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Recovering backpacker, Cornwallite at heart, political enthusiast, catalyst, writer, husband, father, community volunteer, unabashedly proud Canadian. Every hyperlink connects to something related directly or thematically to that which is highlighted.

Friday, 4 December 2015

Guns4Safety


offmylawndisease - get off my body diabetes!



Why? Terrorism, of course.  There are terrorists out there - heck, they could be your very neighbour! - and they're coming for you.

The could have bombs strapped beneath their niqabs, or be planting bombs in your schools.  Or, like all those white people who go postal, they could just whip out their automatic weapons and start blasting away at a mall, or sports game, or even your shooting range.

It's dangerous times, America.  Guns are all that stand between us and our enemies.  And their bombs.  Or something like that.

With this in mind, here are the leading causes of death in the US:

  • Heart disease: 611,105
  • Cancer: 584,881
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 149,205
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 130,557
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 128,978
  • Alzheimer's disease: 84,767
  • Diabetes: 75,578
  • Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,979
  • Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 47,112
  • Intentional self-harm (suicide): 41,149

Now, a gun can't protect you from heart disease.  A gun can't prevent you from getting Diabetes Type II.  It won't stop a drunk driver from running you over.  It can and does get used in suicide - in fact, the vast majority of gun deaths in the United States are suicides.

So - what's the big deal?  If it's really about security, why aren't statistically relevant causes of death getting more attention?  If it's really about safety, why isn't the NRA and other security-focused agencies investing in prevention?

Guns aren't about protection.  That's a convenient myth.  Guns are about power.  

The most powerful people in history changed the world without guns, but with words.  The conversion of "bad men" to good is tied to the history of movements as much as are those who have resisted change with their cold, dead hands.

This is the narrative of America right now - it's not one about safety so much as it is about resisting a global shift in power that is reflected by an internal shift in demographics.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but guns can't save you from social evolution, either.



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