The CBC News on Monday night made a significant observation. There is jubilation in the halls of the NRA this week. Yep, another horrendous shooting. And why are gun advocates happy? Because not once, in any of the CBC interviews, did anyone mention gun control.
Why Not?
Well, in the first place, this was Texas. There’s a fatalistic slant to their philosophy in that area. “Live by the gun, die by the gun” is an accepted fact of life. At least by the vocal few, who shout loudly to distract us from noticing that the gun-owning few tend to live, and it’s the rest of us that die.
But more important than that, this massacre was different from all the others. Why? Because ata long last a local gun-toter played the hero. A neighbor grabbed his gun, ran out and engaged the perpetrator in an exchange of fire, hitting him twice. The villain then drove away and shot himself. We can’t say the NRA is glad of the massacre. That would be stupid and cruel. But the victims in that church were merely collateral damage in the real battle, which is to stay armed no matter what.
Last week I mentioned 5% of the population causing 95% of the trouble. Concealed carry permits in US: 14 million. Population: 323 million. Do the math: 4.3%. Another number: 3% of the population own over 50% of the guns.
Why?
As usual in the States, the reasons for this are both sociological and commercial. And pathological, as well, but let’s not go there today. Everyone has done the socio-pathology of America to death (sorry). So let’s look at the commercial picture, which is about as twisted as the rest of it.
You’d think that the domestic arms industry would be raking it in right now, wouldn’t you? Gun ownership rising in popularity because of a friendly administration and antagonism all over the place inside and outside the nation.
Not At All
When Obama was president, gun sales were good. When Clinton was a favorite to win, sales went up even more. Now that Trump is in, gun sales are down. The company that manufactured the gun used in the Texas shootings? Profits down 50% this year.
Three things boost the stock market share of gun companies: A terrorist shooting, a gun control bill, and a shooting like this one, the more horrible the better. Keep those gun sales up.
What do these points indicate? Fear. Fear increases; people buy more guns. Create more fear, you will sell more guns. And, as you may have heard me mention before, as long as they have a frightened population that is crying to be led around by the nose, there is no will in Washington to fix any of this. Quite the contrary.
If I were a writer of Action Novels, I’d be penning a tale where an arms manufacturer propagates massacres to boost his flagging business. The anti-hero, a recovering gun addict played by Vin Diesel (with an aging sidekick played by Bruce Willis) comes up against the whole of the establishment (including the Democrats), who like things exactly the way they are.
A lot of people are gonna get shot. Film rights, anyone?