And here we are.

It's been a week since the Florida school shooting and the lunacy is incredible. The division between people on the subject of what should be done is predictable to say the least. The pro 2nd Amendment folks think arming teachers is a great idea, as well as an increased police/security presence. I have no real issues with a teacher being armed if they choose it for themselves, but the talk of utilizing these educators as school "marshals" is a recipe for disaster on a great many levels. As for increased police presence, that should be left for the community to reach a decision on, not the schools.
On the other side of the argument are those who want gun control now, most aren't sure what exactly, but definitely get rid of those AR-15s and pretty much anything else the media says is scary this week.
I grew up in the country around guns, dogs, horses, etc. and learned early on that all required respect when handling. Guns were potentially the most dangerous, but animals can manifest the most wonderfully unpredictable qualities that make no mistake, can kill you stone dead too. Usually there's just bleeding, but the possibility of death remains. I suppose I could have succumbed to fear and never taken the time to pet or even own another dog after that first bite, but I'd have missed out on a lot of memories, both wonderful and heartbreaking. The same is true of horses and some people. Now it might seem like a bit of a leap comparing animals and guns, but I'm really just pointing out how irrational fear can lead to bad decisions.
I've no doubt that many gun control people are genuine in their concerns about the mindless violence we've seen lately, but so's the other side and the attempts to cast them as villains concerns me greatly. It's a mob mentality and those are ridiculously easy to manipulate toward destruction. The fact that they're willing to vilify complete strangers so quickly is a clear indicator that the argument "We don't want your guns" is a bogus one. They can and will condone the loss of innocent lives in pursuit of a goal not even of their own imaginings. The only way to enforce what they want is through the criminalizing of people whose only real crime is disagreeing with them and then forcing their way into their homes and confiscating. No way that could turn ugly, right? Their defense will then be that it's the law, ignoring the fact that these people were law abiding citizens until the law made them criminals. This simple rationalization will absolve them of any guilt or responsibility and in turn make them exactly what they are accusing their "enemy" of being now, heartless murder accomplices.
Seem harsh? Not really, I see the emotional detachment on both sides and find myself wondering how exactly we got here. I love to blame technology and it has undoubtedly played a part, but it would be lazy and disingenuous to blame it exclusively for the internal rot that eats at our species. Who knows, maybe we've reached our shelf life, it might be that simple. Our capacity for greatness is well documented, we've imagined the impossible and made it possible. We've climbed the highest peaks, explored the depths and even challenged the heavens.
Sadly, our inhumanity may be our most defining characteristic. Ironic that humans are the only creatures on the planet capable of it.