A headline in The Washington Post today proclaims almost wistfully, “Georgia Students and Teachers killed in deadliest school shooting this year.”
Am I the only one who thinks this is a sad commentary on gunship America? It’s almost like we’re falling behind. It’s like “Aaron Judge fails to hit 70 homers.”
Since the Columbine shooting in Denver in 1999, which I covered for the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Post says there have been 416 school shootings in the U.S. That’s 16 a year or more than one a month.
This year, so far, there have been 23, according to USA Today. The record year was 2022 with 46. Some record, and certainly something to aspire to.
By comparison, Russia has had 1, Canada 2, Brazil 2 and China 1. Total population, almost 1.8 billion. Pop .of U.S. 333 million. Of course those foreigners have sensible private gun ownership laws.
The NRA is fond of saying the only way to stop bad people from shooting other people is to have a good guy with a gun nearby. Apparently there aren’t enough good guys around.
There is clearly no way this country can get a grip on the gun problem.
Of course mental illness is the go-to cause but if that were true there would be a lot more of it. Statistics show that the “mentally ill” people with depression or anxiety pose no greater threat than the “sane.”
The World Population Review cites bullying and desire for recognition as causes of school shooting but gaming and entertainment have minimal influence.
So, what to do other than collect all the guns and melt them down and that isn’t going to happen?
If I could answer that question I wouldn’t just be Florida Man I’d be United States Man.
