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Why America Needs To Change How Its Citizens React To Gun Atrocities
Guns don't kill people my arse... The states can release as many videos on self-preservation as they want, the Aurora massacre and its ilk will continue until they quash the NRA and its bullshit Second Amendment trumpeting...
On the way to work a few weeks ago, I called into one of the three Starbucks conveniently located between Kingston train station and my office. It was five to nine, so I figured the one just inside the shopping centre would be the emptiest. As I waited for my drink, and tried to avoid the banal barista chatter by turning up my music, I noticed a sudden change in the atmosphere. A couple of muffled bangs led me to whip off my headphones. In a matter of seconds, everyone in the shop had leaped to their feet. Drinks were spilled, bags were dropped, and the Starbucks crew converged to form an impromptu evacuation team, ushering customers to the back-of-house area. This all happened so quickly, I had no time to register what was going on. All I heard was a couple of panicky middle-aged women scream “Oh God, they’re shooting, they’ve got guns.”
Still oblivious to what was going on, I followed the crowd past the store-room, through the back door and into the service corridors of the mall. As several people burst into tears, I found myself shifting from a purposeful walk to a light jog. We passed through several sets of double doors, and found ourselves at an emergency exit. Some of the women were so terrified that they struggled to keep hold of their purses and phones, scrabbling around to pick them up off the floor, only to promptly drop them again. We waited by the exit, and heard further bangs, followed by screaming police sirens. I looked back the way we’d come, and wondered how long it would take someone with an automatic weapon and a lack of impulse control to find us.
All I heard was a couple of panicky middle-aged women scream “Oh God, they’re shooting, they’ve got guns”
The whole experience, from start to finish, can’t have been more than a minute. But in those sixty seconds I’d experienced the improbable but entirely genuine fear of being caught up in the kind of violent attack we see all too often on the news. Having been momentarily silenced by my pulsing adrenal gland, the logic centre of my brain was now busy playing catch-up. In the words of the Pet Shop Boys, “It couldn’t happen here.” And, as it happens, it hadn’t. It emerged later that several armed robbers had raced into the centre on motorbikes, and attempted to loot the jewelers next door to the coffee shop. Those bangs we’d heard? Just sledgehammers hitting the toughened glass. And not the sounds of an aggrieved nutcase armed to the teeth with automatic weaponry, determined to take out as many strangers as possible.
There’s a reason why the names Dunblane and Hungerford can still invoke an involuntary shudder – it’s because those atrocities are rare enough for us to remember every harrowing detail. Furthermore, both of those tragic events led to the tightening of our already restrictive gun laws. If such an outrage can have any kind of positive legacy, let that be it.
The NRA and its many supporters are still trotting out those depressing clichés like “Guns don’t kill people…”
Those cinema-goers in Aurora, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky. And as yesterday’s news revealed, neither were the worshippers at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin. That’s two horrific shootings in less than three weeks. And yet, the NRA and its many supporters are still loudly trumpeting their Second Amendment rights, and trotting out those depressing clichés like “Guns don’t kill people…”
Everyone rushes to wring their hands, and speculate over what could drive someone to commit such an outrageous act, but at the same time, they argue against any kind of gun control – stating that ordinary people need guns in order to fend off the maniacs. Because that couldn’t possibly end badly.
One particularly depressing sign of the times, is the City of Houston’s response to the Colorado shooting. Using a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the Regional Catastrophic Planning Initiative has produced a five-minute video entitled ‘How to survive an active shooter event’. Even the title seems grimly euphemistic, as though we’re talking about some kind of online RPG, rather than an unprovoked mass-murder involving military-grade weaponry.
Narrated by someone who narrowly missed out on a career voicing movie trailers, the clip starts: “It may seem like just another day in the office, but occasionally, life feels more like an action movie than reality.” The film then proceeds to present a fictionalized account of a mass shooting, featuring plenty of PG-13 brutality, as several generic employees are shotgunned in the lobby of their offices by a Vin Diesel lookalike. As voiceover man explains condescendingly, “sometimes, bad people do bad things”, we see a parade of depressing casualty statistics, such as ‘21 killed, 19 wounded eating at a fast food restaurant’ and ‘32 killed, 25 wounded while attending classes.’
Against a backdrop of frightened office workers fleeing for their lives, we’re told “If you are ever to find yourself in the middle of an active shooter event, your survival may depend on whether or not you have a plan. The plan doesn’t have to be complicated. There are three things you could do that can make a difference. Run. Hide. Fight.” Over the next four minutes, we see each of those options explored in some detail, along with helpful tips like “Encourage others to leave with you, but don’t let them slow you down with indecision” and “Silence your ringer and vibration mode on your cellphone.”
But like the duck and cover advice that was drilled into kids throughout the Cold War, it’s putting a sticking plaster on a gushing head-wound
Shortly after the Aurora shooting, I saw a Tweet that read: “In school there are fire drills & earthquake drills. Does anyone know what to do if someone opens fire in public?” As though the best that anyone can do, is be prepared for the next time it happens. But like the duck and cover advice that was drilled into kids throughout the Cold War, it’s putting a sticking plaster on a gushing head-wound. Rather than asking what to do when a shooter attacks, surely people should be asking when these events became so normalised that people need to learn some kind of standard evacuation drill. Will the U.S. reach a point where every six months, school kids will hear the bell ringing, and be expected to file out of their school neatly, in preparation for the possibility that some lunatic, with enough firepower to clear-cut a rainforest, decides to murder a crowd of pre-teens?
The last part of the video tells viewers “Your actions can make a difference for your safety and survival. Be aware and be prepared.” However, there is another way to ensure their survival. But it’s going to take a lot more than hiding in a stationery closet with the lights out, to make it a reality.
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COMMENTS
Yanks are stupid. They will never learn. The have misinterpreted the second amendement totally.Guns is too bigger business for the arms manufactures. They and the NRA will lobby politicians. The proposal requiring all americans to be armed is so insane and retarted as well. CONTROL THE GUNS AND IT WONT HAPPEN. Yanks are so used to having mass killings I bet it hardly batters an eyelid. Tell that to the father of the six year old that got killed by a twit that was allowed to by a machine gun and 6000 rounds of ammo and tear gas. Stupid.
Right so when someone is stabbed here we blame the knife or when someone is pushed down the stair we blame the stairs?? How about when someone is killed by rat poison, is that the poisons fault or the person that put in someones coffee? Tools do not kill people, it is the people wielding them. No clearly the solution is to remove honest civilians protection so that criminals have the advantage. Call for greater regulation sure but this is psychological problem with the killer not his gun.
"...the Starbucks crew converged to form an impromptu evacuation team, ushering customers to the back-of-house area." Hats off to these people. I'd be buggered if I'd put myself between the Great Unwashed and an automatic rifle if I was on 5 or 6 quid an hour.
@Peter No-one is arguing that these murders are carried out by people. But it's people armed with guns, that were bought legally. It's much harder for someone to take out 12 people armed with a knife. A semi-automatic weapon: not so much. But you're right, regulation is the answer. @Nigel - I was really impressed with how well they acted, since you can be damn sure there's no training programme for an event like that. Thankfully, there was no shooting incident, but it's comforting to know that they acted so responsibly under pressure.
Gareth - some of those big media stories involve legally owned guns whereas a lot of gun crime involves guns not obtained legally - especially here. Tighter regulation has made it a pain in the arse to enjoy a fun pastime just because a few people got shot - the responsibility should always be with the criminal and they're the ones who should be punished, not the millions of others that shoot or own guns - in that respect i agree with Peter - how far do you go banning things for public safety? especially when criminals wont care what the laws are anyway
Aside from the regulation issues, there's one thing that could be done that would help a lot. Media should not release the perpetrator's name, picture, last message, anything. This is exactly what encourages mentally ill people to "leave their mark" or "show them all". It isn't going to happen any time soon though.
Oh, and Peter, next time someone kills 21 people by pushing them down a staircase, your argument will have some merit.
@LosTresAmigos Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the distinction between legal and illegal firearms. The issue at stake here, is these multiple murders (as you correctly indicate) involve legally procured firearms, and are often part of a terrifying arsenal of military-grade weaponry. Guns can never be banned outright (and I'm not necessarily arguing that they should be) but much tighter restrictions on the specifications and number of guns that one person can own might reduce the number of mass murders that take place.
It's only America and you can see just from here and remarks like Peter's they don't care. To be honest , living in England , I really don't care what passes for civilization in the US..
When the US government sorts out the militarized local police forces and starts to address the problems that make crime the only viable career choice in the deprived urban areas near me I'll think about getting rid of my guns.
@Gareth - well really, its like your article intimates - the culture and thought process is what needs to change - plenty of other countries have private gun ownership without the levels of gun-related crime seen in the US, even neighbouring Candada. i think its only South Africa that has more gun-related deaths(?). How to change the mindset? Who knows, but gun ownership and crime will remain in the US for, i imagine, at least my entire lifetime
Yes, us yanks need to sort out our civil liberties to be more like the British who arrest 17 year olds for tasteless tweets. A truck full of fertilizer can be just as deadly if not more so in the hands of a maniac than any firearm. Get your own liberties in order before you criticize ours, you bloody sheep.
@Nicho Thanks for your comment. I imagine the 17 year-old you're referring to is the one who was actually investigated by the police for making a series of violent threats, rather than what you dismiss as 'tasteless' comments. And whilst I have no reason to question the veracity of your claim regarding the explosive qualities of fertilizer, we're not seeing a steady stream of grimly predictable stories about multiple murders caused by cowshit.
