I don't generally make a habit of listening to the news, unless something historically monumental is happening. Even with that, I can only stand so many hours of saturation. Sometimes events catch me by surprise, but usually I am better off for not being "in the know" about everything that MSM wants to throw at me.
One of the reasons I got off of Facebook this year also has to do with the negativity that seems to be rampant with everyone voicing their opinion about the economy, politics, racism, religion, gun control, abortion... ad nauseum.
Not so long ago, yet another mass shooting hit the headlines. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% opposed to murder in any form, and mass shootings are particularly heinous in that usually innocents are the targeted victims, as compared to a premeditated, targeted murder victim. A common response when any kind of mass tragedy occurs is to see social media flooded with postings of prayers for the victims and their loved ones. Following that is the typical knee-jerk rant response, something along the lines of "F* your prayers! Stop Gun violence... Ban guns..." etc.
This post is not about gun control or gun violence per se, but more an effort to bring some perspective when it comes to the hype, hypocrisy, and hysteria that is promulgated by politicians and media regarding those hot topics. California's governor Gruesome Newsom has lately jumped on that hysteria bandwagon with his recently signed AB 1594, which allows the state, local governments and Californians to sue "irresponsible gunmakers" for the harm caused by their products.
My question is this: Where do we draw the line? Take a look at these statistics on cause of deaths in the U.S. for the year 2020. (Most of this information was gathered from the CDC and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety websites.)
Of the estimated 3,383,729 U.S. deaths in 2020...
Compare those numbers with Gun Related Death statistics:
Here is the point I wish to make: The misuse of cars and the misuse of drugs kill around as many people as the misuse of guns. When are the politicians going to stop their hypocrisy? Why are they not signing bills allowing people to sue car manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and liquor companies for all of the deaths that are caused by the products they manufacture or prescribe?
Wake up folks. Guns, drugs, and cars do not kill. Angry, sad, frustrated, vengeful people kill. If they don't have a gun, they will use whatever tool they can put their hands on: knives, baseball bats, machetes, battery acid... and yes, cars.
What are we doing to fix the real problem?
