[Oe List ...] Fwd: more Moore!

[Jack Gilles]

Dear Colleagues,

I found this essay by Michael Moore on guns and violence.

Jack

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

*From:* "M. Theophil" <weave.marga at gmail.com>
*Date:* December 27, 2012, 10:47:59 PM CST
*To:* "M. Theophil" <Weave.Marga at gmail.com>
*Subject:* *more Moore!*

  <image001.gif>

*December 24th, 2012* 5:13 AM
Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of
Guns<http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/celebrating-prince-peace-land-guns>



By *Michael Moore <http://www.michaelmoore.com/blogger/mmflint>*

After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press
conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true.
Except the only world that was ending was the NRA's. Their bullying power
to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the
massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: *a basketball coach
at a post-game press
conference*<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/jim-boeheim-gun-control-9000-wins_n_2321304.html>
; *the Republican Joe
Scarborough*<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/joe-scarborough-newtown-shooting_n_2315100.html>
; *a pawn shop owner in
Florida*<http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/gun-seller-i-cant-do-it-anymore>
; *a gun buy-back program in New
Jersey*<http://articles.philly.com/2012-12-19/news/35914645_1_gun-owners-higher-ground-temple-church-camden-county-residents>
; *a singing contest show on
TV*<http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/watch-tribute-newtown-voice-article-1.1222795>,
and *the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared
Loughner*<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/loughner_judge_conservative_gun_control.php>
.

So here's my little bit of holiday cheer for you:

These gun massacres aren't going to end any time soon.

I'm sorry to say this. But deep down we both know it's true. That doesn't
mean we shouldn't keep pushing forward – after all, the momentum is on our
side. I know all of us – including me – would love to see the president and
Congress enact stronger gun laws. We need a ban on automatic AND
semiautomatic weapons and magazine clips that hold more than 7 bullets. We
need better background checks and more mental health services. We need to
regulate the ammo, too.

But, friends, I would like to propose that while all of the above will
certainly reduce gun deaths (ask Mayor Bloomberg – it is virtually
impossible to buy a handgun in New York City and the result is the number
of murders per year has gone *from 2,200 to under
400*<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/reported-shot-stabbed-slashed-nyc-monday-article-1.1209204>),
it won't really bring about an end to these mass slayings and it will not
address the core problem we have. Connecticut had one of the strongest gun
laws in the country. That did nothing to prevent the murders of 20 small
children on December 14th.



In fact, let's be clear about Newtown: the killer had no criminal record so
he would never have shown up on a background check. All of the guns he used
were legally purchased. None fit the legal description of an "assault"
weapon. The killer seemed to have mental problems and his mother had him
seek help, but that was worthless. As for security measures, the Sandy Hook
school was locked down and buttoned up BEFORE the killer showed up that
morning. Drills had been held for just such an incident. A lot of good that
did.

And here's the dirty little fact none of us liberals want to discuss: The
killer only ceased his slaughter when he saw that cops were swarming onto
the school grounds – i.e, the men with the guns. When he saw the guns
a-coming, he stopped the bloodshed and killed himself. Guns on police
officers prevented another 20 or 40 or 100 deaths from happening. Guns
sometimes work. (Then again, there was an armed deputy sheriff at Columbine
High School the day of that massacre and he couldn't/didn't stop it.)

I am sorry to offer this reality check on our much-needed march toward a
bunch of well-intended, necessary – but ultimately, mostly cosmetic –
changes to our gun laws. The sad facts are these: Other countries that have
guns (like Canada, which has *7 million
guns*<http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/canada>
 – mostly hunting guns – in their 12 million households) have a low murder
rate. Kids in Japan watch the same violent movies and kids in Australia
play the same violent video games (Grand Theft Auto was created by a
British company; the UK had *58 gun
murders*<http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0212/>
 last year in a nation of 63 million people).



They simply don't kill each other at the rate that we do. Why is that? THAT
is the question we should be exploring while we are banning and restricting
guns: Who *are* we?

I'd like to try to answer that question.

We are a country whose leaders officially sanction and carry out acts of
violence as a means to often an immoral end. We invade countries who didn't
attack us. We're currently using drones in a half-dozen countries, often
killing civilians.

This probably shouldn't come as a surprise to us as we are a nation founded
on genocide and built on the backs of slaves. We slaughtered 600,000 of
each other in a civil war. We "tamed the Wild West with a six-shooter," and
we rape and beat and kill our women without mercy and at a staggering rate:
*every three hours*<http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/tables/vsextab.cfm>
 a women is murdered in the USA (*half the
time*<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,164707,00.html>
 by an ex or a current); *every three
minutes*<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/09/cbsnews_investigates/main5590118.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody>
 a woman is raped in the USA; and *every 15
seconds*<http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/factsheets/dv.htm>
 a woman is beaten in the USA.

