Living In Irrational Fear

Some people... err...too.many Americans are acting strangely in response to the horrendous school shooting on Dec. 13th in Connecticut that killed 20 first graders. The approximately 50% of Americans who own firearms (I don't and want no part of any firearms) are now further arming themselves with more guns in order to "protect" themselves from whomever they think is a threat to their safety. This even though statistics say that it is a rare occasion when an American is the victim of a violent crime.

The Connecticut tragedy has generated record sales in many states. One politician has even called or teachers to be armed with handguns. I suspect that is the dumbest idea yet known to man. In point of fact, statistics say that a person who keeps a gun in his or her home for "protection" is 10,000 times more likely to be shot by a firearm (and often by his own gun). Those occasions for which a person in the U.S. would need a firearm for protection are rare, but the media hype about safety has them sacred and looking for more firepower. I guess it is the "my gun is better than your gun theory". Many criminals get their weapons from those same gun owning people who have their guns stolen and used by the criminals in commission of crimes. The more firearms sold to fearful protectors, the more will get into the hands of the few criminals who would use them.

And ironically, the same people who are buying more and more guns are also the ones who are buying the most offensive items related to guns I have yet heard about. At least three companies make an armored backpacks designed to shield children caught in a shootings. Those sellers are are reporting a large spike in sales and interest. Yep! Panicked parents are buying combat style backpack armor (they sell for about $150 to $300) to put on their children when sending them off to school. That is the greatest over-reaction since Lindsay Lohan said she was a "responsible driver". Fear of terrorists, fear of Mexico, fear of gangs, fear of general criminals, fear of a tyrannical government taking power..... Its paranoia of way too many Americans. The media feeds them the fear and they expand it.

Fear drives irrational behavior, as in "armor can help children just as it can help soldiers". But with children its important to act maturely and responsibly to a tragic event such as the Connecticut shootings. Sending children to school in armored backpacks is not a healthy response to fear about mass shootings. Armor plated backpacks do not serve to keep children safe. Instead they serve to increase the child's fear and their suspicion of their school mates, and to teach that fear is a good behavior for which to guide one's life.

As always, My dislike of the communication devices thrust upon us makes me lay much of the blame for the mindless paranoia of the gun nuts on the electronic media that feeds us so much (useless) information that we fail to process intelligently and adequately.
Having written that, I hope I don't have to arm myself with one of those backpacks.