Gun Culture in USA - Time to Stop This

I'm sure many of us are stunned that week in week out there are reports of angry people, mainly from the good old USA who are pulling out rifles and shooting indescriminately or targetting people (love rivals,ex-bosses etc.) and causing substantial loss of life, injuries and massive grief for those affected. However, one thing strikes me, in almost all cases, the shooters are MEN.

Young, old, all races and dispositions they are MEN.The saddest thing is that, according to the documentary film-maker Michael Moore, the number of gun related deaths in the USA is 11,000 per year as compared to that of Britain or other so called developed societies like UK or Germany where the deaths are only in their 'teens. Psychologists also need to study the reasons for a) why only men or young men go berserk with the massive collateral damage inflicted on the population ever so often b) the desensitisation of death due to popular computer games making "killing" by beheading and shooting a Worldwide Online Multiplayer game.
Games such as Gunz, Counter Strike and Warcraft all come to mind.

Killing people is good, the more you do it the higher your score and status in the game. That is the indirect message played out again and again, of course the 'bad guys' are carrying swords or warlocks or guns of different tribes.

Somehow, there seems to be a blurring between the lines of reality and virtuality so much so that ONE cannot differentiate between one or the other. That can easily happen to mentally unstable or depressed people.

"After you die I will take over your game OK ? " is a phrase many kids waiting to play after their friends have used up their *Health, * Power or *Lives. Its so easy to kill and be killed in the virtual world and come back to life in the next frame.

IN THIS WORLD, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE. MAKE THE MOST OF IT.

In the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution US Bill of Rights, it says it "protects a right to keep and bear arms". Yes, well and good when you have a war going on against the British 200 + years ago (1770s...1790s).

When you have semi-automatic and sub-machine guns, long range high powered rifles(OK, they have banned the use of these but people can still get them if they have the right 'connections'),when owning a handgun or a rifle is as easy as going to a shop and buying it off the shelf, it is a recipe for DISASTER.

I am thankful that Singapore is a tightly regulated country with total bans on guns and drugs as these 2 items seem to go hand-in -hand. We might appear too controlled but it is strict control with excellent results. "Land of the Free" - refers to Singapore in my opinion as our citizens, women and children can wander FREE from fear of being robbed, harassed,molested or worse. It is that FREEDOM FROM FEAR is the Ultimate Freedom.

"With great power comes great responsibility" - from the Movie "Spiderman"

Give a person a gun and he assumes the power to take many lives with a small amount of effort. If he is clinically depressed, has low self esteem, antisocial or just had a bad day there is this immense danger that a shooter can cause untold damege physically and for sure scar mentally all those involved in a mass shooting.Just look at the Columbine University, University of Techmology Virginia shootings. Many of those teenagers and adults involved will have psychological problems for years to come.Mental depression or insomnia can lead people to 'snap' and having a weapon of tremendous power at one's disposal can cause a tragedy.

The killers' rationale were simple : "Hey I live a screwed up life, but at least I can go down in infamy, most remembered by being a mass killer, the more killed the better." TWISTED LOGIC, TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES.

If you can get the psychiatrists and psychologists fast enough to counsel these guys the better, but look at the root causes : a) Pop culture glorifying violence and b) the 2nd Amendment. We can't do much about the first as each generation will have their own pop culture.At least the Powers that be must attempt to do one thing.

Its time to Demolish the real Weapon of Mass Destructon : the 2nd Amendment.

C'mon Mr. Obama, how many more innocent people will have to die or be haunted for decades in the name of Freedom ? !!