A Bit to Read

It’s sort of sunny, but with many clouds. Blue sky is visible so it could go either way.

One thing we’ve gotten used to in this modern world, in this gun-soaked country, is the breaking news of yet another shooting. In homes; in stores and malls; at big community events.

If we’re new to one another, you may not yet know that I describe myself as a gun abolitionist. I don’t think anyone should have them, they exist solely for the purpose of killing.

That that is their purpose is not a point to be debated, but a fact, and unless we start from that basic acknowledgement about why they exist, everything else that follows is fluffy nonsense not intended to further the conversation.

People own them so it is possible to kill with greater ease, no matter what the window dressing or pretense.

In social media and even here upon occasion, I am pretty vocal in my opposition to guns and the responsibility republicans have for where we are in this country. As I’ve said many times, it’s republican policy to get guns into the hands of murderers.

Also not a point to be debated, but a fact.

All that being said, though I clearly have a strong perspective on the issue of gun violence, it is not all that I talk about. It’s not something I demand other people talk about at all times until I say it’s OK to talk about something else.

And that’s the little divot of today’s post. No one person is the center of the universe, or the center of the social media universe. No one person’s sudden and possibly newfound attention to an issue means that no one is allowed to raise other issues or have another conversation or even moments of levity.

If you are not seeing enough content of a type you think is important, create the content. Don’t chide others, it is not your job. If you’re seeing posts you don’t like that aren’t actually harmful in some way, you know how to scroll.

Doom-filled and depressed conversations on social media are not the same thing as doing something. Have you given money to groups combatting gun violence? Have you educated yourself on the numbers? Do you contact your members of Congress?

Do you own a gun?

Do you know, for example, that guns are the leading cause of death for children in the US?

Do you know the idea of guns for self-defense is essentially a myth?

For every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides.

Injuries and deaths due to firearms in the home
A L Kellermann ¹, G Somes, F P Rivara, R K Lee, J G Banton

Even in the Kansas City shooting, the alleged shooter brought down by people tackling them, not by more guns.

People love to tsk on social media, and to wring their hands. Some people seem to feed off of other people’s misery and tragedy; some like to manipulate people, to move them with guilt, to gain power through controlling what they can talk about.

None of that changes minds. None of that helps a cause. And absolutely none of that is for the benefit of people harmed by guns.

Before you chastise other people for not doing enough or caring enough, ask yourself if you are doing enough or caring enough.

And have a great Thursday.