Monday, December 31, 2007

Gunning for trouble

It's probably a knee-jerk reaction after watching Bowling for Columbine yesterday but I have second thoughts about going to the US. The film is fascinating and thought-provoking like other Michael Moore documentaries. For 2 hours, I was riveted with shock, horror and yes, amusement at the omnipresent gun culture in the US.

It seems like the freedom to carry arms (in the 2nd Amendment or something) has gone terribly wrong. I buy guns to protect myself and my family from other people who carry guns and shoot my family so I shoot them back and they shoot me again. So when does the cycle end?

I found it quite hilarious when a gun magnate justifies his promotion of guns by quoting the 2nd Amendment repeatedly. Americans are really big on rights. Can you imagine us mentioning our Constitutional freedoms in front of a Mediacorp camera?

Michael Moore then interviewed the Canadians who have easy access to guns too but have a much lower gun mortality rate. Why? If MM's theory is right, the inclination to carry guns stems from fear. Americans are scared because their news channels selectively report all the terrible things that are happening in their country. Conversely, Canada is not under a political regime that "brainwashes" its people with fear hence Canadians do not lock their doors at night (is that still true now? I remember Cui telling me the shootouts they have in Toronto).

When the documentary ended, I just felt incredibly sad after watching a 6 year-old gun down his friend (6 years old too).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It ends when I gun down everyone else except the guy who makes the bullets.

Anonymous said...

still true. but toronto is still much safer. i don't have worries that some random guy would pull out a gun and shot someone in a restaurant (i have such thots in nyc).

Anyway, guns are illegal in canada.. probably explains lower gun mortality.

Oh. and happy new year!

Anonymous said...

watchd it before too. obviously, gun laws havent changed much since. oh do u knw, rachel has a biography.. she's one of the girls who was askd pt blank if she believed in christ. -rouen