As I’ve often said, while there are certain themes I routinely gravitate towards, I designed this blog to be topically open-ended. This would allow me to address pretty much any subject without having to be concerned about going “offbrand,” so to speak. So, while 99% of Flaming Pablum may be devoted to ruminations, photographs and videos concerning life in New York City, music and parenting, I have indeed deviated from those normal threads to address stuff like politics and various bits of news of the day. This is going to be another one of those instances, so if you were expecting an entry about some of that other stuff, you’re going to have to wait a second.
Between the ongoing Puerto Rico morass and the horrific events in Las Vegas, I’d pretty much lost all my enthusiasm to post anything. Again, waxing nostalgic about shuttered record stores and the like seems like the quintessence of meaninglessness when the world seems like it’s falling apart. I, of course, had some things to offer about the tragic and unexpected passing of Tom Petty, but I just couldn’t summon the drive to do it.
But in my frustration in the face of the senseless events of this week, I quickly posted a by-now clichéd selection to vent my spleen, that being XTC’s anti-gun anthem from English Settlement, “Melt the Guns” (presciently penned in 1982, before mass shootings had become so routine). The title of this post, meanwhile, comes from a comment left shortly after I posted that entry (presumably to be voiced with the provocative bark of Gerard Butler in "300'). It was left by a reader who calls himself Parabellum. For those curious about the definition of that term is: A type of semiautomatic pistol or-machine gun. Charming.
I was also tempted to re-post an entry I penned in 2012, in the wake of a shooting here in NYC. In that post, I confessed my complicity in unwittingly celebrating gun culture via my fandom for various bits of pop culture. If you’re curious, you can find that here.
On Facebook, I posted a series of similarly declarative statements (“Destroy the NRA and Melt the Fucking Guns! Wise Up!”), but Facebook -– as discussed before -– tends to be something of an echo-chamber for the like-minded. That said, I do have a couple of friends who are law-abiding gun-espousers, as hard as it is for me to get my head around that.
Now, I do understand why certain folks might feel the need to own a gun for “protection,” (although, personally speaking, having a gun in house along with children strikes me as a ridiculously risky proposition). I also understand that certain folks are hunting enthusiasts. While I in no way endorse or empathize with that brand of “sport,” it’s obviously something very real for a lot of people.
But, this week’s events aren’t really about that shit. They’re about ASSAULT WEAPONS, specifically ones modified to maximize one’s kill count. To paraphrase a quote on a friend’s thread, they are lethal devices intended for lethal results, full stop. Outside of the theatre of war, no one -- NO ONE -- should feel the need – let alone be allowed -- to own such weapons.
I’ve heard a lot of anemic assertions suggesting that collecting assault weapons is a legitimate hobby. Being no stranger to collector culture, I suppose I can empathize with that theory, but -– by the same token -– I, personally, remain roundly unable to kill droves of people with my unwieldy collection of comic books. Nor, for that matter, would a dangerously unhinged individual be able to slaughter scores of innocents in the event that my painstakingly alphabetized collection of CD’s fell into their hands.
If you’re having trouble parsing these clunky analogies, I’m basically telling you to FIND ANOTHER FUCKING HOBBY!
Do your part.
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