We may never know what demons haunted Wade Michael Page’s mind in the minutes, hours and days before he entered the Oak Creek gurdwara in Wisconsin, determined to deliver death to those inside it. A former soldier in the United States army, Page has been linked by a civil rights group to white supremacist politics and it is almost certain that Sunday’s massacre was not just a random act of terror but a targeted hate crime as well. One of the oldest Asian communities in North America, the Sikhs faced prejudice and discrimination at the start of the 20th century before finally establishing themselves in different walks of life; in the wake of 9/11, they found themselves targeted by racists who saw in their turbans a resemblance to Osama bin Laden. The sole victim of a hate killing after 9/11 was a Sikh petrol station owner in Mesa, Arizona, and prudence suggests that even though the reason Page chose the gurdwara for his rampage is not yet known, extra security must be provided to Sikh, Muslim and Hindu places of worship across the U.S.
The real lesson from the Oak Creek killings isn’t, however, about the threat to one particular religious community. Even the most hate-filled ideas, after all, cannot kill. The real problem is America’s bizarre relationship with guns. It has long been apparent almost nothing can push the U.S. to clamp down on the criminally-easy access its laws give to guns: not the killings at Oak Creek, not the massacre at the Aurora movie theatre near Denver, not the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, not the Columbine carnage. Wisconsin last year, actually passed a law making it easier for its residents to obtain firearms. In population-adjusted terms, civilians in some parts of the U.S. are more likely to become the victim of a firearms-related murder than their counterparts in war-torn regions like Iraq or Afghanistan. In 2010, the last year for which figures are available, 16.02 of every 100,000 residents of the District of Columbia were killed in a firearms murder; in Afghanistan, U.N. data shows, the civilian fatality rate was 7.90 per 100,000. The classic right-wing argument is that potential victims need guns to protect themselves. Leaving aside the fact that the statistics falsify this claim, it stands on poor rational legs. In the wake of the Denver massacre, both President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney showed a remarkable unwillingness to deal with the issue head-on. Their lack of leadership will, tragically, ensure the deaths of thousands of their fellow Americans year after year.
Keywords: Wisconsin gurdwara shooting, Oak Creek Sikh Temple killing, U.S. gurdwara killing, U.S. gun culture, William Page
Guns should be banned for the ENTIRE country because some nut shoots people? People call it the "American Gun Culture". A lot of men in India rape women. Shall we call it the "Indian Rape Culture"? So what should India ban?
@Sumati
One basic fallacy in your argument - The primary use of Buses and Trains is for transport. It is when they are either misused or when there are accidents, they result in tragedy. When that happens, the solution is in figuring out safety nets for the same. Guns are not the same way. The primary function of a gun is to injure/kill. The argument is why to put something that is designed to kill in hands of all and sundry. It's naivete to assume that this wont create mass scale problems, like the one in this case.
We live in the suburbs in America. A neighbor of ours recently acquired a telescopic assault rifle...for protection. Someone mentioned 'protection from political subjugation'. Really?! Why are y'all so darn proud of being free but also so darn scared that you need guns. With all the psychological issues people here have, it'd be great if getting their hands on guns were'nt as easy as pie. I wouldn't want to get shot while walking the dog at night by some over zealous trigger happy neighbor who thought he was doing his civic duty.
The mindless shoot-out at Wisconsin Gurudwara killing innocent Sikh believers and burning down of Joplin Islamic Centre (Mosque) in Missouri in the United States points to the rising religious intolerance, xenophobia and utter ignorance of the supremacists in the United States of America. Though the US civil Administration and Police authorities were quick to respond to the “Gurudwara massacre”, the expatriate there must be reeling under anguish and a sense of fear and insecurity. This is notwithstanding the robust law and order machinery and judicial system there. What remains as a matter of serious concern is the rising intolerance and bigotry in the US against religious minorities. Talks of racial cleaning and incident of ethnic violence against foreigners and linguistic religious minorities can seriously damage the social framework of the US. It can also irrecoverably dent US image as a safe crucible of multi-ethnicity and exemplary confluence of multi-race.
@Sumati - psychologically speaking, a person finds easier and better release of hate with guns, as opposed to setting a person on fire or running them over, key word here being 'easier' .
Also, guns unlike cars can hardly qualify for a necessity.
