Artwork by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
Last week was bad. Really bad. Three mass shootings in California shocked the nation. Over the course of forty-four hours nineteen people were killed and dozens of others wounded. In all, over forty mass shootings have taken place in our country this January—a new monthly record. Of course, this should come as no surprise in a country where atrocities like Sandy Hook, Uvalde, and Stoneman Douglas occur with mind-numbing regularity.
Then, just last Friday, the city of Memphis released bodycam footage of the police beating of Tyre Nichols, an appallingly brutal attack that resulted in the young man’s death. Memphis and other cities across the country braced for protests and possible violence, but thankfully, only a few scattered incidents were reported. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, authorities released footage of Paul Pelosi being beaten with a hammer by an intruder in his own home.
Gun violence, police violence, and political violence have become so common in our lives that they seem inevitable—almost normal. Mass shootings happen and happen again, and then all the right people offer their sincere hopes and prayers. And then when yet another young African American dies at the hands of the police, protests break out, investigations are begun, and—if we’re lucky—perpetrators are put on trial. Political violence, including white supremacist attacks, are on the uptick. Representatives are being targeted at both work and at their homes. And there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do to stop it.
Our government cannot—or will not—pass laws protecting common folks from maniacs with automatic weapons and does not seem ready, willing, or able to reform the draconian tactics of its own police forces. The histrionic bile dominating our political rhetoric has resulted in acts of civilian violence. And it shows no signs of slowing down or stopping. These events roll on despite our common horror and disgust and all our efforts to stop them. These monstrosities seem as inevitable as the weather. Yet we still have the little things.
Milwaukee woke up to about eight inches of freshly fallen snow this morning. We woke up, admired the beautiful white blanket covering the world, had our coffee, and went out to do our shoveling and snow blowing. Since I do have a big old snowblower, I typically do the north end of our city block, but this morning I was surprised to find it had already been done by a neighbor.
Later, when my wife pointed out that an older lady across the street was having trouble shoveling her sidewalk, I went over to help but was beaten out by another next-door neighbor, who yelled out to her to go in, that he would do her walk. In short, there was no shortage of benevolence on the block. We were taking care of each other. We usually accomplish this by checking up on each other, keeping an eye out for trouble, and having our annual Block Party Pancake Breakfast.
There’s a young couple a few blocks away who have made it their mission to clean up trash on their block. They walk up and down the street, collecting hefty bags full of empty beer cans, plastic wrappers, and other junk. There’s nothing in it for them. They do it simply to make the world a better place.
A friend of ours who is a gardening enthusiast (and an avid fan of heirloom tomatoes) recently invited us to join in her gardening club. We got together, compared notes about how things went the year before, bragged about our harvests, shared techniques, tricks, and saved seeds—all over a few bottles of wine. Everyone benefitted and we had a great time. These are some of the little things that make our lives bearable—and a lot better.
It might seem as if those mass shootings and other horrors that are visited upon us are inescapable turns of fate, as if we’re caught in a nightmare of a Shakespearean tragedy, that matter what we do or say, they—like the tide—will never stop. We are feeling helpless, frustrated, and angry, standing anxiously beneath the dark clouds of institutionalized violence, waiting anxiously for the next tragedy.
But this neither a Greek drama nor a Shakespearean tragedy. These acts of violence are not acts of God. They are the result of an ossified and self-serving body of representatives who choose to tolerate the violence, to tolerate the senseless deaths of hundreds of their constituents, to tolerate the massacre of our children, and to tolerate terror. The shootings, the beatings, and the attacks do not have to happen. They are not destiny but rather the result of self-serving profiteering by our government representatives who are supposed to be representing the interests of their constituents—which, most decidedly, they are not.
And it’s not as if gun control or any other policy change is an impossibility. After the 2019 mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spearheaded legislation to restrict semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. It passed 119-1. One mass shooting and legislation became law only a few weeks later. It can be done.
Most Americans are decent people. We take care of our families, watch out for our neighbors, and try to make the world a better place. In poll after poll after poll, a majority of Americans say they want stronger gun laws. An August 1, 2022, University of Chicago Harris Poll showed 71% of Americans believed gun laws should be stricter. This poll is not an aberration but is indicative of sentiment reflected in dozens of other polls. A 2022 Gallup Poll found that a majority of Americans favored “changes to make policing better” with a significant portion saying major change is needed.
The American people want change. They want to make sure they and their children are safe from maniacs with guns. They want to—and do—take care of their families and their neighbors. They do take joy in the little things and, by and large, they do the right thing. They want gun reform. They want police reform. They are sick and tired of the caustic rhetoric and power games taking place in Washington. They want fairly priced prescription drugs and college tuitions. And they, like any human being on the planet Earth, they deserve these things.
Our government does not have to determine our fate. The senators and representatives are not gods ensconced on an American Mt. Olympus. We are their masters. To turn the little good things in our lives into policy that will save hundreds of lives and prevent untold misery on thousands of others, we must act. These shootings and beatings are neither inevitable nor necessary. Enough people have died.
Remove those who will not help us and replace them with those who will. Replace those full of false promises and replace them with people like us. Because that’s who will stop the madness—everyday people like us who possess nothing more than a sense of common human decency.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_law_in_New_Zealand
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_mosque_shootings
- https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-covid-health-chicago-c912ecc5619e925c5ea7447d36808715
- https://news.gallup.com/poll/393119/americans-remain-steadfast-policing-reform-needs-2022.aspx