The Shootings

The first time I heard about the two mass shooting, one in El Paso the other in Dayton, was this morning when I began checking out the news and reading the opinion sections. They weren’t much covered in Europe.

Although I am as dismayed as the editors of the Washington Post about them, I don’t agree as much with their prescriptions. From the speech they wish that President Trump had delivered:

Today, I am calling on Congress to return to Washington for an immediate joint session, to give up their district politicking and take action to combat gun violence. Enact a ban on sales of military-style assault rifles, as well as high-capacity magazines. This weaponry was made for war; its purpose is to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. It doesn’t belong on our streets.

Make background checks mandatory. And for those who have other ideas, such as federal licensing and buy-backs, come forward, and we will work on them. I have instructed my administration to undertake a major scientific research effort on gun violence that will help us chart more answers in the long term. We must free ourselves of a special interest lobby. I will personally campaign for the solutions as hard as I can and invite those from both parties to join me.

I am also sick about the rivers of hate speech and fear coursing through our society. It is time to assert, in the boldest way we can: In America, there is no room for racism, no tolerance for hatred, no silence in the face of those who incite racial violence and preach manifestos of supremacy. We welcome and value all Americans, no matter where they or their ancestors came from.

As difficult as it will be, we must confront this dark sickness on the digital pathways, on the cultural playgrounds and in the classrooms. This is not only a job for government. It is a mission for all of us, but I am asking law enforcement to boost its attention to combating domestic terrorism.

“Assault weapons” is a catch-all term for scary firearms that members of Congress don’t like. It does not have a rigorous definition. It has been illegal for ordinary citizens to own fully automatic weapons other than under very restricted circumstances for 80 years. I would have no objection to “high capacity magazines” being banned as long as they are defined clearly and reasonably. I don’t think it would have much effect.

I agree that we should be lowering the temperature of discourse. I am saddened that the term “racism” has now been so overused and applied so inappropriately as to become meaningless. Is it racist when President Trump’s ICE separates migrant families from their children but not when President Obama’s ICE does the same thing? Separating children from their parents is a commonplace nationwide when the parents have been arrested for committing crimes, even minor ones. Is it only racist when the laws being broken are those governing entering the country illegally?

I fear that the same thing is happening to “white supremacy”. Let’s define things narrowly and accurately. At least we’ll all understand what is meant.

IMO the factors being the number of mass shooting in the United States are

• We’re five or ten times or more as large as France, Germany, or Norway. The prevalence of mass shooting in Norway, France, and Switzerland is higher than in the United States.
• The availability of firearms. This is a jinn that cannot be returned to the bottle.
• Treatment of the mentally ill.
• Low social cohesion at the best of times.
• Mass immigration actually reduces social cohesion and introduces stresses that would not otherwise be present.

If that’s white supremacy so be it.