Virginia Tech Massacre Provokes World Condemnation
As usual, we are always discussing and re-discussing the same problems in this hypermasculine cowboy culture, but we are never solving problems. Below are a few thoughts about the violent Cowboy Empire from some decidedly less gun-happy, or decidedly 'feminized' countries.
From the sissy countries that actually solve problems:
Italy
"In Italy, leading daily Corriere della Sera's ran an opinion piece entitled 'Guns at the Supermarket' _ a critical view of the U.S. gun lobby and the ease with which guns can be purchased."
"The latest attack on a U.S. campus will shake up America, maybe it will provoke more vigorous reactions than in the past, but it won't change the culture of a country that has the notion of self-defense imprinted on its DNA and which considers the right of having guns inalienable."
Il Messaggero: "America is a nation that has for some years been in danger of becoming more and more unloved in the world, especially in the poorest countries. During the period following World War II, America was seen as the guardian of democracy and was equated with the defense of liberty; today, America is a superpower that begins wars and lives with the constant necessity of having to defend itself against the enemy -- whether this enemy be called Islam or whether it bears the face of the neighbor who has done you wrong."
Britain
WaPo: "In a special report on BBC 24 Monday evening, a commentator, Gavin Hewitt, said mass murder on school campuses had become 'part of the American landscape.' The network showed video footage of Columbine High School in Colorado and the Amish shooting in Pennsylvania, and noted that the powerful U.S. gun lobby had blocked gun restrictions that Europeans regard as simple common sense. 'Even after today's horrific tragedy, laws are unlikely to change,' Hewitt said."
"The Times of London ran an editorial delving into the American psyche and the weak gun laws across the country."
"Why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year, when presumably, tougher restrictions, such as those in force in European countries, could at least reduce the number?"
"Gun crime is extremely rare in Britain, and handguns are completely illegal. . . Britain's 46 homicides involving firearms was the lowest total since the late 1980s. New York City, with 8 million people compared to 53 million in England and Wales, recorded at least 579 homicides last year."
Australia
"Australia's prime minister on Tuesday said the Virginia Tech shootings showed that America's 'gun culture' was a negative force in society, praising his country's efforts to enact tough gun laws after a similar massacre 11 years ago."
"'We took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the United States would never become a negative in our country,' he said."
France
Le Monde: "This new tragedy presents a new opportunity for American public opinion to interrogate itself about a society which, as one of the students who survived Columbine said at the time, is very much responsible for what has happened."
Le Figaro: "At the end of 2004, the Republican-controlled Congress allowed a law to expire that prohibited the sale of semi-automatic and military weapons. Thereafter, legal changes were made to protect the producers and vendors of fire-arms from being held responsible for the actions of gun owners."
"Contrary to what one would imagine, this backward stance is not something left over from the Wild West. It goes back to the creation of the United States and the War of Independence against the English. ... While most states have issued laws designed to control the sale of arms, the NRA ensures they remain inefficient or are not applied. Strongly linked to the conservative fringe of the Republican Party, the NRA spent $400,000 a day to prevent the election of the Democratic candidate John Kerry during the 2004 presidential elections ..."
via memeorandum
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