Another Week in America’s Gun Dystopia
Every week in the 2020s is another hellish week in America’s gun dystopia, but a snapshot of April 13–18 is truly exemplary. One thing was relearned with certainty: a well-worn gun fetishist talking point (“An armed society is a polite society”) has been shown as idiotic once and for all. An armed society is NOT a polite society, it is simply a more lethal society. In any peer country (i.e., a country not drowning in guns) the children or young adults in the incidents recorded below would very likely not be dead, in critical condition, or even injured.
Knock Knock. Who’s There? A Gun: You’re Dead.
Americans who were around in the early 90s probably don’t remember Yoshihiro Hattori’s name today, but they likely remember his story. Yoshihiro was a 16-year-old from Japan dressed for Halloween in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He rang the wrong doorbell and was shot to death by a fearful Rodney Peairs, who was later acquitted by a jury (Americans are very attached to the idea of being able to shoot somebody who comes to their door). At the time, this story was somewhat shocking. Japan learned an important lesson about American culture. An armed society is NOT a polite society.
Today there’s nothing shocking in America about all kinds of people getting shot while doing all kinds of normal things. On April 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot by an angry old white Fox “News” aficionado [is there any other kind?] when the child ended up at the wrong address. For whatever reason, the New York Post made a big deal out of the “No Solicitors” sign on the shooter’s property. Perhaps “No Solicitors” to some Americans reads as “I Will Shoot You In The Head”. (If you are black, avoid Missouri unless you have a damn good reason to be there.)
On April 16 in Hebron, New York, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was shot dead by an angry white man when she turned into his driveway. We have yet to learn if either the Kansas City or the New York shooter feels any remorse, but you can count on one major political party to make excuses for trigger-happy Americans like them. In 1995, Rodney Peairs (Yoshihiro Hattori’s shooter) vowed he would never own a gun again — a vow that would be anathema to today’s American rightwingers.
Alabama Death Party
There are many good places to get shot in the “United” States: in your church, your school, your local mall, your place of employment, your home. But let’s not forget a popular choice for mass shooters: at a party. Four young people were shot dead with handguns on April 15 in Dadeville, Alabama, and 32 others were injured.
Good thing Alabama Governor Kay Ivey just last year signed a bill into law that ended the requirement for a person to obtain a permit to legally carry a concealed handgun in public, right? After this latest shooting she reminded folks that “Violent crime has no place in our state”. But the guns used for violent crime? They are very welcomed. An armed society is NOT a polite society.
Don’t Chase Your Ball
On April 18 in Gastonia, North Carolina, a 6-year-old girl was shot by an angry black man when her ball went into his yard and she went to retrieve it. For good measure, the girl’s father was shot in the back and seriously injured. Upon being interviewed after the incident, the girl apparently declared “I want him to go to jail forever”, which is kind of endearing to hear in a nation where so many citizens want the state to put people to death for certain crimes.
Stand Your Ground before your neighbor stands his
On April 13, Texas court records were released that detailed just how eager (and how racist) Daniel Perry — a racist murderer — was to go out and shoot at least one black man in Austin, Texas. Fortunately, this angry white gun nut murdered only one person, but that’s little consolation for Garrett Foster, the formerly 28-year-old black man (not formerly black — formerly alive). Garrett Foster was quite legally carrying an AK-47 rifle when he was killed. Perry claims to have felt threatened as his excuse for murdering Foster: “I believe he was going to aim it at me”. This is also usually legal in Texas because of idiotic laws in place to protect trigger-happy Americans (the so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws). The cherry on top in this story is that the day after Perry’s conviction, the radical extremist governor of Texas called for this thug to be pardoned. He can’t let Texans think for a minute that a white bigot might face prison for murdering a black man in cold blood.
Essentially anyone in the Stand Your Ground states can shoot anyone else. Just remember to tell the jury you felt threatened, and chances are you’ll be considered one of the “good guys”. This get out of jail free card perfectly illustrates the lunacy that awaits America as millions more guns are introduced into the population each year. This also brings up an interesting new way of looking at gun ownership in Red States. Black men have felt threatened by white gun owners dating back to slavery, with very good reason. As such, perhaps the best advice that can be given to black gun owners legally carrying in Stand Your Ground states is to shoot the white gun nuts before they shoot you, in any given situation. Sure, you’ll probably go to prison, but at least you’ll be alive.
Don’t Mess with The Wrong Car in Texas!
Also on April 18, cheerleader Payton Washington was shot in Elgin, Texas after opening the door to a vehicle she believed to be hers. There is no room for mistakes in Texas. Shooter Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr opened fire on Payton and three other cheerleaders. Maybe he should try the Stand Your Ground defense by claiming he’s an incel who feels threatened by cheerleaders.
An Armed Society Is NOT A Polite Society
On April 14, video of a police response earlier this month to a domestic violence call was released. The three cops weren’t sure they were at the right address when they showed up, but they shot the man there anyway since he was holding a gun. Turns out they were at the wrong address; the wife of the gunned down man then began exchanging gunfire with the police, not even knowing who shot her husband.
Isn’t it beautiful how guns sort things out so quickly? The new American creed may as well be “Shoot first, ask questions later”. (I’ve met actual Americans who are proponents of this life [death] philosophy, such as the mother of a serviceman who was shipped off to fight in Afghanistan years ago). As of mid-April, ~300 Americans have been shot dead by police so far this year.
Water bottles are missiles, guns are a harmless hobby
On April 16, USA Today revealed the consequences of a road rage (“rage au volant” in French) incident that occurred between two fathers in Nassau County, Florida last October. The trigger-happy “self-defense” shootings resulted in one dad’s daughter being shot in the leg and the other’s being shot in the back, collapsing her lung. Congrats on defending your families, gun nut dads. An armed society is NOT a polite society.
Because Florida is an idiotic Stand Your Ground state, authorities there had to do mental gymnastics to ensure that one dad was charged with three counts of attempted murder while the other faces no charges. Apparently a driver in Florida has the right to shoot you dead if you throw a bottle of water at their moving vehicle (but only if the water bottle has water in it). Meanwhile, aspiring neofascist Ron “Meatball” DeSantis signed into law a new 6-week abortion ban: a Floridian zygote must be protected since it could end up being an actual person who would be able to legally carry a concealed gun in public places… because, of course, Florida is “pro-life”.
The pro-death political party
Forget about all the good guys shooting their fellow Americans in mid-April: the real highlight of the week was the annual NRA gun fetishist convention (April 14-16) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Billed as a “freedom-filled weekend” for “patriots”, it showcased “over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear from the most popular companies in the Industry” [random capitalization of “Industry”, perhaps in honor of the 45th POTUS attending]. There you could learn that gun bans endanger lives, and that your right to own a gun has been granted to you by their god.
America’s pro-death political leaders such as the failed former POTUS and his VP (yes, the one he hates for not helping him steal the election) came to Indy to share their extremist, harebrained ideas for pumping more guns into the population. More detached from reality than he has ever been, the leader of Cult 45 blamed [what else] trans people, common psychiatric drugs and marijuana, gunless teachers, and anything but the fact that there are more guns in the USA than people. “Pro-life” Mike Pence voiced his desire to speed up the executions of mass shooters, which is sort of like more quickly picking up a banana peel off the sidewalk after you slip on it. No wonder Americans want to kill each other.
AI images created with NightCafe Studio.