When I published my last piece about a week and a half ago, it was to bring attention to the issue of guns and call for action. I didn't throw out any policy suggestions, but I personally feel as if the issue still is not getting enough attention or inspiring serious action. In this post, I'll lay out a few proposals, and my take on them.
Proposal #1: We don't need less guns - we need MORE guns. We need to encourage more people to undergo training to responsibly handle firearms. This way, we are increasing the number of "good guys" with a gun, further discouraging "bad guys."
My opinion: The Secret Service, in the interest of maintaining the safety of Vice President Mike Pence, did NOT allow guns in when those men gave speeches at the NRA convention. Again: at an event designed to be the summit of good guys with guns, the Secret Service (some of the best in the biz @ protection) deemed that a bunch of good guys with guns was NOT sufficient "protection." Not only that, but these officials did not protest this policy. Let me spell it out for you: Mike Pence knows that having more guns in their vicinity makes an environment less conducive to living. I agree - more good guys with guns is not the answer (in my opinion).
Proposal #2: Ban guns entirely.
My opinion: I'm pretty okay with this. In 1996, Australia implemented stricter gun laws. The deadliest mass shooting (7 deaths) since then occurred in May, after 20+ years. 7 people died. This is NOT to say those were the only shooting deaths since 1996. Just to say that in that time frame (~21 years and a few months), the deadliest shooting was when 7 people died.
Let's take a look at America. Within the past decade, there have been 13 mass shootings in America that have resulted in ~280 deaths and 1000+ injuries. The one that resulted in the least deaths still resulted in 10 deaths (2015). The worst resulted in 59 (2017). So... our "safest" mass shooting in the last 10 years is worse than the worst mass shooting in Australia in the past 21 years. If that divide isn't enough to make it obvious to you, I truly don't know what to say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . I'll still try one more shot. Bringing it back to the Secret Service: when they want someone protected, they create gun-free zones (outside of themselves, obviously). How do you create a gun-free zone? Ban 'em entirely. & before you mention Prohibition: please don't fool yourself into thinking that that many people know how to make working firearms at home. If you don't believe me, just go ahead and list all the people that you know can make a gun at home.
Proposal #3: Make the process to buy a gun more difficult. A few examples might be more stringent background checks, more required coursework, more safety testing, etc. etc.
My opinion: While I definitely favor the outright ban, I know that a compromise leaves everyone unhappy. This way, you gun-lovers get to keep your guns (I lose), but you have to do it more deliberately (you lose). If you're of a more optimistic nature, you can read that as: you gun-lovers get to keep your guns (you win), but you have to do it more deliberately (I win). Whichever way you look at it, I'd support policy that entails greater restrictions for any gun sales/purchases hereafter while grandfathering in whatever gun possessions are in place. That way the change is gradual and there's not much room to argue (unless you're a scumbag who's not about that problem-solving life, but if you're good with the blood of innocents on your hands, that's on you).
This is all just food for thought, but whatever you think, you should reach out to your representatives with policies that you would support, whatever they are. If you're interested on why I think the way I do, I linked relevant articles/Wikipedia pages that influence my thinking on this matter.
Sources for my opinions: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/01/607054795/nra-bans-guns-during-convention-speech-by-president-vice-president
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Australia
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iceland-gun-loving-country-no-shooting-murders-2007-n872726
Friday, June 15, 2018
On Indecision and Gun Control (Part 1: The Problem)
When it comes to picking a place to eat, have y'all ever had that (girl/boy/annoying)friend that shoots down suggestion after suggestion without ever having the mind to suggest a replacement? It's rather annoying when it happens, and I feel like that's where a lot of people stand with regards to gun control today - a strong unwillingness to even hear out any proposed solution.
Where my analogy falls apart is that, when it comes to dining, a decision is always eventually made and food is obtained. When it comes to guns, though, the seemingly inevitable outcome is that... nothing happens. Which is really strange to me, because, y'know, in December of 2012, after 20 six- and seven-year-old children were gunned down AT SCHOOL, the country didn't do shit (Sandy Hook). Which really goes to show how we value our education, our children, and our guns (unfortunately).