We belong to an *illustrious group of
nations*<http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/abolitionist-and-retentionist-countries>
 that still have the death penalty (North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China,
Iran). We think nothing of letting tens of thousands of our own citizens
die each year because they are uninsured and thus don't see a doctor until
it's too late.

Why do we do this? One theory is simply "because we can." There is a level
of arrogance in the otherwise friendly American spirit, conning ourselves
into believing there's something exceptional about us that separates us
from all those "other" countries (there are indeed many good things about
us; the same could also be said of Belgium, New Zealand, France, Germany,
etc.). We think we're #1 in everything when the truth is our students are *17th
in science and 25th in
math*<http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-12-07-us-students-international-ranking_N.htm>,
and we're *35th in life
expectancy*<http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/15/nation/la-na-womens-health-20110615>.
We believe we have the greatest democracy but we have the lowest voting
turnout of any western democracy. We're biggest and the bestest at
everything and we demand and take what we want.

And sometimes we have to be violent m*****f*****s to get it. But if one of
us goes off-message and shows the utterly psychotic nature and brutal
results of violence in a Newtown or an Aurora or a Virginia Tech, then we
get all "sad" and "our hearts go out to the families" and presidents
promise to take "meaningful action." Well, maybe this president means it
this time. He'd better. An angry mob of millions is not going to let this
drop.

While we are discussing and demanding what to do, may I respectfully ask
that we stop and take a look at what I believe are the three extenuating
factors that may answer the question of why we Americans have more violence
than most anyone else:

1. POVERTY. If there's one thing that separates us from the rest of the
developed world, it's this. *50
million*<http://www.nbcnews.com/business/49-7-million-americans-poverty-census-bureau-says-1C7073315>
 of our people live in poverty. *One in five
Americans*<http://www.gallup.com/poll/156806/one-four-mississippi-residents-struggle-afford-food.aspx#2>
 goes hungry at some point during the year. *The
majority*<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-usa-survey-paycheck-idUSBRE88I1BE20120919>
 of those who aren't poor are living from paycheck to paycheck. There's no
doubt this creates more crime. Middle class jobs prevent crime and
violence. (If you don't believe that, ask yourself this: If your neighbor
has a job and is making $50,000/year, what are the chances he's going to
break into your home, shoot you and take your TV? Nil.)

2. FEAR/RACISM. We're an awfully fearful country considering that, unlike
most nations, we've never been invaded. (No, 1812 wasn't an invasion. *We
started it.* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812#Declaration_of_war>)
Why on earth would we need 300 million guns in our homes? I get why the
Russians might be a little spooked (over 20 million of them died in World
War II). But what's our excuse? Worried that the Indians from the casino
may go on the warpath? Concerned that the Canadians seem to be amassing too
many Tim Horton's donut shops on both sides of the border?

No. It's because too many white people are afraid of black people. Period.
The vast majority of the guns in the U.S. are sold to white people who live
in the suburbs or the country. When we fantasize about being mugged or home
invaded, what's the image of the perpetrator in our heads? Is it the
freckled-face kid from down the street – or is it someone who is, if not
black, at least poor?

I think it would be worth it to a) do our best to eradicate poverty and
re-create the middle class we used to have, and b) stop promoting the image
of the black man as the boogeyman out to hurt you. Calm down, white people,
and put away your guns.

3. THE "ME" SOCIETY. I think it's the every-man-for-himself ethos of this
country that has put us in this mess and I believe it's been our undoing.
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! You're not my problem! This is mine!

Clearly, we are no longer our brother's and sister's keeper. You get sick
and can't afford the operation? Not my problem. The bank has foreclosed on
your home? Not my problem. Can't afford to go to college? Not my problem.

And yet, it all sooner or later becomes our problem, doesn't it? Take away
too many safety nets and everyone starts to feel the impact. Do you want to
live in that kind of society, one where you will then have a legitimate
reason to be in fear? I don't.

I'm not saying it's perfect anywhere else, but I have noticed, in my
travels, that other civilized countries see a national benefit to taking
care of each other. Free medical care, free or low-cost college, mental
health help. And I wonder – why can't *we* do that? I think it's because in
many other countries people see each other not as separate and alone but
rather together, on the path of life, with each person existing as an
integral part of the whole. And you help them when they're in need, not
punish them because they've had some misfortune or bad break. I have to
believe one of the reasons gun murders in other countries are so rare is
because there's less of the lone wolf mentality amongst their citizens.
Most are raised with a sense of connection, if not outright solidarity. And
that makes it harder to kill one another.



Well, there's some food for thought as we head home for the holidays. Don't
forget to say hi to your conservative brother-in-law for me. Even he will
tell you that, if you can't nail a deer in three shots – and claim you need
a clip of 30 rounds – you're not a hunter my friend, and you have no
business owning a gun.

Have a wonderful Christmas or a beautiful December 25th!
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