Opinion : Victims of Ignorance

Is it really gun control that we need or ignorance control?

On Sunday the fears of 9/11 were brought back to surface as a shooting took place at a Sikh Temple in Milwaukee.  The gunman was identified by associate press as Wade Michael Page, 40, who also was a military veteran and resident of neighboring community.

Page, 40, was killed by officers in the parking lot after he allegedly fired off rounds close range at police as they attempted to stop him. Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards told reporters that Page served in the Army from 1992 to 1998.  Police investigations report the shooter, who was white, harbored extreme racial views, but cautioned none of those allegations have been confirmed.

Just about a week ago author, Blackfyre, posted an opinion piece on gun control.  Now while I do agree with his point of view and also believe that we have the right to bear arms it comes down to a simple fact: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people".  So while we could go back and forth all day about gun control, where's the discussion on ignorance control?

Mr. Copperhead will be one of the first to tell you that a sad fact of life is that many people can fall into what is called "group think".  This is where someone will agree with a crowd as opposed to developing their own ideas or view of whatever the subject at hand may be.  This is not to be confused with agreeing with someone, "group think" is characterized by someone who blindly follows along like a sheep, no questions, just acceptance.

I myself don't know the answer to a problem like this, how to solve or even how to attack it.  We all have our own methods for trying to make the world a better, safer place, be it through writing, art, photography, or activism.  But at the end of the day the sad truth is that hate is taught not inherited, which means that ultimately it's impossible to control. So maybe we take all the guns and other weapons away, but how do we take away the hate?  How do we incourage individuals to think for themselves?

I guess just like anything else in life all we can do is our part.  Even if that's just writing an opinion piece on this blog and sharing information that could have a small influence.  It's funny how in this day in age one of the biggest things is sharing; facebook, twitter, blogs etc.  Sharing is often considered a good thing, but everything is a double edged sword, so while we at this blog try to share knowledge, insight, and perspective on various topics, the other side is doing the same exact thing.