Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown….they all have something in common, they attacked armed men and paid the price. Men and boys like these as well as those that have made the news all come from a society where guns are seen as something that is cool, something that is a fashion statement, or something used to scare people you dislike. This is why people are being shot every week, nobody teaches young people in that society that a gun is a tool. It is a deadly tool that must be respected. The fact that anything beyond the end of that barrel can be destroyed must be respected. The way one is taught guns determines how they will use them, if taught they are dangerous tools designed to kill they will be respected. If taught they are something “cool” to show a friend they will kill.  

Image one features a snub-nose revolver that has been marked as evidence in a crime. Many criminals carry these because of the key word “concealable”. They can be hidden until the carrier wants them to be shown, they can be “flashed” to intimidate someone, and they can be drawn more quickly than a rifle. In most of the cases seen on the news where a young man or woman is shot dead for brandishing a firearm in front of a police officer, resulting in these riots seen, the criminal had a handgun. These weapons used to commit crimes are most often stolen, meaning in order to obtain these weapons someone would have to either commit a felony and steal it themselves, or partake in an illegal transaction of stolen goods. So what is going to stop them from using this weapon to attempt to avoid jail time by killing the officer attempting to arrest them?

Image two is a picture of a news stations coverage of an incident where a man was shot for brandishing a weapon in public, terrorizing a community. In this incident a white man was shot by police. People like this man are shot by police officers every year for just one reason, they endangered the lives of the public and police officers alike. This is not here to say that police are evil for shooting people, this is to say that a person’s race is not the reason they are shot white men will be shot for just the same stupid moves as a man of any other race would. These people are being shot dead in the streets not because they are a certain race but because they do stupid things. Rob a store at gun point, stupid. Run from the police killing innocent people, stupid. Point a gun at police, stupid. But this shouldn’t be taken as saying every criminal should be shot, it is saying that sometimes it is the only resolution to these situations.

This image shows a young man taking a picture of himself in front of a mirror while pointing a handgun at the mirror. Teens today think brandishing a firearm is something “cool”, they think guns are something that makes them intimidating and makes people have more respect for them. Teens often post pictures of themselves with firearms on social media, the “mirror selfie” is one that comes to mind. Typically, in these “selfies” the person is pointing the weapon at the mirror where there could be someone behind the wall the mirror is hanging on and could be shot dead. These people are also seen generally handling the weapons unsafely whether pointing the weapon at themselves or in an unsafe direction. It is obvious that they have not been properly taught the respect these weapons deserve, when certified instructors teach any newcomer the first thing they say is “Do not point any weapon at anything you do not want to Destroy” because guns are usually the most dangerous thing the normal civilian will ever lay their hands on. Respect for the weapon and proper training are what set apart most criminals and law abiding citizens.

Picture number four shows rioters standing around and on top of a car, kicking and attempting to tip it over. In recent news these riots condemning police for doing their job have been a common occurrence, people attack innocent men and women simply because they are walking down the wrong street, as well as attacking officers and destroying police cars. Just this type of behavior is an example of the society these people grew up in, one that glorifies criminals and attacks officers of the law, one that glorifies criminals who were shot being criminals and cries “protest” when in reality it is a riot. Many of these people who have these skewed morals will inevitably have children, then raise those children to be the same lawbreakers. Creating a cycle that can only be broken by those who choose to see differently than they were taught, to realize not all of what they were taught was good.

Image number five shows a large group of people who appear to be in a standoff with police forces, the center of attention is a young man who appears to either be encouraging the protestors or attempting to calm them. Too often news coverage ignores the single man or woman attempting to bring peace and focuses only on the violence and conflict occurring. When in fact it is the same violence that started the whole thing, a black man or woman attempts to harm someone and ends up being killed. Simply put this is a violent person forcing a typically peaceful person to do violent things to protect themselves, which then brings out other violent people who claim to be “protestors”. But if the media would choose to show those peaceful few people, it may just inspire others to do the same.

Image six shows myself and my shooting squad at a youth shooting event last year, as well as our coach. Every shooter in this image was under the age of 18 at the time of the event, as well as the several hundred other shooters in the event that day. On this day, during this event, in the presence of at least a dozen armed DNR officers not a single person was shot or killed. The reason for this is that all the young men and women must take weapon safety courses in order to participate in these events, they learned the dangers of weapons and that they should not be treated as toys. These people are also taught that officers of the law hold authority and should be respected, they understand that in order to be respected one must give respect. There are thousands of events similar to this one that happen every year, and in the vast majority nobody is harmed, due to the fact that people learn the respect that weapons and officers of the law deserve and they give it.

Image number seven is an image of just myself. This image was included because, since I was knee high to a grasshopper I have been shooting guns, anything from bb guns to shotguns, and AR 15’s. In my nearly 16 years of shooting never have I ever thought of shooting another person, let alone an officer of the law. This is because my father taught me properly how weapons should be treated. This is not to say I haven’t been around people who have not been taught properly, on multiple occasions I have been shooting with people and had a loaded weapon pointed at me. And every time, without fail, that I asked the individual what kind of training or courses they have had I received a response similar to “I’ve never taken any classes”, or “my dad just gave me a gun when I was old enough and showed me how to shoot”. These are the kinds of people we will see on the news one day who have accidentally shot their friend while hunting, or who’s child shoots someone whether by accident or on purpose. Proper training gives way to good habits, and good habits with weapons prevent tragedies.

The final image is of a national skeet shooting competition in Sparta Illinois, this event is held every year where hundreds of teens from all over the country come to one place and shoot. It is almost given that with upwards of five hundred teenagers in the same place there will be a few conflicts, it is just human nature, but nobody was shot during this event. Nobody was shot because once again these people were correctly taught and although a few may have been angry at each other, possibly angry enough to throw punches, no shots were fired at a person. Events similar to this play out in many places with a different outcome, two people get into a fight and one goes to get a gun, then shoots the other out of anger because they had no respect for life or for the gun they had. 

Respect is the key word, one must respect the weapons they hold, one must respect authority given to others, and one must respect the people around them. In order for our society or run there must be a certain level of respect reserved for these things, things that may kill you. If every person learned the respect that firearms deserve there would be no mass shootings, and there would be no riots because someone thought that shooting at a police officer was a good idea. Respect is what people today seem to lack an understanding of, and it is what this world needs in these times.
