Shootings Are Us – Fear, Fantasy, Fun–and Guns

Shootings are all over the news today. A young woman killed in rural New York when she drove up the wrong driveway and the owner of the house came out blasting. A Black teenager shot and wounded when he mixed up an address and knocked on the wrong door in Kansas City. And a news flash from The Boston Globe this PM reporting that at least four people have been killed and three more wounded in two shootings in Maine.

America has so many deadly shootings on a daily basis that they hardly qualify as news anymore. What gives?

Ralph Yarl, shot and wounded when he mixed up an address.

Kaylin Gillis, shot and killed in rural NY.

No guns, no shootings, of course, but America is awash in guns, and no one is going to pry them from the hands of those who want them.

You’d think brandishing a gun would be enough of a threat, but far too often, those who have guns seem eager to use them as well. Why shoot at a car that pulls in your driveway, even as the car is turning around and leaving? Why shoot at a young Black man for simply walking up and knocking on the door? In both cases, the shooters pulled the trigger at least twice, and apparently used no warning shots or for that matter any other kind of warning. It’s shoot first, ask questions later, in this man’s America.

There’s a weird toxic brew at work here, I think. First, the guns themselves. I’ve fired plenty of them and they do give you a feeling of power. Second, fear. People are fearful. Sometimes the fear may be race-based, sometimes it’s something else, but there’s nothing like fear to paralyze the mind. Then there’s a fantasy element. Some people, mostly men I’m guessing, think they’re akin to Dirty Harry, blowing away bad people with their guns. Finally, sadly, some people just find guns to be fun, even when they’re pointing them at other people.

I know it’s more complicated than this, but fear, fantasy, and fun don’t mix well with guns. In America, guns are WMD: weapons of mass destruction. Because of their deadly power, they should be used only in the rarest of circumstances and as a last resort.

Yet Americans seem to be grabbing their guns and blasting away as a first resort and with no remorse.

Stay safe out there. And to those with

guns, why not just call 911? Or keep

your door locked? Do you really want to

take the life of an innocent just because

you felt afraid or angry and fancied

yourself a vigilante?