By Benjamin Humphries
So how about that sniper?
“So, how about that sniper. Isn’t that interesting?” That was all it took to draw me into a moral discussion at work last night, and it’s been on my mind ever since.
How seriously do we take death in this country? Do we really feel so sad for the people being killed in Washington, DC, right now? All it took to get a couple of my friends worrying that I had lost my mind was an offhanded comment about how interesting the whole situation is.
I was met with, “Interesting? People are dying! It’s terrible!” How terrible? Think about how seriously we take death in this country for a moment.
How many people die daily from cancer? How many are killed daily by drunk drivers? How many homeless people die of hunger, disease, or exposure every night on our city streets? Do you know any of these figures? Do any of us even think of these things, or are they just “out of sight, out of mind” for the masses?
Who really cares about a homeless guy dying on the street, right? It was probably his fault anyway, and we had no obligation to him, right? I’m sick and damn tired of being told that one thing is a tragedy while the exact same thing happening to another person is just too bad.
Death has very few variables, and it has the same effect on us all: it kills us. Does cancer discriminate? Does anyone choose which homeless person has to die tonight?
I think the best comparison to be made here is drunk drivers. Thousands of people are killed every year by super-jackasses who think they can handle their alcohol well enough to drive on the same roads as the rest of us. Do they pick and choose before they plow into a vehicle carrying innocent passengers? The sniper in DC has showed no sign of picking and choosing his victims, only that he wants to kill people at random.
In light of the upcoming alcohol awareness week, I would like to pose this question: how many of you have let a friend drive home after even a single drink? How many of you would get in a car and drive home after a few drinks? I don’t think that anyone who decides to drive a car after drinking is any more innocent than the sniper.
I’m not condoning the sniper shootings in any way. I’ve only said that they’ve been totally indiscriminate and that I thought it was damn interesting. Are we really feeling bad for the people who are dying, or do we fear for ourselves because we’re starting to see that we’re not as safe as everyone wants to pretend we are? I’m sure Dubya would say that our resolve is being tested and vow to lead a crusade against crazed snipers everywhere. We’re not totally safe in this country. We’re not safe anywhere, and it’s time to accept it rather than freak out as soon as we see that our hokey-pokey laws and justice system won’t stop “evil.”
I don’t mean to sound totally insensitive. I’m just sick and tired of America’s supersensitivity toward so many things and disregard of others. It’s hypocrisy to call nine randomized deaths a tragedy and ignore that we buy products made in third-world countries by underpaid, abused, neglected HUMANS every day.
My only positive comments toward any reactions to this whole situation go to the DC police, who are telling the press (for the most part) to mind their own damn business while they try to investigate without interference. On the other hand, though, I suppose that without up-to-date press coverage, we’d all be forced to think for ourselves and realize that this country has bigger problems than one crazy guy trying to get our attention.
