Guns Don’t Kill People; Partisanship Does Every time a man with a gun goes to a crowded place and opens fire, the same exact thing happens: the media frantically tries to piece together the story, and once the violence is over, people on opposite sides of the political spectrum use it to attack each other. President Obama’s wearied response to the latest shooting at Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Ore. is appropriate based on how familiar the situation is. But the president probably hadn’t even left the podium before right-wing media began decrying him for politicizing the tragic event. Based on my Facebook feed following the tragedy, Obama could hardly make the topic of mass shootings more politicized than it already is. Classmates from my
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Sure, the conversation starts out with the prevention of future shootings. But before the bodies of the victims from the last shooting can be buried, liberals and conservatives have engaged in a ritualistic match of “Who can scream their opinions into the void the loudest?” Instead of using these awful situations to further entrench ourselves in our already firm beliefs of whether guns are good or bad, we should use them to engage both sides in a conversation over how we can make mass shootings no longer a part of our culture.
What does the average American remember about the Umpqua Community College shooting? The amount of casualties? The name of the shooter? Many may not be aware of the most important part—the shooter’s motive.
This particular shooter had a challenging upbringing, possible white-supremacy leanings, and questionable mental health. The next most recent shooter, who killed nine black churchgoers in S.C., is strongly suspected of having white-supremacist ties as well. The one prior, who killed six people and injured 14, stated in a manifesto that his motive was to punish women for rejecting him sexually. He also stated contempt for racial minorities in said
Sure, the conversation starts out with the prevention of future shootings. But before the bodies of the victims from the last shooting can be buried, liberals and conservatives have engaged in a ritualistic match of “Who can scream their opinions into the void the loudest?” Instead of using these awful situations to further entrench ourselves in our already firm beliefs of whether guns are good or bad, we should use them to engage both sides in a conversation over how we can make mass shootings no longer a part of our culture.
What does the average American remember about the Umpqua Community College shooting? The amount of casualties? The name of the shooter? Many may not be aware of the most important part—the shooter’s motive.
This particular shooter had a challenging upbringing, possible white-supremacy leanings, and questionable mental health. The next most recent shooter, who killed nine black churchgoers in S.C., is strongly suspected of having white-supremacist ties as well. The one prior, who killed six people and injured 14, stated in a manifesto that his motive was to punish women for rejecting him sexually. He also stated contempt for racial minorities in said