When Will It End?
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Posted By: How May I Help You NC on November 20, 2018 Contributed By: Rev. Edward L. Wheeler, Ph.D. The pain of her loss merged with her anger as she powerfully and pointedly proclaimed, “I do not want your thoughts or prayers, I want gun control.” She made that statement as a mother only hours after learning her son was one of twelve persons murdered at the nightclub in California. The Rabbi in Pittsburg talked about the two brothers who were developmentally challenged as two of the “sweetest human beings” he had the privilege of knowing. They were two of eleven people killed during the Sabbath worship. One of the worshippers who was killed was a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor. The two persons killed at a Kroger in a suburb of Louisville were Black. The man and the woman had no ties to the gunman who had tried to get into a locked African American Church earlier that day. They were killed because they were Black by a man whose hatred for Black people led him to murder two human beings. There were also two women who were practicing yoga at a “Hot Yoga” studio in Tallahassee, Florida when they were shot and killed by a gunman whose racist and misogynistic comments on YouTube were apparently the precursor to his deadly rampage that led to the death of two persons who were guilty of being females. The senseless killings have become so common that news commentators talk about this being the new normal. While I understand the sentiment behind that conclusion, as a minister of the Gospel, I cannot accept this as normal. Rather, these killings are signs of dysfunctionality. They are symptoms of a national sickness and a growing callousness about the value of human life. This is not normal and must never be seen as normal. It is our reality and it would be naive to think it cannot happen to us. Nevertheless, it is not normal and must be seen as unacceptable. It must be stopped, but the question raised by many who have been impacted by this madness, “when will it end?” is not easily answered. I do not have any definitive answers, but I believe I can offer some suggestions that may help. First, I believe this will end when all of us recognize that words have consequences. We have entered into a period when vile and dehumanizing language is commonly used to define those we do not like or with whom we disagree. Common decency is cast aside and we demean people because of their race, their religion, or their place of birth without regard for our common humanity. When our national leaders are permitted to ignore the norms of civility and cast dispersion on groups of people without regard to their qualities as human beings, the stage has been set for sick human beings to act out their hatred, prejudice and self-loathing by blaming and destroying others. Words have consequences. Second, perhaps this will end when truth is respected. Chattel slavery was a reality that continues to have negative consequences because the racism that helped justify the brutal enslavement of people of African descent continues to exist and inform this culture. The Holocaust was a reality. The programmatic extinction of people of Jewish heritage grew out of centuries of anti-Semitism that was often fueled by a distorted interpretation of biblical texts that still leads some to conclude that Jews are antithetical to Christianity. The horrific events of 9/11 cannot be denied, but the tendency to place the blame on all Muslims is a misrepresentation of truth that deflects the reality. The overwhelming number of attacks on Americans from Oklahoma City to Las Vegas to Columbine to the Borderline Night Club have been carried out by domestic terrorists, not by foreign-born nationals. The constant flurry of inaccurate information and lies that are spoken as if they were supported by facts creates distrust and tends to blur the lines between propaganda and truth, especially for those who want to believe what fits their warped view of reality. Perhaps the chaos and mass murders will end when we recognize the need to address rather than ignore mental health issues. For all too many Americans, mental illness continues to be something we do not understand and do not talk about. Whether it is PTSD or anger management, bipolar disorder or deep depression we do not know what to do or where to go to get help for ourselves or for those we care about. We act as if it will get better if we ignore the problem but that is never the solution. All too often it is only after a horrific event that the stories come out about erratic and uncontrollable behaviors of the perpetrator. In the wake of mass murder, we discover that the killer has a history of anger and depression, racist anti-immigrant, and anti-Semitic social media posts. Our health care system must pay more attention to and provide more resources to address the mental illness that is so prevalent in our society. While there are perhaps many more suggestions I could offer, there is a fourth suggestion that I must provide as to when will this end. That suggestion is reasonable and sensible gun control. My father and uncles were hunters. My brother is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. I have hunted small game and quail when I was much younger. I do not want to ban guns but AK 15s and military assault rifles are not for hunting. They are designed to kill people and their sale should be limited to the military and law enforcement personnel. Background checks and mental health investigations should be part of the licensing process. Persons with criminal records that include violence and those with a history of mental illness that manifests in behavior that endangers them and others should not be allowed to purchase guns. Restrictions should be placed on minors buying guns and persons who buy guns should be required to have training on the use and security of their weapons. These protections can be implemented while the right to gun ownership by law-abiding citizens remains. When will the current mass murder spree end? It will end when people of good will and conscience stop being silent in the midst of hate speech and vitriolic rhetoric. It will end when people who believe in the unity of the human family and our interdependence demand that people are respected no matter what their religion, their race, their color, their nationality. It will end when we learn from the failures of the past and we challenge the lies and the perpetuation of false stereotypes. When will it end? 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How May I Help You NC
Management, See Moss Interactive City Univ, Seattle Wash class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
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