The Catskill Chronicle

by Mort Malkin

Now that we’ve heard from the rest of the media about the recent violence in Arizona — call it terrorism — Gadfly has a few thoughts beyond the networks.

No one, from the media to the President, is calling the white, male gunman a terrorist. Doesn’t the semi-automatic gun with which he shot off 30 rounds at a clip qualify as a weapon of mass destruction? Does one have to be a fundamentalist Muslim to be a true terrorist?

Next, we must consider the trigger quick handgun that seems to have no raison d’etre except in a drug lord war or for mass murder and mayhem. No one ever bought one for hunting deer or elk, not even for times you might come upon a herd of caribou. The Arizona gunman shot off 31 rounds in 15 seconds. We must restrict all gun magazines to a capacity of two bullets, if the NRA squawks, negotiations can be held and the maximum number can be raised 50% to three bullets per magazine.

Before the semi-automatic carnage (not Glockenspiel) in Tucson, the far- out right was shouting political slogans couched in the language of firearms, words that wove a fabric of violence in American society. Sarah, of the North, in the weeks leading up to the 2010 elections, called on “real Americans” not to retreat but reload, reload, reload. She posted a map that focused on a few select election precincts, highlighting them with gunsight crosshairs, with Congress member Gabrielle Giffords’ district as a prime target. Elsewhere around the lower 48, The Tea Party spoke of 2nd Amendment solutions to political issues and superimposed bulls eyes over photos of elected officials who dared vote for the mildest controls on any weapons from antique dueling pistols to military assault rifles. Why didn’t they select from a compendium of sports metaphors: slam dunk, full court press, goal line stands, end runs …? Why not bases loaded in place of loaded 9 mm semi-automatics? After the mad violence in Tucson, Sarah Palin turned poet and said “When we take up arms, we’re talking about voting.” A stretched metaphor at best. She was sticking to her guns.

The venue of the violence also calls out for a few words. Arizona is a hotbed of Minutemen Patriots, the self styled guardians of our borders who locate Latinos looking for work, desert survivors who elude the Border Patrol. It seems these Arizonans would take the law into their own hands. The Minutemen are unpaid, but that doesn’t mean they’re vigilantes; and although they aren’t educated by the INS, they do get on the job training. Isn’t diversity among the states glorious? Perhaps Arizona is trying to form a constellation with the Lone Star State.

A few folks, a Congressman among them, have suggested that if more citizens were armed, someone passing by could have stopped the carnage with a well placed bullet. Well, a citizen with a gun heard the gunshots and came running over. As he came on the scene, a couple of bystander heroes had already tackled the murderous gunman who was trying to reload and another had wrestled away his gun. The just arrived citizen took out his loaded revolver and was about to shoot the hero who had the semi-automatic in hand. Others shouted at the newcomer not to shoot and why. Interviewed on one of the networks, he said he really was going to shoot the man who has secured the still hot “Glock” when it was suggested he had the wrong man. He said “I was lucky.”

The Gadfly Revelry & Research team has gone into executive cabal and decided on a few initiatives for the national agenda:

• Notwithstanding the questionable interpretation of the 2nd Amendment that avers it applies to individuals as well as state militias, private citizens should not own or operate antitank guns, rocket propelled grenades, surface to air missiles, or military assault weapons that take clips of multiple rounds. Nor is there any reason for Teflon coated, armor-piercing bullets at the high end of ballistics technology or Saturday Nite Specials for the common man. Even K Mart, a profit making company saw the wisdom of eliminating the sale of bullets it once offered at 17¢ per.

• Mental illness must be defined as a disease and treated in a comprehensive fashion with well scheduled follow up for out-patients and hospitalization available for those who would do better as in-patients.

• There should be no privatization of the armed forces, prisons, or the border patrol. Certainly not Social Security. All candidates for public punditry should take courses in poetry to learn the difference between metaphor and a barely disguised call for armed opposition to the tyrannical government.

• The government itself can promote an atmosphere of peace and amicable discussion by downsizing the Pentagon — just remove one of the inner rings — and establishing a cabinet level Department of Peace. Then, at least three Peace Academies  are needed to balance the Military Academies at West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs. The Marine Corps — the Leathernecks — are obsolete in these days of push button warfare and can be deleted.

We all need to learn the arts of diplomacy and conciliation. Let us convert the War College to a School of Pacifist Arts. Then we will have evolved socially to a higher species.

*Editor’s note –

The Catskill Chronicle exists to help inform the public about itself. The views and opinions expressed on our pages are the property of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catskill Chronicle.