People have been sending me the silly article from The Atlantic (How Extremist Gun Culture Is Trying To Co-Opt The Rosary). I took a gander this evening and started reading, until the second paragraph when the author mentions good old Massimo Faggioli and then the gag reflex started kicking in. I'm not sure if he was anti-gun or anti-rosary, or both. I also don't think the writing of the article was completely unprompted and without grounds--there's always some truth in stereotypes. Funny too that the "extremist" culture the author is painting in the article is pretty much a picture of...most of my friends.
While I support and see the Second Amendment as an integral part of how we as Americans understand freedom against tyranny, I'll confess I'm really not a gun guy and never got the allure. I have been to the range a handful of times, and while it's always good to learn and be open something new, I don't feel inclined to join the 75% of my friends who are gun-owners. Most of them cite self-defence, protection of their property and family against potential home invasion, feeling safer with a concealed carry, etc., as the reason they own guns.
I was curious about how often, statistically speaking, one would find themselves in a situation in which a gun was used in self-defense or in the case of a home invasion. A quick search at the National Library of Medicine produced a study in which 626 shootings occurred in or around a residence. "This total included 54 unintentional shootings, 118 attempted or completed suicides, and 438 assaults/homicides. Thirteen shootings were legally justifiable or an act of self-defense, including three that involved law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty."
This was the bit I was interested in and looking for:
"For every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides."
Now, I know studies can be used in every which way to justify this or that conclusion. I'm not interested in that, or necessarily have a dog in this fight. But I will say it was that last figure "11 attempted or completed suicides for every one act of self defense" is at the root of my own, personal reason for not wanting a gun in my house. Those statistics don't fill me with confidence.
Although I have been symptom free for almost twelve years now from my bi-polar (type 1) illness, the memories of how close I had been to the abyss in years past has stayed with me. Sometimes I feel like while things are going well and I'm on solid ground mentally, I'm just one trauma away from returning to the edge, that point of no-return, in which you have to fight tooth and nail just to stay alive. I have written about the struggle to live here, here, here, here, and here.
This isn't unique to my situation or diagnosis. Living is hard for everyone, and we all have our unique struggles and burdens. Given mine, however, owning or having a gun in the house, as responsible as I may be when in a healthy state of mine, does not seem prudent. During prolonged periods of depression (which have been few and far between, thank goodness, allowing me to live a more or less normal life), there is a darkening cloud that settles over the intellect and the emotions. Your cognitive abilities become compromised, and the lens through which you see becomes distorted. Paranoia and accusatory thoughts have the potential to assail you, and skew the way you think and view yourself and others. When things get bad enough, you start looking for relief. A firearm isn't an asset in my case, but rather a complete liability.
As sick as it may sound to a healthy mind, being in possession of a firearm may have the potential to transform into that icon of relief--a promise of an easy end with the simple squeeze of a trigger. Of course my faith precludes such thoughts or actions as justifiable, and in the past it was pure grit 'n grace that got me thorough because I knew suicide was off the table. I don't want to be in any kind of position where I'm tempted to entertain such thoughts during these difficult times.
I know gun culture is a thing, just like "traditional Catholicism" or "Christian Nationalism" or whatever is a thing. And yes, sometimes they do overlap, as the author was feebly (but validly) attempting to point out in The Atlantic article. It's not my thing, but I guess more power to you if you feel such protection is warranted and you take precautions to minimize risk or injury.
I don't fault anyone for those choices, and just because I don't fully understand it doesn't make it less valid. Just because I choose not to exercise that right doesn't mean we shouldn't have the right, either. Responsible gun ownership is not an oxymoron. And, I suppose, it's kind of like that prepper-mentality: you don't really need it....until you really need it. At least I have a few "extremist" friends who hopefully will have my unarmed back if that is the case.
Hey I was one of those friends who sent you that article! But I didn’t even focus on the gun part, just the ridiculousness of the entire piece but ws glad to see it linked directly to Olmsted’s Into the Breach page https://dphx.org/into-the-breach/ which I’m hoping will direct Atlantic readers to that document. Well, one can at least hope. But I suppose statistically it may not make an impact, much like you observe about gun owners very seldomly using them as hoped for self-defense during a home invasion. I would absolutely agree that most people, armed are not, are not really going to be in their right mind during a home invasion and it’s not an easy thing to “prepare”. To worry about it too much could put you in a state of constant stress, which is definitely not healthy or good for your mental health. I suppose you could rate gun owners on a bell curve as far as confidence with experience and know-how go. New gun owners are too confident and have a false sense of security. Those who learn more realize how limited they are and how unlikely they’ll be able to react properly in a deadly situation, and those who learn a lot finally gain genuine confidence that they can and will do as is needed. That said, it’s not for everyone and there’s no shame in that!
ReplyDeleteOddly, my family has suffered both a home invasion and later a suicide, both involving my oldest brother. He had a gun but wasn’t able to use it to defend himself because they attacked while he was asleep. Later on, he used what might have been the same gun to take his life. This has left a sort of gun stigma among some branches of our family, but personally, I don’t blame the gun and think that he was so determined to end his life, he could have easily done this another way. The biggest deterrent for me, the keep going when things seem hopeless is in Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, to eventually set it all right again and a desire to avoid anything that would offend Him, including taking away the life that was never really mine alone. God bless you always!
Thanks for sharing. I think it is good to talk about mental health. Most people don't seem to have tools to help or cope with bad mental health.
ReplyDeleteI could have written this myself. Whether or not someone chooses to own a gun is their decision as long as they do so in accordance with the laws of their locality. I, however, should not and will not own a gun because I suffer from depression and, at times, suicidal ideation. If I owned or had access to a gun I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be writing this because I would have given up the struggle. I can rely on grace but not my cooperation with it. It’s not that there aren’t other ways to succumb to the temptation, but easy access to a loaded gun is just too easy.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the most powerful weapon I have ever wielded is the Holy Rosary. I can truly say that it is the reason I am alive. Never let a day pass without praying five decades. You can even split the decades up. But never omit them.