogyny, and what else would we expect but mass murders?
Radical change is the only thing that will save us from this sickness. The moderates keep stating that the responsible gun owners and hunters will be protected with gun control laws. Who cares?!
What if no one could own a gun? I realize this will never happen, but I ask the question to get to the heart of the priority in our society. Hunting is not a sport, nor is it necessary for survival for most people. It is killing. Most people know that owning a gun to protect one’s self at home is more of a danger to the homeowner than to the person who breaks in.
Who will lead us with societal group therapy to own our addiction and to make amends? It seems there is no end in sight when we act as bewildered bystanders, enablers or active participants. We are totally doomed if we do not take on the gun industry, the National Rifle Association, and the enablers of this sanctioned violence.
Sanctioned? Yes, because guns are only made for one purpose — to kill. Any excuses are outdated and irrelevant when scores of children and adults are being murdered because of the right to own guns combined with various warped justifications.
The right to live with prediction in relative peace in a democratic country should far outweigh any right to own and carry guns. People who believe otherwise are not peace patriots or life-affirming advocates. Accepting a way of life where any of us could be shot down at any time, where schools are not an assumed safe place for children, where enjoyable activities can turn into unimaginable horrors in a moment — well, that is societal insanity.
I saw Samite’s performance at the Ko Festival this past weekend. He is a refuge from Idi Amin’s reign of terror in Uganda. He told the audience that shootings became so commonplace during that period that people would be out dancing, someone would get shot, the body would be removed, and people would resume dancing. I wished that sounded far-fetched to me, but it is the direction we are headed in.
Gun selling is a hugely profitable enterprise. It should not be celebrated any more than the profitable tobacco industry or the opioid drug pushers in big pharma. Why are humans self-destructive and delusional in this? While exhausting, our hearts need to be broken.
Everything is connected. Racist, misogynistic and homophobic hatred are being reinforced on social media, on Fox News, from bigots in pious disguise, and from the occupant in the White House and his countless soul-sucking enablers. If aliens landed at a Trump rally and saw the “God, Guns and Trump” T-shirts, they would rightfully take note that we are an inferior species due to unintelligible values and norms.
There is no middle ground on this. Are you outraged by increased mass murders committed with guns that can take down innocent people in seconds, or are you outraged that you may not be able to own such a weapon?
Twenty years ago, I would have predicted that most people would quickly answer yes to being more outraged about mass shootings. Now, I am not so sure. And I refuse to become numb despite the agony.
J.M. Sorrell is a social justice activist and trainer. She is a public health advocate who believes that the most urgent public health issues are the environment and the acceptance of tools of violence.