How many deaths will it take?

“How many deaths will it take?” In how many places within the United States and abroad?

Aurora, Colorado? Tucson, Arizona? Virginia Tech? Columbine? The University of Texas tower?

Nagasaki? Korea? Vietnam? Grenada? Panama? Iraq? Afghanistan? Pakistan?

NRA headquarters
NRA headquarters. Photo by Bjoertvedt, used under CC Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

The answer, my friend, according to the corporate media, is that the number of deaths and injuries inflicted on Americans by Americans will grow without end because the National Rifle Association owns the government.

Another answer is that the number of deaths–mostly civilians–that Americans inflict around the world will grow without end because of

  • Fear promoted by the power structure
  • Glorification of violence in the media
  • National enthrallment with punishment, and
  • Belief in American exceptionalism to be defended at all costs.

How many roads must people walk down before they will choose civility and discourse over violence? Peace over war? Justice over guns? Humanity over profits?

For people who profit from the weapons business and gain power from manipulating fear, the rewards for making weapons available to individuals, groups, and nations far outweigh the costs.

According to The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2010, Lockheed Martin, the biggest arms producer and military service company in the world, grossed $35.7 billion from arms sales.

Among the 100 top arms producers, 44 US-based companies accounted for over 60% of all arms sales (The Guardian DataBlog, March 2, 2012). Those are powerful incentives for pretending not to see all the gun-related deaths.

The NRA receives millions of dollars from online sales of ammunition and related products, as well as enormous donations from Smith & Wesson (manufacturer of the M&P15 assault rifle used in Colorado). Those are powerful incentives for not hearing the cries of victims and their families.

And what does the ready availability of weapons do for ordinary Americans? Among 23 high-income countries, 80 percent of all gun deaths and 87 percent of all gun deaths of children younger than 15 occur in the United States. (See Children’s Defense Fund report.)

If you are appalled by the loss of life, become an activist. To learn more about gun control, the NRA, and ways of promoting change, check out the following resources:

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology