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Easily-Available Firearms Make U.S. Less Safe – Nor More (JCNET, Brazil)

“Similar incidences have occurred in Brazil, Germany, Finland, Norway and other countries, all known for having well-developed societies. … But people without access to these deadly instruments are less likely to kill or kill themselves. … In the United States, the majority of these attackers had access to sophisticated arsenals of firearms, knew how to use them and even how to target the most vital points of the human body. Trained to kill.”

By Zarcillo Barbosa

Translated By Brandi Miller

July 22, 1012

Brazil – JCNet – Original Article (Portuguese)

Tragedies cannot be explained. They need to be told, as Sophocles did 2,500 years ago, as a form of catharsis, a moral purging of society. James Holmes, a 24-year-old PhD student in neuroscience, described as a quiet and solitary person, entered a movie theater dressed in black, with his hair dyed red, saying he was the Joker, Batman’s enemy. He started shooting as if he were part of the gang plaguing Gotham City - the city protected by Batman. He shot 12 people dead and injured 59. The city where the tragedy occurred, Aurora, Colorado, is about 20 miles from Columbine, where in April 1999, two teens shot and killed 14 people at a [high] school. Similar incidences have occurred in Brazil, Germany, Finland, Norway and other countries, all known for having well-developed societies. Video games and violent films are blamed for detonating such killings, where the protagonists seek their moment of celebrity or vent their killer instincts. It is a result of a “dangerous mind.” Be careful! Your neighbor may be one, even if their calm demeanor fails to show it.

Scholars on the subject deny there is a single cause. Psychologists note that to people with a predisposition to violence and mental problems, video games may be a bad influence - but one cannot generalize. They also speak a lot about an individual’s lack of values or convictions, as if the younger generation no longer sees any meaning or purpose for existence (nihilism). Hence the destructive spirit in relation to the self and the outside world. Relativism, consumerism, competitiveness … You can add more to suit your taste. For instance, the media puts such a morbid emphasis on violence that it ends up romanticizing the lives of the characters. But the truth is that there is no accurate or useful profile of students involved in attacks on schools.

But there is one point in common that, although it doesn’t offer a thorough explanation, does at least contribute to an understanding of how these events occur: easy access to firearms. In the United States, of the 37 cases studied, the majority of the attackers had access to sophisticated arsenals of firearms, knew how to use them and even how to target the most vital points of the human body. Trained to kill.

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SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Saarbruecker Zeitung, Germany: Bloody Acts Like these ‘Cannot Be Prevented’
La Jornada, Mexico: 'Violence and Barbarism' in Retrograde United States
Berliner Morgenpost, Germany: Anders Breivik: Europe's Own Osama bin Laden
Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria: The Troubling Profile of a 'Bushian Terrorist'
DNA, France: Terrorism in Toulouse and the ‘Currency of Hate’
Sydsvenskan, Sweden: After September 11, We 'Lost What We Wanted to Defend'
Polityka, Poland: America in Anger's Clutches
Beijing Youth Daily, China: Making Sense of America's Right to Bear Arms
Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany: Virginia Tech One Year On: The 'Silent Scandal'
New Straits Times, Malaysia: Don't Just Blame Virginia Tech …
Kitabat, Iraq: 'Thank Allah the Virginia Killer Wasn't Muslim'

Conclusion: people without access to these deadly instruments are less likely to kill or kill themselves. In Brazil, buying a weapon is difficult. Portability is an exception. Nevertheless, the “Realengo tragedy

Posted by Worldmeets.US

The last time President Obama spoke about arms control was last year, after a shooting that killed nine people. In that attack, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head. The president said it was time “to take effective and significant measures to deter violence.” His words amounted to nothing. Every 12 hours, 144 people die from gunfire in the United States. And school massacres are nothing new. They began in Michigan in 1927 - the most evil of all - with 45 dead and 58 wounded. In 1966 at the University of Texas, 14 died and 32 were injured. In 2007, at Virginia Tech, there were 33 dead and dozens wounded. Not even Batman could put an end to such violence.

*Zarcillo Barbosa is a journalist, author and JC collaborator