BY: Kalpak n B
I would like to begin this article by apologizing to the editor for submitting this column two weeks after the deadline, and would also like to state that this has nothing to do with the fact that for most of these two weeks, I was lying semi-naked in my bed covered in empty burger wraps, pizza boxes and Coca Cola bottles while binge-watching ‘The Office’.
As a school going kid in the US of A, every living day of yours is basically a choice between going to school, which has a high probability of you getting shot by a psychopath, or worse, staying at home and being made to eat broccoli. It is no longer an unknown fact that the gun laws in US are as effective as CCTVs in the NCR region.
A simple search for ‘School Shootings in the US’ that I made to research for this article, took me to a dedicated Wikipedia page titled ‘List of School Shootings in the United States’. I, at first, assumed these things would be a recent phenomenon. However, when I noticed that the scroll bar on that list page was smaller than my ex’s current boyfriend’s thing, I was flabbergasted.
What was more interesting was that the words ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Terrorism’ do not appear in that entire long article.
If you have ever noticed, this is how the US media generally reports acts of terror:
NEWS – A Muslim man has a fight in a bar and ends up hurting one white man.
REPORT – Islamic Terrorist terrorizes innocent locals of friendly neighborhood bar with Terrorist Activities of Terrorism. When will this Jihad stop?
NEWS – Crazy white dude shoots 60 people to death in a school
REPORT – Poor autistic little Jonathan went a little out of control today by pointing his gun at most of his friends and pulling the trigger. Jonathan was a regular at the Church and loved country music. *hugs*
At this point, I itch more to go and say ‘White Terrorism’ out loud in a US news office, than say ‘Voldemort’ in the Gryffindor common room.
And yet, in spite of these back-to-back events, the US government refuses to acknowledge that gun laws need to be altered. And I somewhat agree with them here. I mean blaming easy gun availability to increased shootings is like blaming men for rape. It’s stupid.
Another fault with the ongoing protests in the US for gun control laws is that there aren’t enough A-list celebrities supporting the cause. There is Snoop Dogg, who is a great role model if you are a Daschund.
I do however hear that things are moving towards improvement in the US. A friend of mine who lives in New Jersey recently saw few cops bravely nab a teenager in possession of a Kinder Surprise Egg. The whole situation was brought under control and no one was hurt.
It cannot be emphasized enough that US needs gun regulation desperately. Had such a shooting happened in India, the shooter would either be instantly found in prison where he would comfortably live the remainder of his life and die a peaceful death, or be protected by mobs, depending on his religion.
But apart from gun laws, what we need more in the US (and also all other countries) is counseling. Laws are not in our control, but ensuring our children develop emotional and social skills that make them adept with dealing with their issues is. With the right amount of care and attention, we can build a better generation ahead of us, that won’t grow up to make remarks like “Women are equally responsible for rape”.
Entrepreneur, stand-up comedian, corporate guy and a writer/poet, Kalpak is a proud kitty attack survivor.