Yeeehaaa god damn limey sheep...God Bless Americay
@Gareth-Perhaps I didn't know the extent of the tweets, but the police certainly acted more so on those than the Aurora CO police did to warnings from the shooter's therapist. As for cow shit killing people, perhaps I need to remind you of Tim Mcveigh who killed 168 people? Not bad for a truck full of cow shit. The point is the same, a murderer will murder with whatever they have available. That's a single example, I could also point to several bombings in Europe (Ireland, Spain, Germany, etc.)
I think ALL guns should only be available to the police and army. Government's would never allow WMD's to be made available to the ordinary citizen. A gun should be seen as a weapon of mass destruction, and 12 people constitutes a mass. The people using that old saying of guns don't kill people would change their mind in a heartbeat should one of their family members be injured by someone who bought the weapon at a 7/11 or walmart or wherever else its available in the US.
Hey Peter its pretty hard to shoot 50 people with a knife bro
yee haa Tim McVeigh was a rootin tootin convolutin jackass...god bless the NRA there doing Gods work for the folks of the US of A..lock and load yeehaa...I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands yee haaa
@Farmer John, I suspect you are a well educated, astute, and insightful contributor to society. Your input on this issue has no doubt caused me cognitive dissonance as to the ethnocentrism of my beliefs. Thank you sir.
Andy, this year, less than 90 people have been killed in the US in these kind of tragedies. The count reaches in the thousands in auto accidents this year in the US. Less regulation on a 2nd amendment guarantee, if you please. Do you really think stricter gun laws would have prevented any of those crimes? Chalmers - The English clearly regret their complicity with gun laws there. Is there any less violence? Nope. Violent crimes with knives skyrocketed. Oh yes, there are still crimes committed with guns there. So, CLEARLY, that's working. Happy that you're glad living there. Please stay there. Ryan, the reason why the 2nd Amendment is even in the constitution was to fight against oppressive government control. The founders of the Constitution understood the government was not to be the end all, be all authority. The founders understood that a brisk discussion of a topic with your oppressor means nothing unless you can back it up. The government is supposed to serve the people. Do you really think that's going on now? If you don't want to own a gun then don't. You are at the status quo. Congratulations, you've already won. Gun control and additional gun control laws only punish law abiding citizens. Gun control laws mean nothing to criminals and don't make it any harder for them to obtain guns. Gun control laws only make the criminals and those that would do us harm safer.
Guns don't kill people - bullets do. I'd make ammunition $1000 per round.
Why is that people who don't live in America feel the need to tell us how to sort things out? Fix what's wrong in your own part of the world first. Funny how you don't mention that mass shooting that took place in Norway last summer. You know, the country with some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere? Anders Breivik still managed to arm himself and take out 70 people despite them. And let's not forget that three of the five worst school shootings in the last decade took place in Germany, another country with extremely tight gun regulation. It's not the laws, it's the mindset. And it's clearly not just an American phenomenon.
These reactions to the shootings are isoloated to a couple of states and local authorities. Theres over 300 million people and each region is reacting different towards this ugly situation. You are making generalizations. Its a immense task to change these laws when all these people dont share the same life experiences.
btw, how much longer is GB going to have a royal family parading around? thats fucked up and you people still eat that shit up. Now, thats a fucking generalization!
I would venture to suggest (to Geekized) that perhaps the reason that people who don't live in America feel the need to express their views on your culture is that we (I'm English), get your culture rammed down our throats every day whether we like it or not. A culture that celebrates the fact that a minority of the world's population consume the majority of the world's resources. And should the rest of the world complain, then we hear remarks such as 'Why is it that people who don't live in America feel the need to tell us how to sort things out?'
Wash, how is it rammed down your throat whether you like it or not? I bet you like it. Do you make assumptions on cultures based on mediums and are pissed off at smokey and the bandit which is sweet, not actually going there and experiencing it firsthand? My father was born and raised in England. (im english). His family and culture are mine as well and I wanted to put im english in (). It looked so bloody superior when you did it.
Guns are not "tools". Guns are weapons. They have no other purpose than to kill and maim so there is next to no justification for people carrying or owning them.
Mikie. I'm English was in parenthesis to clarify the 'we' that comes before it; if you perceived it as superior, well, that's you, not me. I have visited America many times and it is a wonderful country and I've never been anywhere near Florida or Disneyland, and – dare I say it? – some of my best friends. . . I don't understand your Smokey and the Bandit reference. If you don't understand how American culture is rammed down the throats of the non- American world then it is a sheltered and isolated existence that you live, I'm bound to say.
How many people die per year by the hands of governments compared to the number killed by guns? Governments are the most rapacious, murderous, thieving organisations the world has ever seen. If it were up to me, I might let you take the guns: but only if you shrunk the state to an absolute minimum.
America won't change. Don't like guns? Then move to another country.
Guns don't kill people, people kill people..... with guns.
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