Two days ago a Haitian immigrant friend of mine — who recently landed in Far Rockaway, Queens to find a better life and to chase the American Dream — heard a fight in the street below his apartment.
He then made the fatal mistake of the curious and went to his window to see what was happening. A stray 9mm bullet shot from the street blasted through his window, ricocheted off his collarbone, and punctured his heart. He was dead before his body slumped to the floor.
Two days ago, in the London borough of Fulham, 6ft 9in former boxer James “Big Bad” Oyebola,
and current bouncer, was shot point-blank in the face after asking a
three men to observe the ban on smoking. James isn’t dead yet.
His
fighting instinct is still battling to save him.
How is it possible that a shot heard in Far Rockaway can be felt in
Fulham? It is possible because there is a vibrant, but invisible,
tether between all handgun shootings and that unbreakable chain of
dismay is forged by the broken-hearted and the left behind.
The easy accessibility to handguns and bullets
across the world creates no safe haven anywhere for anyone and we all,
by default, live in fear of echoing gunshots, unwilling ricochets and
intentioned, point-blank, aiming.
When we wonder back on Virginia Tech
and ask aloud how many more people need to be shot before The Lesson of
Hot Lead is learned, and when we cogently recognize — in quieted
screams — how handguns serve no purpose except to maim the willing and
punish the good,
we collectively become numb in the realization there are some in the
world who will always prefer deadeye aim over honest retribution.
Our international romance with gunpowder and brass shells spans
generations — but have we now forced the tipping point where all
handguns must be outlawed for use by common people and their ownership
is reserved only for the military and police?
The solitary purpose of a handgun is to kill another person.
The size
and shape of the handgun indicates its intention is to be conveniently
concealed until withdrawn for the telling moment of death.
People can keep their long guns and shotguns and rifles for protection
of the self and home if they must, but the total removal of every
revolver and automatic handgun in the world needs to begin immediately
to prevent the ongoing perversion of humanity in The Human Race.