@Ron Hollis
What happened to Red Indian's population in US? So "The very idea of the people's right to self-government and to decide their own destiny - independent and free - is what is protected." Protects only certain people?.
While it is commendable for us to blame the "gun culture", it should
be borne in mind that in many countries the criminal elements have
access to weapons, while decent citizens are unable to defend
themselves. it may be one of the reasons as to why the citizens of the
usa refuse to agree to a weapons free environment. it is also worth
noting that the weapons are part of the frontier spirit which is
supposed to be a part of the USA and its origins. all the same my
condolences to the victims of the tragedy. but weapons or more
specifically their absence is no deterrent to miscreants especially
those motivated by racist designs. i suppose there are no easy
answers.
The incident that happened in Wisconsin is indeed unfortunate and calls for strong condemnation by one and all. However, this incident also presents an opportunity to compare the strikingly different ways in which acts of killings and terror are dealt with in US and India. Following emergency calls, the local police immediately swung into action, shot down the gunman and prevented further tragedy. The president assured the citizens and the FBI launched a thorough probe into the killings. Compare this to the tardy response that we witnessed in Guwahati, Mangalore and Pune. The PM of India is always conspicous by his absence and the politicians do not tire of throwing mud at each other. As for the investigation, it goes on forever.
Plenty of guns, ignorance and hatred breed lots of violence. However, the author
should be careful what he is asking for when he says that the US ought to do more
to protect its minorities.
Firstly, minorities are very well protected in the US, despite all that one might hear. I went there just after 9/11 and was astonished to see a mosque right next to the main street in the small town I lived. Nobody was complaining or defacing this mosque. We in India have plenty of glorious examples of what our mobs can do.
Similarly, a police officer arrived immediately on the scene and shot the gunman, suffering severe injuries himself. Let's contrast this to what Mr. Modi did in Gujarat.
It is not possible to provide 24/7 protection to all minorities. You never know where some madman might attack. What you can do however is take rapid action in case of such an event, and the US has shown us India in particular that it is competent whereas we are not! Charity begins at home!
At the coming Republican National Convention, various dangerous items like knifes, etc and even water guns are banned near the convention centre for security reasons. But guns are allowed near the convention. America's gun culture defies logic. Basically it is byproduct of the extremely polarized politics where there is no middle ground. Thankfully gunowners are a dimishing demographic. But exsiting gunowners continue to buy more and more guns.
Guns have a long history as part of America's fromtier subculture. Today, the descendants of those frontiersmen hold onto their guns mostly for cultural reasons. They think that liberal politicians are out to take their guns as part of the culture war that has already stamped upon various other aspects of their traditional culture. And of course the NRA which is a front for gun manufacturers, play on these fears for business reasons.
Ms.Sumati, you did not justify the reason why people should still be allowed to purchase guns??!!??
Of course, it is related to human psychology, but with gun in hand, anyone will feel more powerful, wont they!
And comparison of road accidents with planned murder is silly!
"people are killed in India in road and due to rash driving. Should
this lead to a ban on vehicles?" Sumati.
Be real! Automobiles are not designed to kill people, but Guns are!
@ Ron Hollis: please don't pontificate on US history. Your
constitution also enshrined slavery and denied women's suffrage. There
is good reason to believe that the founding fathers may have made some
more mistakes. At the very least there is reason to reconsider some of
the so-called "God-given" rights your people claim via the
constitution. It is amazing how willingly ignorant Americans choose to
be. Look around you. There are mass shootings of this kind every other
day - many involving children as offenders. There is no godly reason
in this day and age for guns to be freely available to the public. But
then maybe living in the middle ages is also a constitutional
provision in the US.
The article points to the fundamental problem in the American society and the political unwill. The comment about the American perspective throws light on the American founding principle. America of today is constituted of settlers than the idegenious population. It is known that the early settlers drove the indegenous population and fenced the land and had to use arms to protect themselves. But it is more than 300 years and we are expected to have evolved as human beings. As another commentator rightly said that US today is the global crusader for humanrights and welfare. But it seems to have ignored the humanrights violation in its own country. If one has to take arms to protect oneself, then where is the need for state and governance? If everyone is allowed to live by their own moral code of conduct where is the place for society?Protection from tyranny and oppression need not mean resorting to arms. They need to look at other ways that they advocate elsewhere in the world.
