Virginia Tech shootings highlight nation’s self-absorption

Yes, it's a tragedy. Thirty-three people dead, including the gunman. But in Iraq, this number of killings would be a good day. And in Darfur, a miracle to have only that many lives lost on a Monday in April.

Listening to the radio in my car this afternoon, I heard a reporter say that decades from now, the Virginia Tech tragedy would still be on the minds of Americans.

I doubt it. And also, I hope not. There are many more important things to be focusing on than a massacre by one crazed man. Like the thousands of people being needlessly killed in Iraq. And the hundreds of thousands in Darfur.

The United States is prone to unseemly fits of self-absorption. Whether it is 9/11 or Virginia Tech's 4/16, American deaths get blown way out of proportion in comparison to the suffering occurring in other parts of the world.

The whole nation jumps to attention when a few Americans are killed. Hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of deaths in another country elicit a yawn.

I couldn't believe it when I saw that Alberto Gonzales' appearance before the panel investigating the firing of federal prosecutors had been postponed until Thursday. That's absurd.

In 2004 over 11,000 people were murdered by guns in the United States (about 70% of the 16, 137 total murders were by firearms). Thirty-two, not counting the killer—that's a drop in the murder bucket.

Around thirty people every day are murdered in the United States by someone using a gun. Why don't we have a continuous day of mourning for them?

Answer: because they usually don't happen in highly visible bunches, as at Virginia Tech. And the NRA wouldn't like the attention put on the relation between the availability of guns and the murder rate.

England has a strict handgun ban. Not coincidentally, England has a murder rate only 1/6 of ours. The Virginia Tech shootings point to an obvious fact: this nation's NRA-fueled obsession with the Second Amendment leads to a lot of unnecessary deaths.

It's way past time to look at how other countries are handling guns in a much wiser fashion than the United States is. But that'll require us to recognize that we aren't the "greatest nation on Earth" in many, many respects.

Less self-absorption and more honest self-analysis of our shortcomings—that's what this country needs.

Comments

[JustaDog]

The mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki was shot dead in a brazen attack Tuesday by an organized crime chief apparently enraged that the city refused to compensate him after his car was damaged at a public works construction site, news agencies reported.

Japan has one of the strictest gun controls in the world. The average citizen doesn't have guns - but the criminal elements do. So much for your gun control confiscation theory.

Not surprised, it's the usual liberal disarm Americans Democrapola. Just think about it. The only people that would obey are law abiding citizens. DUH!

[Rachel]

I can understand the sentiment behind your remarks, but it's unfortunate that you choose to illustrate your point using this event. (Maybe the relentless coverage of Anna Nicole Smith death would be more apt??)This is the kind of heartless rhetoric that gives some people the impression that peace-loving folks are whacko. I'm one of those peace-loving folks and in my book senseless death is just that, senseless. By saying that we shouldn't be focused on the events at VT, you are guilty of the same valuation of life that you accuse the general public and the media of perpetuating.

[Dog Adjust]

Everyone should have a gun, everyone should carry their gun at all times, and everyone should be able to use their gun whenever they feel like it. The heck with common sense, statistics on gun-controlled countries, and the fact that the VT shooter bought his weapons cheaply and easily in a NRA-controlled state. Who cares about 11,000 gun deaths a year - this is the Wild West (or the Wild South East), and rational folks with progressive ideas like reducing violence along with the means to most efficiently reduce it should give up and just turn back the clock and regress to the dark ages like me.

[Rain]

I am not in favor of taking away guns from ordinary citizens but at the same time think stricter rules for who can buy a gun, longer waiting periods (which wouldn't have stopped this) and more background checks make sense. The killer could have used a bomb if he couldn't get a gun which happens around the world. It's just too bad we can't do more to figure out who these people are before they strike. And if this killer had set arson fire as well as been accused of stalking (rumors that I don't know if they are true) if one of his teachers tried to alert the police as well as school about what she saw as his risk (which she said is true), some things could have been done before he struck. In the end though, suicide bombers and people like him, who don't care if they die in their attack, can kill a lot of people if they want to do so. It's not like our country is alone with this problem.

[Brian]

JustaDog, you left out some facts about the killing of the Japanese mayor. Check out the CNN story:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/04/17/japan.mayor.ap/index.html

Here's some excerpts:

"The shooting death of the mayor of Nagasaki by a gangster has shocked Japanese accustomed to gun-free streets, sparking calls to stop crime syndicates from evading the country's strict gun-control laws."

"The shooting was rare in a country where handguns are strictly banned."

"Organized crime groups are behind most shootings in Japan, with two-thirds of the country's 53 known shootings last year being gang-related, according to the National Police Agency."

This shows that strict gun control laws work. Few guns, few murders. Remember: people don't kill people with their bare hands; it's guns that kill people.

Thanks for pointing out the Japanese story. You helped me make my point.

[Robert Paul Howard]

Dear Brian,

Yes, I believe you are correct: we Americans are quite self-absorbed. (By the way, did your Mini-Cooper appear in your driveway yet?)

Robert Paul Howard

[bck]

What kind of fantasy world do you people live in?
Do you think that a substantial number of Americans are stockpiling ammunition,guns,magazines,& spare parts for hunting & recreation?
The message they send is that they will not tolerate any interference with what they see as their rights.And while they may not be willing to die for them,they have absolutely no problem killing for them.In fact,most seem to be looking foreward to it with eager anticipation.
And they make that very abundantly clear.This situation will not end well.