I am sure many of you have heard about the recent shooting at a university in Santa Barbara, California. The culprit was Elliot Rodgers, a 20-year-old student, who found himself alone, getting rejected again and again by girls. Being sexually and emotioanlly frustrated over years, he decided to take revenge on all those people who despised him. In his 140-page long manifesto he explained his suffering and plans of him taking retribution. Moreover, he filmed a video, self-pittying himself and announcing his crime.
Only a few hours before the crime, he sent his manifesto to his parents via e-mail . They reacted immediately but came too late to prevent their son from putting his plan into operation. In the beginning, Elliot Rodgers stabbed his three room mates, then he shot dead six students at the university in Santa Barbara. After that, he ran over several people with his car before finally shooting himself.
The grief is felt all over America - and I sympathize with all those who lost a friend or family member in the course of the crime. However, first and foremost, I shake my head out of my inability to understand this situation. No, not Elliot Rodger's shooting. But how America just does not see sense and continues to be lenient with gun control!
About how many shootings and rampages have you had heard? For my part, I cannot even count them anymore. And the thing is that these shootings only happen in the US, at least it seems so (the media probably draws more attention to the shootings in the US than to those in Europe because - as we all know - it is a quite explosive topic in the US). So I just do not understand why the US does not attach more significance to gun control.
To me, it seems like whenever a crime like Elliot Rodger's happens, the US-politicians announce that they will tighten gun laws because "such a tragedy should never happen again." However, just wait a couple of weeks when the situation goes back to normal and the politicians seem to have forgotten about their promises.
I know, the whole discussion about gun policy is strongly connected to the American Dream. Being allowed to buy and carry a gun is part of man's self-determination and freedom. But considering the fatal consequences this "freedom" can lead to, it is more than sensible to think about belittling man's self-determination and, in return, making life in the US safer.
Whether gun laws will be actually changed is not yet to be seen. I have confidence in the US' common sense and keep hoping for the best...
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