I understand that everyone wants these mass shootings to stop, and that we are all passionate about that but have different opinions about how that might be accomplished. However, it accomplishing nothing to name-call one another and pretend that those we disagree with don’t have any legitimate points. People who call for gun control are not total idiots. They have some valid points and legit ideas. People who believe in gun ownership and point to other sources of this violence are also not idiots and have very decent arguments to express.
We will never, ever solve anything if we just rage at one-another. Rage doesn’t solve this problem . . .in fact rage IS the problem. Take rage out of the equation and nobody gets shot at churches, workplaces, schools, clinics. The problem is rage.
And if I may be frank, the problem is specifically MALE rage. Yes, a woman was in on this latest shooting, and women do experience rage and they do violence, too. But come on, we all know it is almost always a man who decides to go out and kill a whole lot of people in this way. There is no debate to be had on that point. So why are we not talking about why men are so full of rage AND why they so often choose to act on that rage and hurt other people? How can we help men not go down that path? Why do most men find other ways to deal with anger (not all of them healthy, but at least less lethal to the rest of us)? Why do some men just explode?
We need to stop raging at one-another over what is, at its core, a rage problem. This is nuts. Gun ownership advocates are not Neanderthals and gun control advocates are not wimps. I don’t have the answers to how to stop the gun violence, but I strongly suspect that neither side has the complete solution. What works in Japan or France isn’t going to work in a huge, diverse place like America. We need to find our own answers to this one, folks.
And shouting at one-another is not a good way to start. Listen. Be respectful. Try thinking outside the box.
All the Ages 