Finally, an American Cry of 'Collective Sanity' on Guns (O Globo, Brazil)
"'Why did Chris die?' came the contorted voice of Richard Martinez, in an early tribute to his son Christopher, 20. 'Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA (acronym of the powerful National Rifle Association). When will this insanity stop? When will the country say "stop this madness?"' ... His cry of pain was not a lone one. The words of this middle-aged man, shaken by a wound that he will carry with him as long as he lives, sounded like a collective call, a cry for reason on behalf of life."
Of the many people thrust into the public spotlight by gun violence, aggrieved father Richard Martinez may be the most effective NRA opponent to appear on the scene. The questions is, will it matter?
The
United States is the only civilized country with an average of three guns per
household.
Thousands
of residents in a community adjacent to the University of California campus in
Santa Barbara gathered to pay tribute to the six victims of the 64th firearms slaughter
to occur in the United States in the last 30 years.
This
time, on May 23, the killing was in Isla Vista. Around 9:00pm, a 22-year-old
male opened fire at random on one of the streets most frequented by university
students. He later committed suicide in his black BMW, where the police
found three semiautomatic pistols, all legally purchased, and over 400 rounds
of ammunition. Before leaving home, Elliott Rodger, the young killer, had
already eliminated his three roommates. He killed them with a knife while they
slept, and possibly drugged.
"Why
did Chris die?" came the contorted voice of Richard Martinez, in an early tribute
to his son Christopher, 20. "Chris died because of craven, irresponsible
politicians and the NRA (acronym of the powerful National Rifle Association).
When will this insanity stop? When will the country say 'stop this madness?'"
His
cry of pain was not a lone one. The words of this middle-aged man, shaken by a
wound that he will carry with him as long as he lives, sounded like a
collective call, a cry for reason on behalf of life.
Reading
parts of the 141-page
manifesto, a diary written by Elliot, reveal fanciful ideas of power,
privilege, race and gender. Dissatisfied by the fact that he hadn't lost his
virginity, he had psychotic bouts of misogynist ideology - even after having
been treated by a host of mental health professionals. In the last of the many videos he posted on
YouTube entitled " Elliott
Rodger's Retaliation Day," he narrated the details of his plan for
revenge with the serenity of a maniac.
Immediately,
Elliot was pointed to as the prototype of the misogyny and sexism rampant in
society in general (not just the U.S.), and social media was supercharged with the
hashtag #YesAllWomen. The
psychological imbalance of the young killer, who defined himself as "the
image of beauty and supremacy," was also attributed to a diffuse "syndrome
of the rights of the White male." It is worth noting, however, that Elliot
was Eurasian on his mother's side - a Chinese woman from Malaysia, and had dyed
his hair blonde.
Simplifying
in binary terms the identity and experience of a maladjusted youth when it obscures
much greater complexity is to miss the tragedy's central issue: the culture of
weapons possession in American life.
Other
races and cultures also treat women as property - see the stoning of to death
of a pregnant woman by her own family, which occurred this week in Pakistan, or
the recent kidnapping of 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria. The United States, however,
is the only civilized country with an average of three guns per household.
Realizing
the impact of Richard Martinez' almost primal scream, many politicians have contacted
him to express their condolences. His response was short: "I don't want to
hear your condolences. Go to work and do something."
Toward
interviewers who wanted to extract pat solutions, Christopher's father
responded with unrestrained revolt. "My son died a few days ago and you
want answers from me? This is a complex question that involves mental illness,
armed violence and violence against women. There are great specialists in each
of these areas. Why don't the politicians call them and hear them out? We elect
representatives and we invest them with power, but they are a bunch of unprincipled
hacks that bow to the NRA."
Other
modern nations like Canada and Britain, grappling with similar massacres,
evolved by changing their laws.
The
most eloquent example is Australia. Six months after taking over as prime minister
in 1996, conservative John Howard received news that shook the nation. A
psychologically disturbed man had used a semiautomatic rifle and an SKS assault rifle to quickly kill 35 people in Port Arthur,
in the state of Tasmania.
Elected
by a center-right coalition with the wide support of a rural electorate with little
enthusiasm for gun restrictions, Howard acted quickly, deciding to use the
authority of his office to debate the matter and then limit the possession of
semiautomatic firearms.
He
knew the measure would come at high electoral cost - and it did. The following
year his coalition was defeated in local elections, with the winning populist
party threatening to reverse the ban. Even so, Howard wouldn't budge. He threatened
to submit the issue to a popular referendum to change the Constitution.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
The
result: 700,000 weapons in civilian hands (the statistical equivalent of 40
million in the United States) were turned over to the authorities. For 18 years,
Australia has not recorded a massacre with any of the banned firearms.
No
one is unaware of the profound differences between the two nations, starting with
the Bill of Rights, which doesn't exist in Australia, which since 1791 has ensured
... "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" - and today
serves as a shield for the NRA lobby.
For
11 consecutive years, U.S. firearms sales have grown with no sign of abating. In
2013, there was a nine percent increase. For 2014, the expectation is for even
more sales with the "Year of the Woman" campaign to attract women being
promoted by the weapons industry.
Even
so, some states, like Connecticut, New York, and even California, have already taken
some steps toward limiting the purchase of semiautomatic weapons by those
convicted of violent crimes. It's the least of the least.
Also
of note: the same week as the Isla Vista killings, four U.S. schools in
different states received threats of imminent shootings.
