Six Word Memoirs on Life Stories

Dhani says,

Neither party is inclined to begin a motion to BAN all WEAPONS OF WAR off Main St.

Dhani says,

Yeah, but let's start placing CRAZY people in mental institutions, like in the old days, not in our prisons -and the govt. is filling them up in the thousands with the mentally deranged.

Staraj says,

When I was in grade school, many decades ago, the worst thing that might happen to me, on any given day, would be a fistfight. And frankly, most fights back then were basically short-lived wrestling matches. Leaving the participants with mussed hair, a few scratches, and maybe a black eye.

In light of today's horror, I assumed this six would garner responses from both sides of the gun control debate. But I'm not on either side. I'm on the side of trying to figure out how to get everyone to have healthy self-esteem. Would such attainment eliminate all killings? No. I'm not that naïve. However, we can't give up on ourselves – and thus our society. In 2010, 12,996 people were killed in the United States with a firearm. In that same year, 32,885 were killed in automobile accidents. Which machine is the deadliest? A specious comparison? Not worthy of debate?

I haven't owned a firearm since I inherited my grandfather's 22 when I was a boy. (I frankly can't remember what I did with it so long ago.) But I do have plans to purchase a couple of firearms in the near future. One for hunting – which I'd like to pursue on a minimal scale at this stage of my life. And one for home/personal protection – which I hope will never be necessary, but which I won't hesitate to make necessary if events warrant.

Magazine capacity, bolt action, bore size, bullet fragmentation. A few terms with which I have some familiarity. What gun characteristic could possibly be sacrificed to eliminate mass shootings? A thought-provoking question – as I intended with this six – is designed to elicit thought-provoking answers.

To be sure, crazy people do crazy things. What things does a gun crazy society do? What should it do?

marymc says,

He didn't want to take out the most. He wanted to take out his mother's class. My mom taught 1st grade. She loved those kids beyond her own. He wanted to kill his mother more than once.

Staraj says,

Breivik killed 77. But that's just a number, isn't it?

The "efficiency debate" is a sub-component of the gun control debate. If a homeless person is killed, who cares? Perhaps, not even the next of kin – assuming they can be located. And how hard will the police department try to solve a crime against just another nobody living and dying in the gutter? However, wanton acts of violence in public places with multiple innocent victims affect us terribly, because maybe it will be us or a loved one next time.

I have no idea what big number corresponds to Breivik's I.Q. Indubitably, he is a fiendishly clever man. His attack was carefully planned and executed (certainly, no pun intended) just about flawlessly. But body counts shouldn't matter to this debate. Nor should body ages – as difficult as that is for me to state on this day. If the majority of Norwegian society is sufficiently outraged by Breivik's act, that nation's gun control laws may be revisited. Of course, no gun control can ever neutralize a lunatic's mind. (And mind control is equally problematic.) So, our best bet is to try to keep evolving beyond mayhem's threats. The threats we pose to each other.

Lord knows, our prehistoric ancestors dealt with mayhem or the threat of mayhem most of the days of their lives. Primarily from predatory animals and violent weather. One assumes some of that mayhem was generated from the "internal affairs" of tribes, or tribes versus tribes campaigns. How often was someone clubbed or stoned to death because of a slight or a perceived slight? Sticks and stones. Weapons of mass destruction from a bygone age.

Anything used to attack another is an "assault weapon" in that moment. Any thing. Whether an AK-47 or a shish kebab skewer. And the sad evidence to date suggests the most unsuspected among us can suddenly become a "Manchurian candidate" possessing great skill with a club, a stone, or a Glock. Whack 'em up. Shoot 'em up. That'll show 'em. Indeed, it does show us. After the carnage.

We're not on lock down yet. Not yet. But we desperately want someone to show us THE WAY.

accidentaltourist says,

The point of body ages is well taken. Would it be any less tragic if the crazy man entered a senior living center and assassinated a group of helpless grannies and gramps in gerichairs? or a generic office building, taking out an entire customer service, advertising, or marketing department in one fell swoop?

