What Gun Control is Really About: Why it is Futile, Ineffective, and Counterproductive

Oh the hypocrisy of news: it divides, terrifies, angers, and misleads people, then acts surprised when they kill each other!  Once again, many do not see how they are supporting agendas that do not serve them as they think.  Banning a particular kind of gun, or even ALL guns will not prevent people from hurting each other so long as they feel scared, poor, disempowered, marginalized, or unloved.  ANYTHING can be used as a weapon.  Some very devious interests have weaponized everything: food, water, drugs, air, health and beauty products, technology, media, etc.  Yet some people are busy targeting guns which are far less damaging compared to the collective harm caused by those other things.  The diseases and deaths due to poisoned and unhealthy versions of everyday consumables are incalculable; collectively they are responsible for so much more harm than guns.  Trying to disarm people of the things they use to feel a sense of security only worsens the situation and makes them more prone to commit violence out of self-defense.

And banning specific types of guns like AR’s and AK’s is particularly futile, because there are SO many other guns that are exactly like them, just with different names.  There are already so many gun control laws, yet like all laws, they are relative and subject to human interpretation.  Many guns that operate and look exactly like assault rifles are now classified as pistols by some people, just because they are a little bit smaller.  It is illegal for them to have “stocks” because that would make them a “rifle”, so instead they have “braces” which are functionally the exact same thing, just with a different name.  This is really a lesson in semantics, or relative definitions.  If you ban something, people can just alter it slightly to avoid the particular legal definitions of whatever is banned.

This is the irrationality of fear-based, ignorant, reactionary responses and attempts to take from others.  So much news is only focused on negative incidents.  They rarely cover all the normal, positive life experiences that are far more frequent.  This creates a false sense of disproportionate violence, making people afraid because they are shown far more acts of aggression than the countless many more acts of peace and kindness.  They are following a very negative philosophy of “If it bleeds, it leads”, or highlighting death, injury, crime, and conflict to get peoples’ attention.  But this also has the effect of creating a very skewed and limited perspective of reality.  Due to such media coverage, many people suffer from thinking “The world is in chaos and turmoil”, or “People are so violent”.  These are very limited points of view that are not true for everyone.  Thus, such news sources are actually promoting and perpetuating violence by showing that far more often than peace and positivity.

Imagine if all you ever saw was volcanoes erupting, earthquakes damaging cities, tornadoes leveling houses, animals eating each other, people hurting each other.  Imagine if you never even knew about rainbows, sunsets, peaceful flowing creeks, animals playing with each other, children hugging.  All of these things are real and happening, but if you never saw the happier, more beautiful examples, you would have a very poor, negative, violent view of Earth.  I’m not suggesting we ignore anything, I'm saying that is what news is doing!  So much news is incredibly unbalanced toward the negative polarity, focusing on certain things while ignoring others.  This is because it is owned and influenced by certain interests with certain agendas.

Everyone has agendas, intentions, goals, plans, etc.  Some are just more sinister, subtle, and selfish than others.  The key word in “gun control” is not about guns, it’s about CONTROL.  It’s like some people have a mental parasite that is making them want to do everything to serve the parasite while thinking they are serving themselves.  They blame, judge, and focus on anything BUT the parasite so that it may continue to thrive while they are distracted and fighting each other instead of looking within.  Trying to impose your will on others out of fear is quite a negative thing to do.  All these “woke warriors” are not as enlightened, positive, or helpful as they think.

Time after time government officials, news anchors, and people with ZERO experience or knowledge have spewed their ignorance on camera, and those who are equally ignorant believe it, repeat it, and follow it as if it was true.  This is why I don’t even bother paying attention to “news” anymore; but occasionally I still get brief glimpses and soundbites from other sources.  The latest ignorance spouted by Joe Biden was that the 9mm caliber will “Blow your lungs out”.  Anyone with basic, low-level understanding of guns and physics should know that is completely exaggerated.  That bullet is too small, and travels too fast to do that.  It is just more fear-mongering to manipulate people.  This highlights the ignorance of the supposed “most powerful person on the planet”; but again, anyone who knows enough will know that is just another lie.  Obviously many people don’t know that, or that he is talking nonsense; so they repeat it because they are just as ignorant and don’t know any better.