I am now realizing that what first looked to me like inertia/laziness (which is already appalling: you seriously can't give enough fucks to protect children?? I hate to say it, but as Helen Lovejoy put it: won't somebody please think of the children!?) is, even more tragically, willful obstinance and cowardice. In a recent discussion I had with this older man, when I threw out a proposal on how to deal with guns, he said something along the lines of "It doesn't matter, it's not gonna solve the problem. You're trying to solve a problem that can't be solved!"
& boy, if we weren't in a public setting playing cards - I would have lost it. I mean shoot, I'm writing about this because, internally/mentally, I DID lose it! I would have (and should have) asked him when he lost his spine. If you're someone who agrees that this is a problem that can't be solved, don't stop reading: you're a craven, unimaginative sack of meat, and you should be ashamed of yourself. If we're still going with my analogy from before about eating out: I've just uninvited you. The rest of us are going somewhere to eat, but you can't come - no food for someone who wants to drag the rest of us down with hopelessness and despair. If you don't have the mind to propose a solution and the conviction to stick with it, you're the exact type of nonparticipant that ruins democracy. You shirk the obligations of citizenship while reaping the benefits paid for by previous generations. It absolutely kills me that there are enough people in this city, county, state, and country with the same mindset that little, if anything, has been done regarding guns. You dopes are so self-defeating that you've lost any will to try - look in the mirror and ask yourself when you became so gutless, 'cause it's honestly disgusting.
Now that I've got my rant in, I can move on: if you read back over this post, you'll notice I didn't spell out my proposal or advocate any particular position. That's not the purpose of this post - I'll write about that in Part 2. Before I do, I just want you to think enough to answer this question: if you were the POTUS, US Congress, and Supreme Court rolled into one mega power-wielding authority, how would you deal with the issue, and why?
The honest truth is, if you haven't set aside even 5-10 minutes to think about this policy issue, YOU are contributing to the death of shooting victims in this country (similar to those Germans that weren't Jew-hating Nazis but, y'know, weren't going to do anything about the Holocaust either). & before I let go of your attention, I want to take it one step further: the exercise does not end with you thinking about the issue. You are morally obligated to make a decision - as in, if you had a gun pointed to your head, you better be able to commit to your story, whichever way you happen to swing.
Where my analogy falls apart is that, when it comes to dining, a decision is always eventually made and food is obtained. When it comes to guns, though, the seemingly inevitable outcome is that... nothing happens. Which is really strange to me, because, y'know, in December of 2012, after 20 six- and seven-year-old children were gunned down AT SCHOOL, the country didn't do shit (Sandy Hook). Which really goes to show how we value our education, our children, and our guns (unfortunately).
I am now realizing that what first looked to me like inertia/laziness (which is already appalling: you seriously can't give enough fucks to protect children?? I hate to say it, but as Helen Lovejoy put it: won't somebody please think of the children!?) is, even more tragically, willful obstinance and cowardice. In a recent discussion I had with this older man, when I threw out a proposal on how to deal with guns, he said something along the lines of "It doesn't matter, it's not gonna solve the problem. You're trying to solve a problem that can't be solved!"
& boy, if we weren't in a public setting playing cards - I would have lost it. I mean shoot, I'm writing about this because, internally/mentally, I DID lose it! I would have (and should have) asked him when he lost his spine. If you're someone who agrees that this is a problem that can't be solved, don't stop reading: you're a craven, unimaginative sack of meat, and you should be ashamed of yourself. If we're still going with my analogy from before about eating out: I've just uninvited you. The rest of us are going somewhere to eat, but you can't come - no food for someone who wants to drag the rest of us down with hopelessness and despair. If you don't have the mind to propose a solution and the conviction to stick with it, you're the exact type of nonparticipant that ruins democracy. You shirk the obligations of citizenship while reaping the benefits paid for by previous generations. It absolutely kills me that there are enough people in this city, county, state, and country with the same mindset that little, if anything, has been done regarding guns. You dopes are so self-defeating that you've lost any will to try - look in the mirror and ask yourself when you became so gutless, 'cause it's honestly disgusting.
Now that I've got my rant in, I can move on: if you read back over this post, you'll notice I didn't spell out my proposal or advocate any particular position. That's not the purpose of this post - I'll write about that in Part 2. Before I do, I just want you to think enough to answer this question: if you were the POTUS, US Congress, and Supreme Court rolled into one mega power-wielding authority, how would you deal with the issue, and why?
