War, Virginia Tech And Gun Control

With the assistance of easily purchased personal weapons of mass destruction and media obsession, the Virginia Tech massacre (there is no other word) has transformed Andy Warhol’s promised fifteen minutes of fame into an enduring orgy of infamy.

With this as with so many other media frenzy events, my thoughts turn back to the war, where over two hundred Iraqis were killed in a single day as the White House proclaimed progress in its latest Baghdad security strategy.

One man’s massacre is another man’s day in the life and we are left to wonder why.

Why did we go to war?

Ostensibly, we went to war because sixteen mentally unstable, fanatical and eminently dangerous individuals were given access to domestic passenger jets by exploiting a flawed security system that enabled them to purchase tickets.

No one argued that plane tickets do not crash airplanes into buildings. We simply accepted that a negligent security system had to be fixed to preclude that possibility in the future.

We went to war because our government persuaded us that a dangerous and maniacal dictator had exploited a flawed international security system to procure weapons of mass destruction. With the rest of the planet in shock and awe, we destroyed an innocent nation and triggered civil war in Iraq to prevent the fictional possibility that a madman would unleash unimaginable horrors upon the world.

No one argued that chemical-biological or nuclear weapons do not kill people; mad leaders do. Rather, based on manufactured evidence, we pushed reluctant international institutions to block trade and enforce crippling sanctions before unleashing our military might in an aggressive and unilateral war.

So, if we go to war on mere rumors of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of unstable or dangerous leaders, why do we allow virtual free and open access to personal weapons of mass destruction, even to those who should not be allowed to possess sharp objects?

Against a backdrop of Columbine, the Red Lake Massacre, the horror of Virginia Tech and an annual death-by-handgun rate that shames the world, the arguments against stricter gun control are hackneyed and borderline absurd.

Argument One: The second amendment provides absolute protection of a citizen’s right to carry firearms.

Never mind that the Virginia Tech killer (whose name will not appear in this commentary) was not a citizen, the intent of the second amendment is made clear by both its language and the revolutionary context in which it was written. It protects the right of an armed citizenry, in the form of organized and well-regulated militias, to overthrow an oppressive government, to assist in putting down an insurrection, or as a last guard against foreign invasion.

Applied to Iraq, our second amendment would guarantee the right of Muqtada al Sadr to maintain the Mahdi Army for the purpose of national defense against a foreign occupation. It by no means protects an individual’s right to possess automatic weapons – certainly not individuals with demonstrably unstable character or mental disorder.

Argument Two: Guns don’t kill, people do.

A triggered autonomic response like Pavlov’s dogs, neither rhyme nor reason: It does not matter how idiotic, the phrase is repeated by the adherents to the gun lobby philosophy as if it were manna from heaven or the first maxim of common sense rather than the limp bumper sticker slogan it is.

If you see an armed gunman circling his prey, would you recommend disarming him or offer counseling? People kill people but people with automatic weapons can and do kill more people than those with knives and pitchforks.

Argument Three: There are so many guns in America today that killers will find a way to possess them regardless of government intervention.

In other words, the problem (like Iraq) is so far out of control that we are powerless to reverse course or take any action to slow the state of decay. Given this brand of reasoning, we should do nothing to combat the toxic poisons that are choking the planet and altering its climate. We should do nothing to halt nuclear proliferation or a runaway arms trade. We should do nothing to fight spousal abuse, hate crimes, rape and gangland violence. We should do nothing to stop slave labor and exploitation even as it rips the economic heart out of the working middle class. We should do nothing to fold back prescription drug abuse though it kills and harms more people than illicit drug abuse ever has.

The problem of guns and gun violence in America is out of control because the gun lobby finances politicians and berates those who oppose it. As long as our officials are allowed to take dirty money, our officials will continue to explain: There is nothing we can do.

Argument Four: If more people carried guns, we could shoot down mad killers and we would all be safer.

Of course. That is why war zones are safe. That is why gang-controlled slums are safe havens. That is why all nations should possess weapons of mass destruction. That is why the Wild West was renowned for the absence of wanton killing. That is why civilized nations allow all citizens to carry concealed weapons. That is why Texas is virtually free of murder and violent crime.

We are the gun and violence capitol of the world and the world shakes its head in dumfounded dismay.

One of the lessons of Iraq is: When the whole world says you are wrong, they just might be right.

What is the lesson of Columbine and Virginia Tech? That all individuals must be allowed to purchase and carry killing machines and that society is impotent to fight back?

I think not.

Outside of stringently controlled and regulated citizens’ militias, no individual should be allowed to obtain or possess the kind of weapons that a twisted killer used to gun down his fellow students at Virginia Tech University.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). THE CHRONICLES HAVE APPEARED ON THE ALBION MONITOR, PEACE-EARTH-JUSTICE, THE NATIONAL FREE PRESS, PACIFIC FREE PRESS, LEFTWARD, DISSIDENT VOICE AND COUNTERPUNCH.

Random Jack
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