So, what do you propose, Mr.Ron Hollis, to avoid such mishaps in future?
There has been 2 gun related mass murders in the last 2 weeks.
Also, one query, is the so called "god" given right of freedom applicable only to American citizens?
Or is it applicable to every citizen of the world?
I hope you are well aware of what is happening in Syria, and what happened in Iraq, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Somalia, and what will possible happen in Sudan! (or are you still ignorant enough to believe that none of these was U.S.A propaganda)
If U.S. smells even in a remote corner of the world the slightest
human rights violations, it is in the forefront to condemn it. As
pointed out in the edit, both Obama and Mitt Romney have a paramount
task to reassure the people of the US in a clear and categorical
manner that the administration will not be a mute spectator to such
mass killings in the most unexpected instalments in places where
people of different ages, culture and ethnicity assemble in large
numbers as part of their day today activities. Now is the time for
Obama to forcefully speak up against the gun culture and lay a roadmap
for its legislative elimination for which the entire humanity will be
indebted to him.
A little American perspective, if you will... It is America's
experience, in its founding, that government abuses of the people's
rights were unacceptable, and that the people had a right - and a
responsibility - to defend themselves against tyranny and oppressive
government abuses. That right was recognized in our country's founding to be God-given and unalienable. In asserting this birthright, adding the knowledge of historical experience, the American citizens choose not to be subjugated by any group of people or political entity. It's the built - in safeguard for enforcement of the rest of our Constitution. The very idea of the people's right to self-government and to decide their own destiny - independent and free - is what is protected.
The crime has more to do with psychology of the criminal with guns. Such crimes are saddening and unfortunate but such such people do not necessarily need guns. People burning Graham Staines alive alongwith with his two childrens did not use guns. As regards the statistics, more people are killed in India in road and due to rash driving. Should this lead to a ban on vehicles?
And yet, your projected death toll for the U.S. doesn't nearly compare to the numbers of boys and girls who will be sexually assaulted in India (and given no justice), the numbers of girls murdered inside and outside the womb, the numbers of youth killed in the name of "honor" because they choose to marry outside their caste, the millions who will die from starvation, dehydration and other poverty related diseases from living in filth. The numbers of people who will die in traffic accidents from either rage or sheer negligence. Oh and... no strong statements will come from the government. No, justice will be given to the innocent. "He who lives in a glass house, should not throw stones."
The Wisconsin tragedy makes us really sad. The democrats and the republicans will have To think together at this stage to prevent such disasters in future. The Gun lobby is very Powerful in USA, and because of this, the life of great presidents like Abraham Lincoln And Kennedy were shortened. The election debate is on in America, and the issue Relating to the freedom to have guns , should be discussed to help ALL IN THE LAND OF IMMIGRANTS. That will be a wise step and the real pathway to guarantee peace In Lincoln's land.
I want to point out that until last year guns were banned in washington DC. Presently
washington DC has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Statistically
speaking many of the cities which have the strictest gun laws have the highest
homicide rate. Historically, passage of gun control laws has at best done nothing,
and at worst has caused the homicide rate to increase.
American white's support gun laws that allows whites to keep guns & use them against people of colour. It basically stems from tradition of European white settlers using guns to keep native red Indians at bay. The tradition continues. If 100 years back guns were used against red Indians today they are being used against recent non-white immigrants Asians, Afrikans etc. Asians should take advantage of gun laws & arm themselves to teeth & form armed militia's for self defence while following the laws. Do not violate the law.
Editorial very aptly summarizes the issues involved. But American citizens themselves have to seriously ponder whether the guns are required by them for self- protection. As the edit points out, guns are increasingly being used to kill innocent citizens. If the citizens can acquire them easily, there as it is done now, chances are that more citizens will become victims of hatred or plain madness.
The author cites District of Columbia statistics, where gun ownership is next to impossible. So crime is high there. This is highly misleading. The author should research Kennesaw, GA which requires all households to own a gun with ammunition and see the decline in crime there. More guns = less crime in the U.S.
America always had guns. In this vast country, sometimes guns are
essential. Guns are not new in America, what is new is constant brain
washing by media, particularly some radio stations. They provide fuel
to criminal minds to divert their anger to "foreigners". Restriction of
gun ownership will not solve this problem.
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