Guns a way of death
Short -rodneyc...12
I grew up with guns, my father a police officer had a gun for every purpose and a gun for every room. I learned to shoot, clean, and honor weapons from an early age. But, strangely I learned to hate them as well. You see, I also grew up in what was then called the Murder Capital of the U.S. -East St. Louis which for several years had the highest murder per capita than any city Chicago, Detroit, and New York included. It seems that many bodies would just show up on the banks of the Mississippi river, on our side that is, for the city had few funds to actually launch an extensive investigation, and back then few actual links between police departments existed. ()Now we have the internet, and more formal and recognized communications). Killing was always in season, as people found any excuse to shoot, maimed or kill their neighbors. And yes, I also lived in one of those draconian states (Illinois) that actually legalized assault and semi assault weapons. Going to the loc al pawn shop you could find anything from ozzies, magnums, glocks, Smith and Wesson, rugars and colts were sold, bartered, and available -cheaper than dirt. You could get a bareta, windham ar-12 semi auto carbine, chiappa -you name it, they had it. And, hey if you did not have a permit, one could be obtained for a few extra dollars -illegal cost a bit more. Thus, the police were out gunned, while both criminals and citizens boldly displayed, enjoyed and sometimes worshipped their arms. Even preachers in the pulpit, judges on their benches, and teachers in schools joined the pimp, the prostitute, and the thug in this environment of destruction. I never saw a good gun yet, never saw the need to carry one for as my father used to preach 'If you carry it, you damn well better be ready to use it. Nothings worse than a wimp with a gun." Well, I was a wimp without a gun. The War, the streets, and the useless deaths convinced me that guns are not and should not be so readily available. And then I discovered something. It is not a gun that makes you safe. In fact, the more guns there are the more unsafe the community actually is. Drinks, mental illness, drugs, fear, despair, ignorance, distrust, and a whole slew of very human conditions are a leathal mixture in such an environment. Guns only accomplish one thing -they kill.
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The song that lies silent in the heart of a mother sings upon the lips of her child..
Kahlil Gibran
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Rodney D. Coates
Professor and Interim Director of Black World Studies
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