Nick Fury's Opinion

If you look at the two major schools of thought about gun control - i.e., more control or less - you will discover an underlying worldview that is quite fascinating.

For those who are in support of more gun control, I see people who believe that humanity, under the right circumstances, can achieve a near-perfect state - one where bad shit is reduced or eliminated altogether. As much as these people love to blame the government for absolutely everything, they also keep looking to the government to fix all our country's problems.

For those who are not in support of more gun control, I see people who believe that humanity, no matter what, will never improve itself - beyond a certain point, at least.

I (fortunately or unfortunately), am in the second camp. But then not exactly. Because I definitely believe that we need to ensure our gun laws are strict, strong, and as effective as they can be. When I broke up with my first boyfriend, he tried everything to get me to come back. This included purchasing a gun and threatening to kill himself with it. Thankfully I was smart and told his family what he was up to, asked to be kept out of the scenario, and wasn't sucked back into the relationship. However, some time later I walked into a gun shop to ask what kind of background checks they do for people with a history of mental instability - i.e., someone who's been in a mental hospital but doesn't have anything on their criminal record. The answers I got weren't very comforting, as the sales associates said they could only see records that medical facilities made accessible to them. I took that to mean it was a bit of a crap shoot as to whether they could see my ex's mental health record should he ever decide to buy a gun again. A bit frightening, I know. Anyhow, I'm certain there are plenty of weak spots in our gun regulation that need to be addressed and rectified (and I mean more than just regulations that have to do with mental health; there are a lot of other reasons people kill each other).

BUT...I also believe the government is and always will be a pretty corrupt entity, full of corrupt people who want certain things for themselves and are willing to harm others to get them. I do not trust the government. I don't just mean our government, I mean all governments. Please understand, I see it as a necessary evil, something that manages to effect good change often enough. Something that, as flawed as it is, we need on some level. Just as I believe humans can do amazing, wonderful things for each other, and often do. But I believe that even if you were to take away all the guns, there would be other methods of mass murder. And I don't mean that a person could necessarily walk into a school and do as much damage with a knife as they could with an AR-15. But I believe that as long as you're asking all outside forces to regulate themselves so you don't have to defend yourself, you're very much at the mercy of evil.

I know why people dislike the idea of arming teachers, and I'm not necessarily saying that's the answer to the problem of school shootings. However I know that I feel much safer when I learn how to protect myself than when I look to a corrupt government that I mistrust to do it for me. I'm not so "surprised" or "disgusted" when I see people doing horrible things, and the government supporting them (or at least not stopping them). It doesn't surprise me, because humans have always been hurting each other.

Anytime I trust an entity the government has set up for my protection, it's because I've chosen to do so. I choose to trust the police to come to my aid if need be, but I understand that this flawed system means there's no guarantee. Does that mean I think that we just excuse police brutality, and other issues we're seeing in the enforcement of the law? Nope. We still gotta keep fighting it. But then...we gotta know there's always the possibility that evil will play itself out.

I was struck by a line from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, when Nick Fury says to Steve, "S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be." This is how I look at things. I'm not a cynic or hopeless, but certainly equal parts glass half empty and full. The most hope I ever have is in how I can change myself. I learned that through my support group, and it's been the best lesson I could ever learn. After coming out of a relationship with an addict, one where I'd tried to rescue and failed, I started to learn what humans could and couldn't do. And the biggest thing I learned is that I can't control others. When I look at the world right now, I see people looking at how shitty things can be, and thinking they can control others to eradicate it.

My fiance and I recently moved to a big city with one of the highest crime rates in the country. One weekend, at least 5 muggings occurred on the very block where we live, all in broad daylight. This is not usual for our neighborhood and we were pretty terrified. The police warned us to stay alert when we were outside, and be aware of our surroundings. They told us that the perpetrators sought out the easiest targets: people who were potentially less able to defend themselves (females and smaller males), or people who were not paying attention. I was pretty scared walking to/from my car. However, although my fiance worked late shifts, I wasn't too worried about him. That's because he's 6 feet tall and 300 pounds. Very few muggers are going to find him an easy target.

Anyhow, the neighborhood rallied together. We were not interested in being terrorized by shits who got their rocks off knocking people over and stealing their wallets. We gathered on the front stoop of one of the houses on our block, and sat outside during the perpetrators' peak operating hours. The police, who were patrolling the neighborhood almost constantly at this point, came by and said that our visibility was a good deterrent. A few days later, arrests were made and the muggings stopped. This whole scenario taught me a few things: first of all, we were lucky to have the police force in our corner, and I know that doesn't always happen (in this case we were able to use the force for good). Second, we didn't leave it all up to the cops. We knew that we had to send a message, that we had to let the bad guys know we saw what they were doing. And as soon as they realized we were on to them, they backed off. We were no longer an easy target, and definitely not worth their time.

So...arm all the kids, right? Nah, not necessarily. But don't leave all the power in the hands of the criminals. Tighten up regulations, but don't trust that the criminals won't find a way around it. Send a message from every school: "We won't take this sitting down." Ask the government to do their job, but don't be surprised if they do it badly. Place a presence at every school (my thinking is armed security and a very clear protocol that response to an active shooter is "kill on sight") that tells those cowards who kill innocent, unarmed children, "You come after me, and you're dead. You don't get to take the lives of the people that matter to me. Come after ME, and we'll see how much of a threat you really are."

Don't look so often to others to solve problems. If you care as much as you say, you'll probably do it better anyways.