TWO MORE INCIDENCES OF GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA. IN LESS THAN A WEEK APART. (Edited from an original post, October 2017.)

 WE HAVE ATLANTA, GEORGIA...03/16/2021, TUESDAY.  AND BOULDER, COLORADO...03/22/2021.  MONDAY.

In the 1994 film Barcelona, written and directed by Whit Stillman, two characters have the following exchange which concerns shootings in America.

Spanish woman:  You can't say Americans are not more violent than other people.

Fred:  No.

Spanish woman:  All those people killed in shootings in America?

Fred:  Oh, shootings, yes.  But that doesn't mean Americans are more violent than other people.  We're just better shots.

The film takes place in Barcelona, Spain.  Hence, the female character speaking above is Spanish.  And Fred, an American, is a United States Naval officer posted in Barcelona.  The sad truth about the exchange between the two fictional characters is that the Spanish woman is correct in what she has to say.  America is the most violent country in the world when it comes to gun violence.  It was true in 1994, when the film was released, and it is still true today in 2021.  More than twenty five years later.  

Guns are more accessible here in the United States than any other nation in the world.  More people in the United States possess a gun than people in other parts of the world.  Why?  Fear?  Paranoia?  Both?  Or could it be that we, as Americans, have forgotten how to communicate, express ourselves.  Instead, we seek to find a quick, violent and deadly fix.    

How does the United States of America do a better job at preventing so much gun violence?  First lawmakers in Washington, D.C. must pass proper legislation in order to make purchasing gun weaponry more difficult.  Particularly military type guns.  And then it is necessary that more research be done on how to improve mental health, how to detect mental deterioration.  Finally we need to learn how to communicate.  Discover proper outlets to express our emotions, good or bad.  Holster our weapons and talk with one another in a civil tone of voice.  It has gone past the time for us, as the most democratic nation in the world, to set a good example of what it means to be free of violence in general.  But especially gun violence.