Guns and Firearms

I’ve never agreed with people having guns.  Probably because I grew up during the war, I understood how dangerous they were.  Those who have never experienced the casualties of war, can only guess what damage a gun can do.  On top of that, it would seem the world has great delight in building bigger and better guns.  I know guns can be used as a sport, but when does killing a person become a sport?

Once it was swords and knives mankind used to kill a foe or an intruder.  Then it became bows and arrows followed by muskets.  All the way up the ladder, means of killing people have improved making it easier for people to be out of range of the person they wish to kill.  Now people can sit in a room on the other side of the world and arrange for an explosion to land on a building from a drone. 

Please don’t think I want us to go back to the bows and arrows, or to sword fighting.  At least with sword fighting it was one against one, where as now we are killing many with one action.  But I do wonder why we have this desire to kill off other people?  And no matter what ammunition is used, it is all being used to kill another person.

When it was sword fighting there was a skill involved.  Each sword fighter had to practice for hours to improve their skills.  Pulling the trigger of the current weaponry doesn’t require practice, especially as most have guidance software to send the bullet or missile to its target.

Somewhere I think we have lost the plot.  What is the reason behind it all?  Why have we got to kill others in the first place?  Was mankind really put on this planet to get rid of anybody else?  I don’t think so.  And if we keep killing off everyone else, who will help or trade with us to provide food and buildings to keep us alive?

When I was a child, my older brother used to enjoy Cow Boys and Indians movies.  They were all the rage.  The cow boys had guns, whereas the Indians only had bows and arrows.  Guess who always won?  And guess what my brother always wanted to be?

When I think back on those movies, it was a power thing.  No wonder there is this hatred of the white man by the Red Indians in America.  The same can be said about the Europeans in any country they took over.  The gun put them in a position of power, so they could take the land and its minerals.  I am not arguing here whether it is right or wrong, I am pointing out that because the white man had guns, they were more powerful.  They were bound to win. 

But the white man taking over other nations was a couple of centuries ago.  Why in some countries do people still carry guns?  If one is involved with a gang of criminals, yes I can see why.  But going about one’s daily life, of what value is it to carry a gun?

I have not forgotten something I heard on the news one day, where a young girl had come home from a party earlier than expected and thought it would be fun to scare her parents when they got home, by hiding in the cupboard in the hall way.  She giggled as the parents opened the door and the father thought it was an intruder.  Unfortunately, he had a gun and shot his daughter through the door.  His gun was powerful enough to go through the wood and kill his own child.  Now I realise this man had to live with what he had done for the rest of his life.  And I can imagine his wife would have never forgiven him.  But why was he walking around with a gun in the first place?  Where he lived of course everyone had a gun, so you get in first.  A bit like the nuclear war.  If one country sets off a nuclear bomb the country that will receive the bomb shoots off their nuclear bomb in retaliation.  All rather stupid really, because both countries will be wiped out and neither side wins. 

Something keeps niggling in the back of my mind.  One, that any time someone invents something that improves our lives, there is a person who can see how that invention can be used for wars.  Secondly, someone makes money out of making and selling weapons.  Every time there is a War those working in the armament industry make a lot of money.  During the Second World War England handed Hawaii over to the United States of America so England could restock its weapons and supply ships.  Current wars are keeping the armament providers in America rich.  No wonder they support any President that helps them.

So, is it money that keeps weaponry improving, and Wars alive?  I would hate to think so, but it is definitely looking that way.  As I stated in my War blog, it is not the population that starts wars, it is the leaders and those people gain from them.  That is a sad indictment on society and mankind. 

Guns can be used for sport, and it is an art to be able to hit a target a great distance away.  But these guns that have software that guides the bullets cannot not really be called guns.  They are weapons.

Let’s encourage all our governments to leave the weapons to the defence forces and the guns to those who use it as a sport. 

Julie Finch-Scally ©