With the recent shootings in Las Vegas, there has been an endless stream of commentary and opinion about gun violence and shootings in the U.S. An article by John Whitehead spurred some thoughts on root causes. While many will blame guns and gun laws, I think that the culture of violence in this country may be the most causative issue. Some of the points below are shared by Mr. Whitehead, others are my own, synthesized from observations over the past decade and more.
It seems to me that the U.S. is a very violent nation at baseline. This country has a hyper militaristic, nationalistic, and law enforcement culture of violence. It is the only country in the world that has a global military empire that gets away with drone bombing the planet, overthrowing autonomous regimes, interfering with everyone else’s country – all to the applause of the American masses. The associated mindset of force permeates everything. The PTSD’d soldiers return to become cops that use force to drive every component of people’s lives in our hyper-legislated society – where every infraction is ultimately enforced at the point of a gun. They shoot people’s dogs like they were cockroaches – estimated at 10,000 dogs per year per some sources. The Drug War (which I’ve written about and shared to these pages) is at the center of racist, family-destroying, life-altering, unemployment-causing, hyper-violence which is the result of both (1) government’s failed and impossible enforcement, and (2) from the violent drug supply side of dealing and trafficking that only exists because of the distorted economics of Prohibition.
There may be millions of guns in this country, as there are knives and hammers and other tools of potential harm. More importantly, I think, is that the politics of Government is based on division, discord, anger, fear, separation, special interest, race, class, jealousy, etc. which is all used to fuel the control of society and the perpetuation of political power. These divisions and emotions isolate people, exacerbate odd world views, incite hatred and distrust, dehumanize the Other, and destroy communities. You cannot turn on the TV and yet maintain a philosophy of “live and let live.” Hyperbole, emotion, and fear are purposefully employed in order to attract viewership, which in turn is used to promote ad revenue and profit. Peaceful co-existence doesn’t bring in the profits or drive people to the polls. However, gun violence does achieve both of those things. As much as the media and politicians may decry violence, they certainly enjoy exploiting it, never allowing a crisis to go to waste. Otherwise, they would demonstrate the intellectual honesty of analyzing root causes and minimizing the blood lust, war, force, para-military policing, hyper-legislation, and failed policies that their very existence perpetuates through the bizarre and distorted incentives which pay their salaries and feed their power positions.