Again? And what can/ should I do about it?
Yes, I could write about the horror and tragedy of yet another senseless massacre on American soil.
But what really gets me is why this is allowed to keep happening.
I had a clue when I was originally considering offering to cover this topic for Harvard Health Blog. Gun violence is, after all, a pretty obvious public health problem.
But I perused prior posts and saw that they had received a mixed response, heavy on ugly and vitriolic objection.
In one incredibly benign post, the author presented basic data and evidence-based suggestions for minimizing injuries and deaths due to firearms in the home. Yet many readers expressed outrage at this “inappropriate political propaganda” as well as the “suspicious statistics and blatant lies”. The tone on some comments was attacking enough that I quickly abandoned that idea.
Not because I’m afraid of internet trolls who don’t like my informed opinion; but because I’m VERY afraid of ignorant gun-waving psychos who could take their ire offline and into my home. I can’t forget that I’ve got little ones.
So, not going there there, as they have a million Twitter followers. But I’ll go there here, because most folks reading this are “following” me and know I lean towards evidence-based public-health topics. I feel safe within my own blog audience!
But then part of me feels guilty. What’s the right approach? Go all-out for public safety, or stay safe?
You can’t have a rational discussion with irrational people. I would probably choose not to engage on that subject. I’m not generally a big fan of the “good old days” but I kind of miss the days when it was considered bad form to walk around with a machine gun over your shoulder.
You’re totally right– you can’t have a rational discussion w irrational people. And the people promoting weapons like the AR-15 while squashing any minor gun safety legislation are, to put it mildly, irrational.