“I’m strapped up, fuck a gun law
See me walking with a limp, that’s my gun walk, I don’t do no arguing, I let the guns talk
I’m strapped up, fuck a gun law” - Lil Wayne 2013.
In the midst of another tragic shooting, we find ourselves still stuck in the revolving door that is the gun control debate. Tragedy after tragedy, lives upon lives lost, years wasted, and we are still making no head way in finding a solution. I believe that’s because we are seeking regulations to control evil, instead of rebuilding what we let the evil destroy in our society. We need societal reform, not gun reform.
Read the song lyrics above one more time. Now before you jump down my throat for using Lil Wayne as a reputable source in my argument regarding gun control, hear me out. The lyrics are explicit about his ability to have a firearm, and using it to commit murder, with or without fear of a new or existing law. In other words, “Fuck a gun law.” This is from a man, who has made his livelihood by capitalizing on romancing the criminal lifestyle. Don’t get me twisted now, I’m not knocking Lil Wayne or hip hop, I’m definitely not on the “Gangster Rap made them do it” side of the fence, people make their own paths in life. I’m just using what most might see as an unnoticed lyric, from an overlooked rap song, as a surprisingly prolific yet backhanded proof that more laws are not what we need. Laws are set in place to be a warning to those abiding by them, for fear of the consequences of breaking them. But if you don’t fear the consequence, then there’s no need to play by the rules. To elaborate, criminals don’t care about regulations, “Fuck a gun law.”
I’m sickened by the idea of children being gunned down in schools. I’m disgusted at the thought of some hate fueled animal murdering people who are just trying to have a good time in a night club. I remember my mother crying when the students of Columbine had been killed. I understand and acknowledge that we have a problem, and I’m an advocate for change. However, I’ll say it again, the change we need is societal reform, that’s the kind of change that can fix senseless violence. We live in a time of evident depravity, yet we are still surprised by acts of blatant disregard for human life. And when lives are taken we blame the medium that the killer used, not the killer. That’s illogical. I believe that’s because as a society, and as a culture we are afraid to get introspective, for fear of what we might find. If we look inside ourselves, and examine how we operate, we would find some shit that definitely needs work. For example we treat mental illness with numbing drugs, as if to just sweep the problem under the rug. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s the motto. If we don’t have to see it then there’s nothing to deal with. That is until that patient has a mental breakdown, the drugs stop working, and they make an irrational decision because the chemicals in their brain are so far imbalanced they’ve lost touch. We don’t discipline our children when they talk back and disrespect us, for fear of hurting their feelings. Then they learn that they can speak to and treat people however they want, without regard for the implications their words and behaviors might have on their peers, their inferiors, or their elders. We don’t value or teach respect anymore, but dammit we still want it.
I know that if you made it this far, this has been a long winded interruption from looking at memes, and I thank you for reading this. I just implore you to look away from the arguments for gun control that the media is pushing, and think of a way we can better ourselves, so that we may stop putting each other in the ground. More laws won’t work, we’ve tried that before (the war on drugs, prohibition, etc.) and it failed. Evil cannot be controlled or destroyed entirely, but by brute and unrelenting force, and hearts that beat with ferocity to watch out and provide care for your fellow man, evil sure as hell can be terrified to rear it’s ugly head, anywhere near those brave enough to beat it down.
See me walking with a limp, that’s my gun walk, I don’t do no arguing, I let the guns talk
I’m strapped up, fuck a gun law” - Lil Wayne 2013.
In the midst of another tragic shooting, we find ourselves still stuck in the revolving door that is the gun control debate. Tragedy after tragedy, lives upon lives lost, years wasted, and we are still making no head way in finding a solution. I believe that’s because we are seeking regulations to control evil, instead of rebuilding what we let the evil destroy in our society. We need societal reform, not gun reform.
Read the song lyrics above one more time. Now before you jump down my throat for using Lil Wayne as a reputable source in my argument regarding gun control, hear me out. The lyrics are explicit about his ability to have a firearm, and using it to commit murder, with or without fear of a new or existing law. In other words, “Fuck a gun law.” This is from a man, who has made his livelihood by capitalizing on romancing the criminal lifestyle. Don’t get me twisted now, I’m not knocking Lil Wayne or hip hop, I’m definitely not on the “Gangster Rap made them do it” side of the fence, people make their own paths in life. I’m just using what most might see as an unnoticed lyric, from an overlooked rap song, as a surprisingly prolific yet backhanded proof that more laws are not what we need. Laws are set in place to be a warning to those abiding by them, for fear of the consequences of breaking them. But if you don’t fear the consequence, then there’s no need to play by the rules. To elaborate, criminals don’t care about regulations, “Fuck a gun law.”
I’m sickened by the idea of children being gunned down in schools. I’m disgusted at the thought of some hate fueled animal murdering people who are just trying to have a good time in a night club. I remember my mother crying when the students of Columbine had been killed. I understand and acknowledge that we have a problem, and I’m an advocate for change. However, I’ll say it again, the change we need is societal reform, that’s the kind of change that can fix senseless violence. We live in a time of evident depravity, yet we are still surprised by acts of blatant disregard for human life. And when lives are taken we blame the medium that the killer used, not the killer. That’s illogical. I believe that’s because as a society, and as a culture we are afraid to get introspective, for fear of what we might find. If we look inside ourselves, and examine how we operate, we would find some shit that definitely needs work. For example we treat mental illness with numbing drugs, as if to just sweep the problem under the rug. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s the motto. If we don’t have to see it then there’s nothing to deal with. That is until that patient has a mental breakdown, the drugs stop working, and they make an irrational decision because the chemicals in their brain are so far imbalanced they’ve lost touch. We don’t discipline our children when they talk back and disrespect us, for fear of hurting their feelings. Then they learn that they can speak to and treat people however they want, without regard for the implications their words and behaviors might have on their peers, their inferiors, or their elders. We don’t value or teach respect anymore, but dammit we still want it.
I know that if you made it this far, this has been a long winded interruption from looking at memes, and I thank you for reading this. I just implore you to look away from the arguments for gun control that the media is pushing, and think of a way we can better ourselves, so that we may stop putting each other in the ground. More laws won’t work, we’ve tried that before (the war on drugs, prohibition, etc.) and it failed. Evil cannot be controlled or destroyed entirely, but by brute and unrelenting force, and hearts that beat with ferocity to watch out and provide care for your fellow man, evil sure as hell can be terrified to rear it’s ugly head, anywhere near those brave enough to beat it down.
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