Even after Columbine and Virginia Tech, the massacre of innocent people still overwhelms me. You'd think I'd be desensitized to the news of rampage and murder, but, in fact, it unnerves me a little more each time. Within three days a gunman opened fire on his family and town in Alabama and a German teen in military gear killed fifteen. Add that to the increased number of loose canons strolling the streets of NYC, I beginning to think it's time to get serious, like in the 80s and 90s, and pull out the Mace and whatever an urban dweller like me needs in times of potential crisis. Because it's quite obvious guns are easy to get no matter how strict the laws. And I hate to say it, but I will anyway: folks need to take that extra glance over their shoulder in case man [or some trigger-happy police] decides to go people hunting.
In Germany officials believe tests to determine potential killers may be more useful than stricter gun laws. I don't know about that. Unless every household is armed with a police-approved surveillance cam; or some government-approved microchip is lodged in one's head to monitor behavorial patterns, "potential killer tests" seems a waste of time. It's no mystery that weakened economies and financial anxieties can bring out the deranged in plenty of folks, but is behavior-testing really a solid solution to murder and rampage on the planet? I'm not sure about anything right now, but I do know something needs to be done.
Keith Josef Adkins is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and social commentator.