Another mindless killing: 6 dead, 2 wounded in Kalamazoo

Take a moment to appreciate that you’re reading this, that you’re healthy, that you’re breathing, and that you haven’t been shot at random by one of the upwards of 310 million firearms that are estimated to exist in this country (Slate, Peters 2012).

On Saturday night, suspected killer Jason Brian Dalton, a 45-year-old Uber driver, drove around the city of Kalamazoo. The gunman opened fire on a father and son outside an auto dealership, a woman near an apartment complex, and a group of women outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant, according to nbc news. Dalton has no criminal record. A source reported to CNN that the driver was still picking up passengers and collecting fares between the shootings, which were spread over a 7-hour period. The police wrested a semi-automatic handgun from the shooter.

The number of firearms-related death has been on the rise in the U.S. for the last two decades. According to Slate, researchers forecast that in 2015, bullets will replace car accidents as the leading cause of injury death in the country. Causes of death connected to firearms are homicide killings, suicides, and some unintentional firearm injuries, 8% of which were committed by children under the age of 6.

The first reaction to all this information is, “Not again.” The second may be, “I hate guns.” The third, “What can we do about it?” According to Peters of Slate, the government of Australia had to buy back all the guns in the country at an estimated cost of $400 million, in U.S. dollars, which required a temporary 1% income tax levy. A similar plan like this in a country that contains approximately the same amount or more firearms than people, would cost billions. But even with all the mass shootings and daily killings that occur in a variety of situations, would people agree to this?

No. Because the problem is not the guns themselves. It is our mentality surrounding violence, power, and defense. It is the fact that the guns themselves exist, and why we think they need to, and why they have always been. The problem is not with the product, but with the company and the structure surrounding it. I’m too old to be an anarchist, but I can recognize when something’s not right -- when a force meant for good is, in reality, self-destructing. I’m not saying that getting rid of all guns or weapons is a possibility, not at this point. I’m just pointing out the flaws and trying to stop myself from growing too angry.

The first step in any movement is mindfulness and knowledge.