While watching The Daily Show a few weeks ago I heard Jon Stewart say “You can’t outsmart crazy” as a response to the radical rhetoric surrounding the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Tucson, which prompted this article. From one extreme to another, politicians and media representatives alike have raised the topics of greater gun controls and the opposing view of increased citizen carry as a self-policing society, secret service protection for congress representatives and the acknowledgement of inherent risks for public service representatives, government intervention for identified psychopaths versus familial intervention with minimal government involvement…and much more. Let’s examine the aforementioned to see if we draw the same conclusion in every instance as I believe is the case.
Does more gun control make us safer as a society or more vulnerable as a society? If we compare gun control to “the war on drugs” it becomes clear that drugs are readily available to every citizen in every city in America and the same is true for guns. If an adult or an adolescent wants to get their hands on a gun, legally or illegally, it is a fairly easy acquisition as has been established by law enforcement and widely publicized my media and entertainment, similar to drugs. In the event that Americans were stripped of their right to bear arms and required to surrender their legally purchased guns, I believe that would create a more chaotic society of socially responsible felons (those who do not surrender) and socially irresponsible criminals (those that purchase illegally). How would Americans protect themselves against a threat to their lives as in the case of Donna Jackson protecting herself against a prison escapee in her own home? Donna Jackson was forced to protect herself with her legally acquired gun as a result of the untimely response of law enforcement after her horrifying 911 call. The reality is that most armed Americans do not go around shooting other Americans. One crazy man with a desire to hurt his fellow community members is not representative of responsible gun carrying Americans. The Gabrielle Giffords incident should not be used as a platform for gun control because “You can’t outsmart crazy” with gun control.
With regards to increased protection for public servants like Gabrielle Giffords, it is the duty of politicians to openly mingle amongst their constituents and all are aware of the inherent risks of doing so when taking office. If Gabrielle Giffords felt like she was in danger, she had every resource available to her to employ the assistance of a secret service agent or professional private security individual. The bigger question that I would pose is “Would a secret service agent or private security individual have been able to prevent Gabrielle Giffords from being shot or only the subsequent shots injuring and killing her constituents?” We will never know the answer to that question but it is worth deliberation in future safety and prevention efforts. I personally believe that the first shot would have been received by someone, possibly not Giffords if a secret service agent or trained security professional had been present, but that is only speculation because again, “You can’t outsmart crazy”.
There are many psychopaths living among us but it is not until one becomes dangerously newsworthy that there are public cries for incarceration or institutionalization as in the case of Jared Lee Loughner. There have been many that have blamed his parents for not reporting his devil worshiping shrines and an equal number of people that wonder why he was not institutionalized in some sort of mental facility due to his odd behavior reported both by his friends and his educators. Do strange behavior and a creepy demeanor warrant institutionalization or incarceration preemptively? Who would determine the sanity of the individual prior to incarceration or institutionalization? Should the government have the right to monitor the behavior of an adult American and track that adult due to suspicious behavior alone or should the behavior meet a certain standard before the government gets involved? Should a family have the right to institutionalize another family member as a result of a disturbing shrine and odd behavior? Many believe that psychopaths are born and not made with a genetic predisposition but many also believe that environmental factors stimulate the psychopathic behavior. I am not aware of any solid answers to these questions but I am certain that we cannot remove every “crazy” person off the streets to prevent them from doing harm to another. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before a psychopath hurts a loved one in our community because unfortunately, “You can’t outsmart crazy”.
My point is ultimately that there is no person, government entity or political party to blame for the Gabrielle Giffords shooting other than Jared Lee Loughner. The incident must shed light on the fact that the only person that you can rely on for protection in any situation is YOU! None of us can outsmart crazy so we must take the necessary steps to educate ourselves about personal safety and protection and to ultimately arm ourselves with the appropriate education and tools to stay safe. Learning basic self defense tactics coupled with some safety tools like a flashlight, pepper spray, a TASER, and even a gun can make all the difference between life and death. With that said, all of the education and tools may still result in death because let’s face it, “You can’t outsmart crazy”.
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