Other Notes
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It is a fact that there will be many more mass shootings in the U.S. So whenever I see a new one that makes the news, I am tempted to feel rather sanguine about it. There is no element of surprise. They come and go like the rain and the wind even though, unlike the rain and the wind, it is possible to stop them.
Here's the basic elements of the American equation:
- guns are easily, readily available almost everywhere in the country
- the government has not the slightest real curiosity about the purpose, mental condition, or emotional stability of the purchasers of these guns
- these guns include assault rifles capable of firing off hundreds of rounds very, very quickly
- a substantial percentage of the population is mentally ill or emotionally unstable or becoming emotionally unstable or about to get fired or dumped by a girlfriend
- there is no way to detect a person who is about to be emotionally unstable and may choose to mark his first occasion with a few fireworks
Given these elements, mass shootings are not likely: they are inevitable. They are not merely inevitable: they are scheduled. We may not know the exact date and time of any particular mass shootings but we know with a good deal of certainty that they will occur on a regular basis over any fixed period of time and that no one will make any real attempt to prevent them from happening again. In fact, a lot of effort will be made-- successfully-- to ensure that they happen again.
Here's another fact:
- since no one can know when a person will begin shooting, having armed guards at various locations, like schools, will, at best, limit the damage.
And then, here's the kicker:
- some people will be killed by accident by some of the armed guards, or as a result of more guns being in circulation due to the the belief that arming as many people as possible will prevent future mass killings
- the armed guards are very likely to miss their targets very often, thereby killing more bystanders
Even the police, with all their training, can rarely shoot straight in an actual confrontation with a man or men with guns.
In a high-noon scenario, a shoot-out, at the OK corral or wheverever, each duelist knows that the other person is about to try to shoot him. Each person has a fair chance of beating the draw and shooting at the other person first. In reality, most of these shots will miss. In a mass shooting, the killer always has first draw.
Are we being brainwashed by TV in which killers always hold last conversations with their victims before shooting? We better hope the killers are brainwashed too-- if not, the first shot at an armed guard will be a surprise every single time.
There is no high noon for a mass killer. Since no one really waits for someone to start shooting, and you can't possibly always wait, the killer will draw his weapon first and stands a pretty good chance of killing a fair number of people before anyone anywhere nearby can respond. So go ahead and vote for that idiot politician who wants to add the cost of an armed police officer or private security guard to every elementary school in the country just so every potential killer doesn't have to ever undergo a grueling background check before he takes possession of a new gun. Go ahead, and if you are unlucky enough to be a parent of the first child shot at the next school shooting and the security guard did not have ESP and did not manage to anticipate that the kid with the kit bag was a killer with a semi-automatic rifle and shoot him first, go ahead and sue, if you want. The Republicans have passed a law making everyone involved and responsible for providing guns to mentally unstable people-- and lots and lots of ammunition-- immune to lawsuits.
Yes, Toyota can be sued for an imaginery accelerator problem, but no gun manufacturer or gun store owner can be sued for providing an efficient, deadly weapon to a deranged teenager.
Americans live in a country which has virtually scheduled for itself a mass shooting every few months. It has guaranteed it. You vote for these assholes over and over again-- you have nothing to complain about. Spare me your shock and outrage when the next one happens, on schedule, soon. You refuse to do anything about it.
[Update 2019-03-27: a State Supreme Court in Hartford, Connecticut has just reinstated a lawsuit agains Remington in spite of the legislation exempting gun-makers from liability.]