Shooting in Texas

The moment I heard about the shooting in the Baptist church in Sutherland, Texas, I recalled the first incident of sporadic shooting that I had ever heard of,  which was in Texas on August 1, 1966.   Charles Whitman, a young architectural engineering student, at the University of Texas in Austin,   started shooting at students from the Clock Tower  of the university and killing 13 people at the time.

  

There was no Al Qaeda at the time, nor were any Daesh or ISIL to blame for all the violence that prevails in the US.  It was a young American who simply went bezerk.  And it seems to be the case in this latest shooting.  My heart goes out to the families of the victims, and I am sure people all over will condemn such an act.

However,  unless there are laws that control the use of arms that are so easily available in the US,  or even ban them completely, we will continue to hear of such tragic stories.  Unfortunately, the arms industry is a very profitable industry and those involved in it will continue to block any legislation against banning it.   One should not belittle the role of the movie industry as well.  All those violent films certainly play a crucial role in inspiring young men to be creative in violent acts.  In fact, it is not surprising that they inspire foreign governments and liberation movements as well, to use some of the tactics that they learn from the films that show how the US disposes of regimes or people that are not in their good books or challenge their policies. 

I should think that our only hope are the women; the mothers and wives of all those victims.  Maybe they would be the ones to lead a campaign for a legislation that would control or completely ban the use of arms.