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https://atlantadailyworld.com/2022/06/08/the-rise-of-violence-in-america-how-many-more-must-die/
Digital
Daily
The
Rise of Violence in America: How Many MORE Must Die?
Site
Editor
June 8,
2022
The Rise of Violence in
America: How Many MORE Must Die?
By Santura Pegram
According to theologians,
murders have taken place since the beginning of time. And, according to
historians, murders on what is now known as U.S. soil have taken place since
long before America was founded in 1776 when The Thirteen Colonies (also
known as the United Colonies) merged in 1607.
However, what should be
disturbing about these seemingly never-ending tragedies that have left most
Americans stunned or borderline desensitized is the increasing frequency and
vulnerability of such public acts of violence taking place at a moment’s
notice, and how they leave us wondering when the next incident will take
place and who the next victims will be.
A mentally unstable Howard
Unruh did not commit the deadliest mass shooting of all time when he shot and
killed multiple people by himself in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 (his rampage
claimed 13 lives and wounded 3 others). Sadly, there have been and continue
to be other encounters that have unjustly claimed equal or far greater
numbers of mass casualties ever since then with alarming intensity over the
decades thereafter.
• In 1966, a mentally ill
ex-Marine took the lives of 17 and injured 37 others at the University of
Texas tower shooting.
• In 1975, the Easter Sunday
Massacre in Hamilton, Ohio, took the lives of 11 people (all relatives of the
shooter).
• Throughout the 1980’s, 4 more
separate mass shooting incidents killed a total of 73 victims and injured
another 27.
• In the 1990’s, 2 other
separate mass shootings took 39 lives and injured a combined 51 people.
• From 2000 to 2010, 72 more
people combined lost their lives in 4 more separate mass incidents and 66
were injured in those combined incidents.
• From 2011 to 2020, 267
additional people lost their lives in 13 separate mass shooting incidents and
1,132 others were injured in those combined incidents.
• And, from 2021 until June
2022, there have been 3 separate mass shooting incidents in public that have
claimed the lives of 44 people total and injured a combined 23. The latest
being an unfathomable ordeal that snatched the lives of 19 third and fourth
grade defenseless children between the ages of 9 to 11-years old.
We know the numbers of innocent
victims of such encounters are continuing to rise at record levels. We know
that a growing segment of society is battling with serious mental health
issues that need immediate psychological attention. We know that at any given
moment any one of us (or one or more of our loved ones) can be caught in the
midst of such a fateful encounter. Yet, two questions remain: First, why does
it take such tragic events to happen to people directly to spark them to want
to do something about a life-or-death problem that possibly could have been
prevented?
And secondly, why must it take
more public policy makers at every level of government to risk suffering a
violent attack on themselves or a member of their own family (like former
Congresswoman Gabby Gifford; the victims of the Kirkwood, Missouri City
Council shooting; Clarksburg, West Virginia City Councilman Jimmy Malfregeot
or the son of former Florida state legislator Daphne Campbell) before such
political windbags will stop squandering their time in office and find the
courage to move swiftly and push for widespread, mandatory changes to
firearms manufacturing (which includes biometric – RFID technology and Ghost
Gun fabrication), limiting the number of outlets where guns are sold in each
state, implement intense sales specifications with severe punitive sanctions
against sellers who violate the law, and strengthening licensing mandates?
The NRA must begin to
understand that the government is not and should not be out to take away the
right to bear arms of NRA members. Instead, the people (‘government’) merely
seek to prevent guns from continuing to get into the hands of mentally and
emotionally challenged people and irresponsible children and young adults who
misuse such weapons.
Oddly enough, if the U.S.
government was able to disrupt the Goliath tobacco industry (an annual
multi-billion dollar generating sector) and make tobacco companies legally
liable for the effects of their harmful products upon consumers, then surely
the same approach should be applied to another annual multi-billion dollar
generating industry – gun manufacturing companies – when their weapons are
used to take a life unjustifiably. The families of deceased shooting victims
and/or living survivors deserve the right to file a major lawsuit against not
only the person/people responsible for maiming or killing an innocent
victim(s), but judicial systems should help hold gun manufacturing companies
accountable like Philip Morris International, R.J. Reynolds Company, Altria
Group, and other tobacco companies have been
forced to do.
The NRA and their lobbyists
appear out-of-touch attempting to downplay the fact that the United States
has had more mass shootings than any other country. That should be
unacceptable. A mass shooting, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Gun
Violence Archive, is defined as “firearm violence resulting in at least four
people being shot at roughly the same time and location.” In the U.S., there
have been well over 2,100 mass (public) shootings since 2013. Latest research
reveals 417 in 2019, 610 in 2020, and 692 in 2021. See how bad it really is –
(https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/)
Unfortunately, community
violence is a monster that will require
EVERYONE to tackle it if
you expect to live in a peaceful community without the fear of becoming a
potential victim.
Stop
depending solely upon the police to protect you
because this animal is much bigger than even law enforcement can handle
alone, and despite what any clergy leaders tell you this is not something you
can simply pray away. Prayer (meaning
faith) without ‘action’ is dead. So, everyone must do more to
thwart potentially violent situations.
Take the time
to sit and talk with younger people and genuinely get to know them
on a personal level.
Show them that they can trust you,
and in turn, they will begin to show you the same in return.
Don’t judge
them for making a few errors along the way, but let them
know the importance of making good decisions and not-so-good decisions
throughout their lifetime.
Show
them…don’t just tell them…what “respect, love, and altruism” really means, and watch them improve because many (if not most) want to
come out of the streets but do not know how or lack other realistic (economic)
options.
Teach them
about anger management & conflict resolution skills. Those
variables may likely save their life one day or prevent them from throwing it
away.
And, whatever you do, be
conscious of who you choose to vote for and expect to represent you in public
office.
Advocate for
term limits to be implemented at every level of government to prevent
corruption and complacency by those holding such
positions. Without hesitation, vote incumbents out of office who display a
disinterest or refusal to fight for the necessities of your
community…safety-wise, economic-wise, and general service-wise.
Society may have gone astray
the last few decades, but we can still turn things around and find our way,
back to a sensible, safer community before it’s too late if we seek to find
the right roadmap to follow.
That begins with confronting the challenging topics most people prefer to
avoid – like racism, classism, ageism, ableism, genderism, ignorance, and
greed that make life more cumbersome than what it already is for the average
person. Help people instead of dismissively hurting them and watch peace and
prosperity appear.
* Santura Pegram (santura.pegram@yahoo.com) is a
freelance writer and socially conscious business consultant who has helped to
advise small businesses; nonprofit organizations; city, county, and state
governmental committees; elected officials; professional athletes; and school
systems. His son died from gun violence in 2012.
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