Short Takes – Perspectives in Violence

Opinion

Perspective, about deadly events, means nothing if you are the victim facing any threat that could kill you. Currently, the objet d’jour of outrage is against guns because they are noisy, frightening and, if semi-automatic, can do a lot of damage quickly. One such, in the hands of a disturbed individual just killed a lot of innocent people as well. But, so can a determined person with a vehicle by smashing into crowds of holiday makers, school children lining up for their bus or pedestrians window shopping on a city street. Jihadists are using this inexpensive technique.

 

The violence by guns statistics of Chicago, Baltimore, St. Louis and Detroit alone, makes the perspective of other means of violent death seem trivial in comparison. Deaths in the four cities mentioned exceed the numbers of soldiers killed in Middle-East conflicts.  American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq in an eleven year period, 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. Add the number of American women killed in domestic violence by husbands or boyfriends, at 11,766, and it nearly doubles the number of casualties killed in the recent wars.

 

Here’s where ‘perspective‘ changes. In 2015, 10,265 people died in drunk driving collisions  accounting for nearly a third of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. 209 children, aged one to fourteen, were among those statistics as victims of drunk drivers. In 2015, nearly 1.1 million drivers were apprehended for DUI by alcohol or narcotics. A studied survey conducted by the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers group revealed 14,000,000 (yes, 14 million) people drive impaired daily on our streets and highways. Where is the outrage?

 

On top of that, the death rates caused by illegals lurking in sanctuary cities, is unbelievable. What happens to them? They are sometimes deported only to return a few months later to do it all over again.  Another large contributor to the high vehicle death rate is driving while texting. The death rate here is roughly nine killed and a thousand injured every day. Using cell phones accounts for nearly 1.6 million crashes a year (2015 statistics).

 

Deaths by Domestic violence has occurred since the beginning of time between two partners who have a disagreements. Usually it’s men vs. women, often resulting in death or injury to responding police officers. Add in the Gay partnerships and well, they’re not immune either.  

 

A really big death offender is the medical and pharmacies industry. 100,000 Americans are killed annually by drugs prescribed by doctors (Source: www.CDC.gov). These killings go on year after year with no consequences to drug companies or doctors. Doctors can simply bury their mistakes. Overdose deaths average 13 teenagers an hour yet no one in the Congress has the courage to seal the Mexican-US border from the $50 billion in drugs crossing there annually.  At least 64,000 Americans died from illegal drugs in 2016 that crossed our southern border. (Source: www.drugabuse.gov).  Did I not mention killings, by knives, hammers or baseball bats? 1,490 people were killed by cutting instruments in 2013. Rifles, including the AR-15, killed only 285 folks while shotguns killed 308. The highest death rates have been in “gun free” zones.

The discussion on “gun violence” is the mantra of the Left. They only want complete and total gun confiscation. To them, no other solution is worthy of discussion. Our society is seriously divided between constitutionalists and the dark forces of complete socialism. A disarmed America is their total goal. Once the 2nd amendment is neutralized and Americans are relieved of the responsibility for their own self-defense, then watch the crushing mantle of Communism spread over the land, enforced by the only armed group left, their police forces. Remember, freedom is the goal, the Constitution is the way. Now, go get ‘em!

1 Comment

  1. Thomas M. George February 26, 2018 at 10:00 am

    Love the analogies you’ve made, though somewhat misguided, in your weak attempt to throw Liberals/Democrats under the NRA bus. Let’s look at them piece by piece, shall we?

    You mention that a vehicle could be used for the same purpose, and indeed it could be. However, that driver, assuming he/she is an American citizen, has to “register” him/herself with the state DMV and the vehicle has to have the same registration, whether owned, leased or rented by the driver. The driver also has to pass a state sponsored driver’s test, both written and demonstrative, after completing many hours of behind the wheel training. Then they get their fingerprints taken as well as a photo for the state issued license.

    Buy a gun in Georgia… go to a local Gun Show and find a private seller, buy the gun, walk out the door with no one the wiser, perhaps including the buyer. That buyer has no training, no registration, and in the case of a cash transaction, no record of the purchase. Let’s close this loophole on the state and national level first before it comes back to bite us all.

    For the record, I am a holder of a Georgia Concealed Cary Permit and I have multiple weapons in my home. I have also taken a gun safety course. When I purchase a gun through a licensed vendor I show my license, fill out paperwork which includes a submission of the weapon’s serial number, the seller’s registration information and my personal information to the U.S. ATF (so there is already a registration list held by the government, so don’t even go there), pay my money and walk out the door. Very similar to buying a car with a valid driver’s license. Try buying a car without one from a dealer and see how far you get.

    Even if I buy a car from an individual, to be able to use that vehicle I have to register it, license it and insure it. When I got my Carry Permit, I submitted to fingerprinting and a background check, both very painless. It was actually more trouble to fill out the forms than anything else, and that took all of 10-15 minutes.

    Why you would throw the prescription drug trade and illegal drugs under the same bus is beyond me. Although both severe problems in the U.S. they stem from very different sources. Prescription drugs, particularly the opioid issue needs to be addressed with the AMA and Big Rx, both of which have Congress in their pockets, so good luck with that. But it is easy to see that over-prescribing of these drugs is the issue that must be resolved, insurance reimbursement being a core issue in this fight. Let’s back more effective pain treatment methods and allow insurance companies to reimburse at a higher rate for these than for opioids. I’ll bet you’ll see a decline in prescriptions written if there’s more money in physical therapy or even some alternate therapies.

    Drunk/distracted driving needs to be addressed as well and requiring “hands-free” use of cell phones is the first step. Many municipalities around the metro area have taken this on already, Smyrna being among the first, let’s make it state wide. Since this would be a valuable safety feature let’s require it in all new cars and trucks. It is already an option on most vehicles and rather low cost too; only a hundred dollars or so for the upgraded radio with this capability over standard. Let’s mandate that!

    Immigration and violence perpetrated by illegals is a slippery slope as most of the violence stems from the small minority, just like in the citizen population. The majority of immigrants, whether legal or illegal, come to this country seeking opportunity, freedom and a better life for them and their children. However, should one run afoul of the law they should be dealt with just like any citizen would be dealt with. And if that means prisons in the Arizona/Texas desert near the border, let’s build one real fast and use that available labor force to build Trump’s wall. We’ll make everyone happy (except the convicts) and the right-wing loonies will get their wall at a low cost. At least we won’t waste as much tax payer money to prove how ineffective the wall would be.

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