The honest truth is, if you haven't set aside even 5-10 minutes to think about this policy issue, YOU are contributing to the death of shooting victims in this country (similar to those Germans that weren't Jew-hating Nazis but, y'know, weren't going to do anything about the Holocaust either). & before I let go of your attention, I want to take it one step further: the exercise does not end with you thinking about the issue. You are morally obligated to make a decision - as in, if you had a gun pointed to your head, you better be able to commit to your story, whichever way you happen to swing.
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Snowflake Kid Talks Shit, (Sort of) Gets Hit
This happened earlier, so I wanted to write about it while it's still fresh in my mind. Today is the 1-year anniversary of Spartan Taco Truck (home of the absolutely delicious crispy taco) opening their storefront. To celebrate, they discounted tacos and beer for the day. I figured the combination of a delicious product and such close proximity to San Jose State University would create quite the demand - lo & behold, there's a line stretching out the door by the time Daisy & I arrive. Most of the folks in line appear to be students - young Asian Americans in their late teens/early 20's. However, the man we get in line behind is a middle-aged (40-something?) Caucasian male (tbh, he's reminiscent of Brett Favre).
After Daisy and I gripe to each other about the long wait, the guy in front of us turns around and starts commiserating - apparently, his girlfriend's been calling them for the past hour and a half to no avail, so he was sent as the procurer of tacos. All in all, waiting in line sucks, but since we want the tacos we just wait it out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. After some more time in line (we ended up waiting a little over half an hour to place our order), the guy's had enough - he leaves the line and walks away. After a few seconds, some college-aged kid immediately in front of us shouts something along the lines of "Good! Fucking redneck!" Either the guy doesn't hear or is just letting it go - I think it's the latter - so the kid shouts out even louder "Get the fuck outta here! *pause* CRACKER!!" & this is where keeping it real (which, btw, that kid definitely wasn't keeping it real) went wrong.
The guy turns around and starts briskly making his way back, shouting "You wanna fuck with ME?!" The older guy comes up to the kid and shoves him into the door pretty hard. That would be the first and final blow, though. They hold onto each other and swing each other around in circles (in hindsight, it's rather comical - in the moment, I think the kid was holding onto the guy to prevent any punches, and the guy was not trying to get into serious trouble over some punk ass kid) - the kid rips the older guy's shirt, and eventually they are separated. A worker comes outside and assumes the older guy is in the wrong, asking him what he did and gesturing in a protective manner towards the instigating kid. The older guy briefly explains himself, but leaves all the same.
After the older guy leaves, the friends that this kid is with are talking about it so animatedly. I'm stunned because for the whole 10-15 minutes I was in line with the guy, we just griped about the long wait - absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't want to open my mouth without knowing the whole story, though, so I just listened to these people talk. Here are some snippets:
"That was so fun!"
"I wish I recorded it!"
"He was such a racist! & a homophobe!"
(At this point, I'd like to remind that the guy came off totally normally to me.)
After listening to more of their conversation, this is the only thing concerning race OR sexuality that they mentioned:
"He said, 'the whole continent of Asia is cutting in front of me'!"
In my head, the only reaction I can muster up is ...really? You let THAT get to you?
Later after my meal, the kid happened to be standing outside the bathroom after I had finished washing my hands (and while Daisy was washing hers, so he couldn't go in quite yet). I couldn't miss my chance at some 1-on-1 conversation, so I asked why he waited for the older guy to start walking away before he started talking shit. He replied "I didn't think he would come back." I'm stunned by this kid's stupidity, because the guy WOULDN'T have come back... if this kid didn't open his mouth for no damn reason..?! In these situations, to avoid letting my shock and disbelief come across, I just respond with a generic, "Hmmm, ok." I can't let this kid get away without at least something to chew on, though, so I said "Man, if you felt so strongly about it, I wish you had said something sooner." My intent was for him to think about his willingness to open his mouth before shit spewed forth next time around, couched in supportive language so he might be more receptive to it, but alas, who knows if he got the message ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?
