America: A Shooting Star - Cal Thompson, 1st Period

This article details the perspective of British author Gary Younge on gun control in America. Younge grew up in the United Kingdom, a place where guns are carried infrequently and not standard issue for police. For him, America's culture surrounding guns and gun violence was shocking. He published a book detailing, from personal perspectives, the scenarios of the shootings of ten boys age 9-19 on only one day in the US (November 23, 2013, which he selected at random). He explains, in an interview, the appeals to masculinity presented by America's gun culture. People are told that they must protect their families and themselves from other people as well as from the state. However, as Younge explains, this demand for weapon distribution is not extended to minorities. Racial minorities, who are being killed time and time again by police officers, are not told that they need to protect themselves by standing up, but rather are told to comply (and when they do, there's always another excuse).

I have never been fond of America's gun culture, and I personally find guns garish, loud, abrasive, and generally distasteful (not to mention the whole "shooting" bit). Reading the perspective of someone familiar with urbanized Western culture but not America's gun customs was quite interesting indeed. Younge made the point that people do not often enough talk about the need for gun control, and that there is a rhetoric and vehemence surrounding advocacy for gun ownership in America that is simply not perpetuated by those in favor of gun control. Part of this, in my opinion, stems from an ingrained boisterous attitude among the privileged white community most favoring gun ownership, coupled with America's historical dislike of obvious control. I do not think that America i uncontrolled by the government/state, but I do believe that this control falls more upon minorities. When white people can prowl about with freshly-bought guns, but racial minorities are shot by the police for reaching for identification or raising their hands, there's an extreme problem. America's clingy attitude towards gun rights relates heavily to previous distrust of government following the American Revolution. Americans favored lax control, which inevitably led to a lack of unity and overall lack of progress. One line from the article that really stuck with me explains the problem with encouraging guns for protection quite well, so I'll leave you with it:

"If very few people have guns, then very few people feel the need for guns. If lots of people have guns, then lots of people feel the need for guns."

Article:

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/gary-younge-gun-violence-america/503045/