I do not want to get into a discussion about this, so I’m offering it without comment. I know that I have certain biases, those aren’t really for discussion either. I know today’s incident has done immeasurable damage to individuals, families, communities and our very society. It is a massive tragedy. Yes, it was also preventable… maybe. I don’t have a solution for gun violence, I don’t think anyone has a solution for it.
Until we can fix PEOPLE, then the problems caused by people will always be a part of our lives.
The following is not meant as an attempt to redirect or excuse what happened today. I merely present it as something that we should be outraged about, but aren’t (and yes, I do include myself in this “we”).
United States Annual Death Statistics
- Tobacco – 435,000
- Alcohol – 85,000
- Infectious diseases – 75,000
- Traffic collisions – 43,000
- Firearms (total) – 29,000
- Firearms (suicide only) – 16,586
- Firearms (homicide only) – 10,801
- Sexually transmitted disease – 20,000
- Drug abuse – 17,000
Worldwide Death Statistics Children age 5-9
- Traffic collision – 260,000 per year
- Drowning – 175,000 per year
- Burns – 96,000 per year
- Falls – 47,000 per year
- Toxins – 45,000 per year
Other Child Stats
- Child (5 and under) deaths due to malnutrition – 5,000,000 per year
- US Deaths due to child abuse – 5 children per day
- Child abuse reported case in the US – 1 every 10 seconds
This all sucks on an epic scale. But we have become numb to it. No one can maintain the level of outrage needed to correct several million deaths per year.
Gun violence is immediate, bloody, and massively reported because it makes the news. There could be an entire news channel devoted to 24/7 reading the cases of child abuse reported and they wouldn’t be able to keep up.
We, as a society, as a species, have some major problems. Yes, guns are one of them. But the real problem is people. We can’t fix people and some people are crazy, some are hurting so bad we can’t imagine it, some are just incapable of behaving as society expects.
I don’t know what to do with any of this. It’s all a tragedy and I’m numb right now along with the rest of the country.
I don’t have any answers. Perhaps, we as a tiny community can do something to help somewhere… I hope so. Meanwhile I’m going to go back and sit with my son for a long, long time.
SO much for without comment huh?
References:
http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
http://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats
http://www.csdp.org/research/1238.pdf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7776127.stm
