The Problem: Violence. The Solution: More Violence.

I am not a gun person. I much prefer my sword and axe.

Over the past few days in Dallas, we have had some shootings, which is pretty normal for Dallas. We like to shoot people down here and do it as frequently as we can. Which is not as frequently as we would like because the police interfere and then the game's no fun anymore. They have no sense of humor about these things, which if you think about it is kind of amazing because they are Texans. One of the incidents from yesterday involved a situation where some guys got kicked out of a nightclub, so they parked across the street and started shooting anyone leaving the club. Apparently it did not cross their minds that this is Texas.

Any other state and the people being shot at would have screamed, panicked and ran every which way. Not here. They simply pulled thier own guns and started to return the fire. Last I heard there were eight injured. This is very upsetting to me. I think the police and emergency workers interfered with a true instance of Darwinian nature selection taking place. They should have let things go to their natural conclusion before interfering. This was not a case of bad guys with guns shooting good guys with guns who returned fire. This was a case of idiots with guns shooting each other.

So, at work my coworkers are discussing this and having that same goddamned conversation that I have heard so many times before about how unsafe the streets are, etc. Every place I have ever worked, you hear this conversation at some point. None of us were shot, none of us had our car stolen, but we are unsafe. So, three of my coworkers are talking about getting concealed carry permits which allow you to carry a gun everywhere except where the owner posts a sign saying no guns.

Now, one of the guys who wants to get a gun had R/K surgery on his eyes and they screwed it up. He can't see at night very well at all; he sees the halos around every light source. I'm sure he'll be great with his gun at night. One of the others, well, he has an injured shoulder he has not gotten surgery for. So, if he asks nicely and the bad guys agree to wait, he'll have time to pull his gun on them. The third guy should be fine; if he has his glasses on. All three have kids in the house ranging from infancy to eight years old.

I'll be very honest here. I don't have a better plan than they do. They have guns; really all I have is my peacemaking skills and prayer. I truly think that all of us are in deep trouble if we get into an armed confrontation. They feel better by preparing with guns, I feel better by preparing with prayer. Maybe a little magick as well.

It's just that violence begats violence and once these cycles begin they are hard to break. Nobody has been able to explain to me why we don't teach our kids conflict resolution skills in grade school. I mean, fuck, let's get rid of a semester of social studies and teach mediation skills to kids. Do a follow up course in high school. I'm sure this would not fly, some lunatic would find that it violates the Bible somehow.

The really sad thing is, I know kids want to learn this stuff. I saw that in the psychiatric hospitals I worked in. Kids were eager to learn how to defuse angry, tense situations and I even watched them apply what they learned without prompting from adults. I think most children would be willing participants in anger management classes. It's not like trying would hurt anybody.

But if the only answer to violence is more violence, well, then I'm with Tool:

Some say the end is near. Some say we'll see armageddon soon. I certainly hope we will. I sure could use a vacation from this three ring circus sideshow of freaks...