There is a family "legend," if you will, told among my relatives, in which my great-grandfather allegedly killed a man with a pair of ice tongs. What the motive might have been and whether it was caluclated or in a fit of rage is unknown, but dead is still dead. A harmless tool of his trade became a weapon in an instant.

Staraj says,

This follow-up comment is somewhat of a non sequitur, since it's not a direct reply to any posting in this particular thread. But I wanted to throw it in because I believe it's apropos. First, here's a six I spoke a few years ago before I even knew SMITH existed:

"Have you got the safety on?"

I watch "Up with Chris Hayes" on MSNBC just about every weekend. This morning, one of his guests was Carolyn McCarthy, a congressional representative from New York. She was a logical panelist – or perhaps illogical depending on some perspectives – on this day following the Connecticut shooting. In 1993, McCarthy's husband was one of the victims of the Long Island Rail Road multiple killings. That event spurred her to campaign for gun control and later run successfully for public office.

At one point during this morning's discussion, she made a point of telling the host that she now preferred the term "gun safety" to "gun control". Since, the latter term so instantly causes people to make assumptions about motives. When she said "gun safety", it made me recall that "SMITH six word question" moment from a few years ago on a forest road as I rode along in a rickety old pickup truck with the guy I sometimes assist harvesting firewood.

He carries his hunting rifle in his truck, in case an animal in season for legal hunting is spotted. On this occasion, as has happened many times before, he spotted a grouse – his favorite game bird. After slowing to a stop, he grabbed his rifle and put it on the seat next to me to prepare to load a shot cartridge. Without hesitation, I asked this experienced hunter, "Have you got the safety on?" I meant no disrespect, but I know you can NEVER be too careful with a gun. Carelessness kills. All too often those we cherish most.

Just a week ago, a father accidentally shot and killed his seven-year-old son, when the father's handgun went off in the parking lot of a Pennsylvania gun store. As the Associated Press reported: "The boy was settling into his safety seat in the back of his father's car when the gun accidentally went off and [a bullet] pierced his chest. He died at the scene."

The father, we learned, had gone to the gun store to sell a rifle and his 9 millimeter handgun, but the owner wasn't interested in purchasing either. So, he dejectedly returned to his car with the firearms. But although he had unloaded the handgun at home, he failed to realize there was still a bullet in the chamber. He didn't double check. Or triple check.

I have no desire to pile on this grief-stricken father. He'll be on suicide watch for the rest of his life. We can feel sorry for him, but we can also thank him in a seemingly odd way for this profound lesson.

Ostensibly, Representative McCarthy has no desire to abolish legal gun ownership. But she obviously believes some things can be done to make society safer amidst legal firearm possession. She appears to be asking: "Have we got the safety on?"

TheUnknownComic says,

Hieronimo - 9mm handgun does not have the penetration or stopping power of a .223 AR15 - 800-1200 fps compared to 2700-3200 fps this why a lot of body armor does not protect you from rifle rounds but will stop handgun rounds. That being said I've often wondered why the 12 gauge with a wide choke and 00 buckshot isn't the mass murder weapon of choice instead of the AR15.

Dhani - What do you think of Harry Reid being a gun carrier? Or that Diane Feinstein has a CCW (conceal carry)? Or that Michael Moore big time gun control advocate and liberal has armed guards? Armed guards that get arrested for having unregistered and illegal guns? Hypocrisy is hilarious.

Only government employees should have guns, like the postal workers or that fine example of police use of firearms displayed in NYC in September of this year (spoiler the cops killed more innocent bystanders than the unsub (1 to 3 with 6 others wounded by the boys in blue if I remember right - happened near the Empire State if anybody cares to google it).

Staraj says,

Inanimate objects don't kill people. Objects animated by gravity, wind, or people kill people. Repeal animation now!