I have heard other politicians being questioned about their proposals, and they too reveal a complete lack of basic knowledge of guns.  One proposed banning all “semi-automatic weapons” and a reporter followed up with the question of handguns.  He “clarified” that handguns would be exempt!  That means he is ignorant of the fact that MOST handguns are semi-automatic, which is why the reporter asked about them.  Perhaps he meant “fully-automatic weapons” instead, in which case he is still ignorant because those are already not allowed to be owned by civilians.  Yet again, people can still acquire them with the proper licenses and connections, so banning is not a sufficient strategy.  Besides, banning does nothing about the countless weapons which exist that people already have.  The next logical step for authoritarians and dictators is to try to confiscate those, which has proven even more disastrous when tried.  Many laws are written not to protect the public, but to protect private interests, specific groups, corporations, and industries.  They influence the laws through lobbying, thus imposing their will and agendas on the public through the very systems they have been conditioned to believe in, work for, worship, and obey.  If you didn’t already know, hopefully you are starting to realize that “laws” alone do nothing.  Look at all the laws against killing and stealing, have people stopped doing those things?

There are other questions which beg asking, like if militaries would not give up their weapons out of fear of being defenseless, then why would individuals?  Why is it ok for militaries who have killed millions over centuries of aggression and war to have ALL the weapons, but it’s too dangerous for civilians with NO criminal record to have any, or to even have weaker ones?  Is it their lack of training?  Aren’t things more dangerous when people fear and don’t understand them?  Then isn’t a better course of action to train and educate people?  Isn’t education a common theme, subject, or solution that so many great heroes have promoted?  Isn’t it very negative to try to restrict, limit, and infringe peoples’ rights and abilities instead of trying to help them?  Isn’t acting out of love more positive than acting out of fear?  Doesn’t fear affect our ability to think logically and respond more appropriately and effectively?

Fear is born of ignorance.  People only fear what they do not understand.  Therefore, those in fear are always ignorant.  And those who use fear and ignorance to manipulate others are the most ignorant, because they don’t know how unwise that is.  They are showing their own ignorance by doing so.  Only an ignorant person would want others to be ignorant.  The smarter people are, the better off ALL people are.  So I do not fear or suffer these “authorities”, because I know they have no authority.  They do the bidding of others, so they are not as powerful as they want you to think.  They may scare some people, but not all of us.  They will NEVER have the power to infringe everyone’s rights, no matter how much media manipulation they use.

Just look at how unsuccessful prohibition was.  Banning something only creates a black market for it; it does not stop people from acquiring and manifesting what they seek.  Did outlawing alcohol keep people from drinking?  Of course not; in fact that just made it worse because then people were drinking poorer quality products made in bathtubs.  Just as people can brew their own alcohol, they can also make their own guns with 3D printers.  And sure, some of them are also dangerous to the user because of their poor quality, but some are even better than what established manufacturers produce and sell.

And just notice how most politicians and news sources are focused more on gun control to reduce violence than helping people and giving them what they need.  Mental health support and education would be MUCH more effective.  If you ban cigarettes, but people don’t know how unhealthy they are, then banning them will not stop people from wanting, finding, or making them.  Changing peoples’ desires and beliefs is a more effective way of getting them to change their own behaviors willingly without force.  The problem is, news is trying to do this in a very coercive, underhanded, dishonest way.  For those who recognize this, it actually exacerbates animosity, frustration, distrust, and discontent, which only breeds more violence.

Hopefully this will convince some people of the futility and negativity of trying to outlaw or take things from people; but if that’s not enough, then how about this?  Did you know there is a historical pattern where confiscating the weapons of the public under the guise of safety is often a prelude to genocide?  Think about it, when the masses are unarmed, then they are easier to conquer.  Countless millions have been killed using this strategy.  And yes, I have heard arguments like, “Handguns and rifles are no match for military weapons, so having them for defense is pointless.”  That’s like suggesting we remove all the teeth and claws from animals to prevent them from hurting or killing others.  It’s not like they can defend themselves against guns anyway, right?  So why should they have any defense at all?  Do you see the “slippery slope” of taking things from others because you are afraid of them?  That opens the door to others taking things from you, because you have already supported that idea.

So if infringing on peoples’ rights and beliefs is not the answer, then what is?  Well, I have already suggested what so many others have, which is education; but the good news is there is not just one answer.  People are on different paths, learning different lessons, exploring different themes.  Personally, I believe in the wisdom of “Live and let live”, and “What you put out is what you get back”, or in farming terms “You reap what you sow”.  NOT following such philosophy is actually a major source of conflict because of the judgment and repression that goes along with it.  If you think you have the right to take away other peoples’ rights and to impose your will on them, then you have that in common with the shooters and killers you are trying to stop.