A friend and brother-in-ink recently posted a list of schools where "mass shootings" have taken place. He also points out gun deaths are the leading cause of child fatalities in the US and uses this to call for an "assault weapon" ban. Seriously rocking that White Privilege.
He got the list from somewhere else. He's also on the left, but a person's politics has never bothered me much when it comes to people I consider friends.
What is torquing my spark plug enough to strip it, is the sheer amount of stunning White Privilege he's slamming on the table hard enough to crack the foundation.
You read that right - White Privilege. Me writing bud in this case is of recent European descent. He's rocking that White Privilege harder than Motley Crue in 1984.
So, do I have your attention yet? Ready to rip my head off yet? Ready to whine yet?
Keep reading.
JUST THE FACTS, MAN
Why am I so certain of my statement? Because there is so much left out of what he posted that it's just... gaaaah, I have no words. So here are just the facts, man, facts which my friend did not bother to post.
1) School shootings account for a tiny fraction of child deaths by gunfire. "The vast majority of child and teen gun homicide deaths and unintentional shooting deaths and injuries occur in the home."
https://everytownresearch.org/issue/child-teen-safety/
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Photocopy/152551NCJRS.pdf
2) Suicide is a sizeable percentage of these deaths by firearm. "In the U.S., in 2020, 30% of child and teen deaths by firearm were ruled suicides, and 5% were unintentional or undetermined accidents. However, the most common type of child and teen firearm death is due to violent assault (65% of all child and teen firearm deaths are assault)."
https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/
https://www.cwla.org/increased-suicide-rates-among-children-aged-5-to-11-years-in-the-u-s/
3) Most of the kids being killed by getting shot are in "urban areas" and are shot by other kids. See links above. These studies do not define "urban area," at least not that I saw.
4) Handguns, which the US Supreme Court has already twice ruled are legal to own, account for most of shooting-related murders. Unknown gun types are No. 2 and rifles, which is what people like my bud call "assault rifles" are a very small fraction.
https://www.criminalattorneycolumbus.com/which-weapons-are-most-commonly-used-for-homicides/
5) And here is the really telling information that proves white privilege is running wide-ass open and not just by my friend but by anyone who screams about school shootings and is silent about the other shooting deaths. A disproportionate amount of shooting deaths, including those of children, are committed by one ethnic demographic against that same demographic.
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-2.xls
6) While I have not run a demographic report on the kids killed in schools, I am willing to give you great odds that most of those kids are of a different demographic than I reference in Point 5. You are smart enough to figure this one out; if nothing else, look at the title of this blog.
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
So where is the outrage over these children dying at the hands of each other in our nation's homes and streets? <even the crickets are quiet> People can fill the streets over children dying in a school, but when they die in the street or at home, these same protestors have something more important to do.
It's not even national news anymore and fell off that radar a long time ago.
Must be nice to be able to pick and choose like that. Me? I've been howling about kids killing kids in the streets for decades.
As much as I dislike the Rev. Jesse Jackson, I do admire him for railing against the kind of violence that sees so many young people of that certain demographic dead, wounded and imprisoned. Of course, Jesse can't use White Privilege.
RICOCHETS
So while I'm here, lemme chase a few ricochets.
1) Most of these people enraged over school shootings in the US are totally silent about the use of true assault weapons used to kill kids and so many other people.
Before going further, I 100% support our troops and our veterans. We do not do enough to support our vets when they get home. I just cannot support an administration that sends our troops into harm's way needlessly.
Afghanistan Fatalities Total: 3590
http://icasualties.org/App/AfghanFatalities
Iraq Fatalities Total: 4902
http://icasualties.org/App/Fatalities
The low estimate of death is "between 280,771-315,190 ... Many civilians have also been injured."
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians/iraqi
The real killer here is the US government. Don't hear a lot of people screaming about this. More White Privilege.
WHAT? you scream.
You read it right. Foreigners dying at the hands of US troops are not our kids.
The US government is a leading murderer, going back to the Revolution and the founding of the country. Ask some Native Americans about their history. Ask people whose ancestors came here as slaves.
Gotta say a BIG THANK YOU to Stumblin' Joe Biden for getting our troops OUT of Afghanistan in a hurry. Previous ReDamnobooicratican presidents refused to do so. You may be one who whines about the rapid departure and how much equipment was left behind. I may make an exception to my policy about blocking people over political differences for you. Fact is, Biden got our troops out. Period. End of discussion.
2) The Second Amendment is clear. We have a right to own guns. I've written extensively about this and even wrote a book on it. https://www.amazon.com/truth-behind-gun-control-rational/dp/1717220118 Nuf said for the time being.
3) SCOTUS said owning guns is legal. This is the law of the land and SCOTUS decision are something I've written a lot about. As another bud is fond of telling me when we disagree, "This is our social contract." The people who whine, yes whine, that SCOTUS is wrong and it needs to change that decision, cool. Just do not whine when SCOTUS changes direction in ways you do not like on other issues. (Gonna get yelled at about that one. Hey. If the truth hurts, yer living wrong.)
YOUR THOUGHTS
To pull a phrase from another guy who headbutts controversy, if I am wrong, "Change my mind." Just stick to the narrative and leave personal attacks in your head. If you come after anyone personally, me or someone else who comments, it'll be Bye Felicia!
