Of course,
all the stupid opinions pop up after a tragedy like this occurs. Right after
the church shootings, some NRA supporter suggested that the murderer would not
have succeeded in taking down as many congregants had those congregants
themselves been armed. Well there’s a
solution, let’s just arm everyone in America! Kids, the mentally ill, let’s all
pack heat. Every time there is a horrific shooting in the U.S. - the Virginia
Tech murders years ago, the Sandy Hook school shooting of young children, the Gabby
Giffords shooting near Tucson, Arizona - there is the usual talk about gun
violence and the facility with which Americans can obtain guns. But effective gun
legislation does not seem to be in the cards, and I very much doubt that, given
the paralysis of the American political system and the strength of the NRA lobby,
it could be properly enforced in a country so full of guns already. Absolutely,
guns are too easy to come by in America, but what of the growing public
perception that law enforcement officials are themselves partly to blame for
the racial divide? What I think Jon Stewart was getting at in his rant, is that
when you strip away the politics and the moral grandstanding, and the media
outrage, what we are left with is a glaring societal problem that we continue
to externalize as someone else’s fault. We sweep each domestic atrocity under
the table as soon as the next celebrity scandal trumps the story. As the
cartoon character Pogo said: “We have seen the enemy and he is us.” Nothing is
going to change unless we as individuals change. Families need to be stronger
and more vigilant, but we are told the family structure is breaking down,
especially among the most at risk members of our society. We need to do a much better job of addressing
and helping the mentally ill in our countries, but that is going in the wrong
direction as well. Good and effective education is clearly front and center in
this struggle, but herein lies another daunting challenge. Fear and hatred can only
be combatted by fighting ignorance. We have infinitely more information available
to us today and yet ignorance seems to be spreading like wildfire. I can see
all the contributing factors, but I see no solutions. Genuine role models and heroes in our country
are being overshadowed by Marvel Comics superheroes and Pixar fantasies. Is it
not telling that we increasingly seem to turn to fantasy and unreality for our
entertainment? Who’s telling the story
of the everyday hero? We can take down the Confederate flag, but we cannot
erase that for which it stands.
It’s easy
for me to point out the underlying factors I see as causes for today’s societal
ills, but I say all this knowing that, as a white person, I am a racist. I like
to think that I am not; I don’t seek to murder African Americans, and I do not
hate them. I try to treat all people fairly, but I have a few close friends who
are Black. I grew up in a city with a large African American population, and
the divide between the east and west side of Main Street in Buffalo was a de-facto
apartheid in my city. I have an inborn suspicion of many strangers who are African
American, maybe because I had been mugged several times and robbed by black
kids when I was younger. I see the vicious cycle of fear and consequence, and I
haven’t a clue how to undo it. I think it is good that someone as high profile as
Stewart had the balls and showed his outrage in such a public way. Dialogue is a
start. Seeking to be more apprised of and connected with the others in your
world is certainly helpful. It will always be easier to hate than to love, and
the more of us there are, the more conflicts and opportunity for
misunderstanding there will be. I am truly saddened by the events of last week,
but I am perhaps most saddened by the hopeless feeling that I am not a part of
the solution.
-Written by
Jamie Oppenheimer c2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-
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