America has a Heart problem:
Unpopular opinion: America doesn’t have a problem with guns America has a heart problem. Instead of blaming the failed policies of government, the manufacturers, or the inanimate object it is time we make the responsibility lie with the actual person who committed the crime. Whether it is a lack of respect for human life or lack of owning one’s own error in judgement or worse, actual bad intentions, blaming the firearm which requires human interaction to function is flawed logic.
For too long we as a society have not made people accountable for their mistakes and given out way too many participation trophies. We don’t blame the car manufacturers or the alcohol companies when someone gets drunk and kills someone, we didn’t blame the airplane companies for the 9/11 hijackers. In both of these we blame the person. I hear you when you say we are the only country with a gun violence problem, and you are half right. Mexico has a gun violence problem and firearms are incredibly restricted there. London doesn’t have the same gun violence but they have knife and vehicle attacks. In the Middle East from Israel to Iraq they don’t blame the gun they blame the terrorist. In America we need to start blaming the perpetrators, not the victims, and certainly not the weapon. If someone wants to do harm to another person they will find a way, whether it is a gun, a hand gun, a knife, a car, a plane, or even a pressure cooker. To say the problem are the guns themselves is pandering to an unknowledgeable voting base and vilification of legal firearms owners, sportsmen, the majority who are responsible in the ownership of their legal firearms.
We need to start caring for others, quit pandering for votes. We need to pay attention to what people say and how they act. We need to get outside of our little bubble and look at the world around us, reach out to those among us that are hurting and need help. There will always be those who want to do harm but maybe if we put in a little effort we can stop the next tragedy before it happens.