In any case, I'd love it if I could develop a spine and pipe up in future situations like this, because "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." In other words, my silence feels like complicit agreement with what came out of that young man's mouth, which couldn't be further from the truth. But since I didn't say anything at the time, that doesn't really matter, does it?
After Daisy and I gripe to each other about the long wait, the guy in front of us turns around and starts commiserating - apparently, his girlfriend's been calling them for the past hour and a half to no avail, so he was sent as the procurer of tacos. All in all, waiting in line sucks, but since we want the tacos we just wait it out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. After some more time in line (we ended up waiting a little over half an hour to place our order), the guy's had enough - he leaves the line and walks away. After a few seconds, some college-aged kid immediately in front of us shouts something along the lines of "Good! Fucking redneck!" Either the guy doesn't hear or is just letting it go - I think it's the latter - so the kid shouts out even louder "Get the fuck outta here! *pause* CRACKER!!" & this is where keeping it real (which, btw, that kid definitely wasn't keeping it real) went wrong.
The guy turns around and starts briskly making his way back, shouting "You wanna fuck with ME?!" The older guy comes up to the kid and shoves him into the door pretty hard. That would be the first and final blow, though. They hold onto each other and swing each other around in circles (in hindsight, it's rather comical - in the moment, I think the kid was holding onto the guy to prevent any punches, and the guy was not trying to get into serious trouble over some punk ass kid) - the kid rips the older guy's shirt, and eventually they are separated. A worker comes outside and assumes the older guy is in the wrong, asking him what he did and gesturing in a protective manner towards the instigating kid. The older guy briefly explains himself, but leaves all the same.
After the older guy leaves, the friends that this kid is with are talking about it so animatedly. I'm stunned because for the whole 10-15 minutes I was in line with the guy, we just griped about the long wait - absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't want to open my mouth without knowing the whole story, though, so I just listened to these people talk. Here are some snippets:
"That was so fun!"
"I wish I recorded it!"
"He was such a racist! & a homophobe!"
(At this point, I'd like to remind that the guy came off totally normally to me.)
After listening to more of their conversation, this is the only thing concerning race OR sexuality that they mentioned:
"He said, 'the whole continent of Asia is cutting in front of me'!"
In my head, the only reaction I can muster up is ...really? You let THAT get to you?
- If I was getting cut by a bunch of people, I'd be annoyed too
- If a bunch of Asians cut me in line, and I use exaggeration to express that a bunch of Asians are cutting me in line, is that racism or just... exaggeration? Also, if you're so offended that he's a homophobe, how come you couldn't actually describe what he said or did that made him come off homophobic?
If you can't tell, I'm writing about this incident because it really upset me for a number of reasons. 1 - I mean, this idiot kid was being a jackass. Not only that, but he was surrounded by a bubble that reinforced and encouraged his train of thought - so really that's 6 people being idiots, at least.
2 - I'm ashamed I didn't say or do anything in the moment to set the record straight, at least from my POV. Anyone listening in to the group (and they were being loud, mind you) would think the kid was in the right and the guy was in the wrong, which is just flat-out wrong.
3 - Not only was the kid being a jackass - he was being a total coward! He waited for the guy to leave the line before he started running his mouth, which is just really disgusting considering the content of his speech.
Later after my meal, the kid happened to be standing outside the bathroom after I had finished washing my hands (and while Daisy was washing hers, so he couldn't go in quite yet). I couldn't miss my chance at some 1-on-1 conversation, so I asked why he waited for the older guy to start walking away before he started talking shit. He replied "I didn't think he would come back." I'm stunned by this kid's stupidity, because the guy WOULDN'T have come back... if this kid didn't open his mouth for no damn reason..?! In these situations, to avoid letting my shock and disbelief come across, I just respond with a generic, "Hmmm, ok." I can't let this kid get away without at least something to chew on, though, so I said "Man, if you felt so strongly about it, I wish you had said something sooner." My intent was for him to think about his willingness to open his mouth before shit spewed forth next time around, couched in supportive language so he might be more receptive to it, but alas, who knows if he got the message ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?
In any case, I'd love it if I could develop a spine and pipe up in future situations like this, because "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." In other words, my silence feels like complicit agreement with what came out of that young man's mouth, which couldn't be further from the truth. But since I didn't say anything at the time, that doesn't really matter, does it?
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