President Obama is asking Muslims to speak up about suspicious persons, and I understand his wanting the people probably most likely to hear something disturbing to help identify dangerous people. But everyone should speak up if a threat or danger seems possible, including people who know mentally ill people with arsenals, people who overhear threats or "crazy talk". Yet we all know why people are hesitant: fear of reprisals, fear of scapegoating, lack of confidence in their own observations. Possibly it all hinges on whether or not we believe in interdependence or individualism, and how compassionate feel toward others.
What would I do? I hope I would have the courage to speak to authorities in order to possibly prevent others from being harmed. But I would be afraid. I would probably be second guessing my perceptions. If I'm honest I would have to say it would be a struggle for me. The San Bernadino attack has caused me to wonder if some of my neighbors have guns. I have been assuming I'm in a liberal enclave, but what do I know? After my father died, my brother and I discovered he had a handgun in the closet. My brother turned it in to the city police station. When my brother died I found a rifle, pellet guns, and machetes, and he killed himself with a handgun. I'd had no clue he had any of these weapons. I didn't even know what was going on in my own family. These weapons were no doubt meant as defensive, but their existence was disturbing. Would my brother have killed himself if he hadn't had a gun at the ready?
This territory is fraught with fear and confusion. We certainly can no longer pretend guns haven't entered our worlds, for they are ubiquitous. What we need is stricter control and more unheated dialogues about our responsibilities and our fears. It falls on all our shoulders to protect in ways that are preventative, and we need perhaps to know more about what constitutes danger signs.
No comments:
Post a Comment