It Doesn't Stop
Fear of violence. Fear of being attacked, robbed, raped. I have not felt that mind-numbing panic. Not in the past twenty-five years, ever since I have lived here in Spain. Perhaps I have felt a slight unease at certain moments in Madrid, but I could have saved myself the second thought. I have felt that panic while a teenager in Boston. On some evenings, especially in the dark winter, I felt fear upon hearing footsteps behind me. There was a reign of insecurity in the air almost thirty years ago. My mother had a gun pulled on her while riding the subway. She was with a friend and ignored the guy standing next to her with the gun in the doorway. She was lucky. He and his friend were just joking. My mother and I were also in a supermarket when guys with sawed-off shotguns held it up. Boston was violent then. I haven't been there in a long time, but I've heard it's calmed down since. Still, violence is palpable in most American cities.
But, why? There is no history of internecine warfare closer than the Civil War a hundred fifty years ago. Before that, on American soil there was the War of 1812 and before that, the Revolution. Since 1865 there has been no fighting on American soil. One would think America would have learned to live peacefully.
Spain's last bout with domestic armed history ended only seventy-seven years ago. And it still divides us as a nation. There is still enmity between the descendants of both sides. There is the feeling that important issues have merely been covered over without pulling out the roots of the initial hatred. One would think violence could flare up at any point, that, having gotten used to killing each other, the first recourse of the angry would be to kill and hurt. There are guns in the shadowy worlds of the streets. But they don't circulate with impunity. Yes, there is violence. But it's on a level so deep, it only surfaces upon great provocation. Or extreme mental unbalance.
Perhaps it's that Spain (and most of Europe) has grown tired of violence. We have examples too close to us in time to remind us of the horror of unleashing it. Perhaps that's why America is in love with violence. Because it has not felt its bite for a long time, and they have forgotten what destruction it can cause when it is invited to dinner.
I am not saying that the solution to the ingrained violence rampant in America is another war on its soil. But one of the solutions might be to withdraw all the weapons of war that can now circulate throughout almost the entire fifty states. The only place for an assault rifle is the army. There is no need for war weapons to be in private hands.
There is also no need for trigger-happy police. There are countries in Europe that effectively lock up criminals, murderers included, whose police forces don't have weapons issued to them. In other countries, if a weapon is discharged in line of duty, the police officer is removed from active duty while the shooting is evaluated, and might remain behind a desk or be retired. There are cases of police brutality in Spain. There have been people killed by overzealous officers or officers who should never have been admitted to the police department, but never by firing a weapon. Yes, alternative weapons, such as rubber bullets, have maimed people. But never, ever, has a police officer shot an unarmed civilian at a traffic stop for mistaken reasons. And the traffic cops do wear guns.
I am sad for the country I grew up in and that shaped me. What it preaches and what it practices are two different things. There are many freedoms. They're all important. But one of the most important ones is freedom from fear. You won't find that freedom in America now.
But, why? There is no history of internecine warfare closer than the Civil War a hundred fifty years ago. Before that, on American soil there was the War of 1812 and before that, the Revolution. Since 1865 there has been no fighting on American soil. One would think America would have learned to live peacefully.
Spain's last bout with domestic armed history ended only seventy-seven years ago. And it still divides us as a nation. There is still enmity between the descendants of both sides. There is the feeling that important issues have merely been covered over without pulling out the roots of the initial hatred. One would think violence could flare up at any point, that, having gotten used to killing each other, the first recourse of the angry would be to kill and hurt. There are guns in the shadowy worlds of the streets. But they don't circulate with impunity. Yes, there is violence. But it's on a level so deep, it only surfaces upon great provocation. Or extreme mental unbalance.
Perhaps it's that Spain (and most of Europe) has grown tired of violence. We have examples too close to us in time to remind us of the horror of unleashing it. Perhaps that's why America is in love with violence. Because it has not felt its bite for a long time, and they have forgotten what destruction it can cause when it is invited to dinner.
I am not saying that the solution to the ingrained violence rampant in America is another war on its soil. But one of the solutions might be to withdraw all the weapons of war that can now circulate throughout almost the entire fifty states. The only place for an assault rifle is the army. There is no need for war weapons to be in private hands.
There is also no need for trigger-happy police. There are countries in Europe that effectively lock up criminals, murderers included, whose police forces don't have weapons issued to them. In other countries, if a weapon is discharged in line of duty, the police officer is removed from active duty while the shooting is evaluated, and might remain behind a desk or be retired. There are cases of police brutality in Spain. There have been people killed by overzealous officers or officers who should never have been admitted to the police department, but never by firing a weapon. Yes, alternative weapons, such as rubber bullets, have maimed people. But never, ever, has a police officer shot an unarmed civilian at a traffic stop for mistaken reasons. And the traffic cops do wear guns.
I am sad for the country I grew up in and that shaped me. What it preaches and what it practices are two different things. There are many freedoms. They're all important. But one of the most important ones is freedom from fear. You won't find that freedom in America now.
So well said.So sad that it needs to be aid.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDelete