Guns kill… and protect

Cityview’s Dec. 27 issue ran local citizen’s opinions about the Connecticut shooting. They demanded an end to gunned-up America. Their talking points were Miss Manners-sincere yet cub reporter routine.               

The gun issue is big and bad. It’s bombs away in the global and national media. Humpty Dumpty pundits drop facile but simple explanations and solutions at this toxic topic. They preach with and affected certitude. Serious gun types recommend a cold war MAD doctrine: Robocops at every school cafeteria to meet and greet wayward bazooka boys. Their challengers propose to ban every weapon but spit wads made from an NRA application form.                

Real world complexity is flak in these talks. It blows the opinionates off their navigated courses. We, the people, need to check our own experiences for a starting reference point. I have one: A relative of mine spray-painted his bedroom walls with chunks of red and gray brain matter many moons ago. Years later a woman and I were in a midnight parking lot rumpus with two gunsels. They wanted my doll and my money. A Lone Ranger appeared out of the dark with a hog leg and banged out two shots into the air. Our attackers burnt smoky rubber out and away. Our hero disappeared into the night. With my experiences, I grok each side’s vibe. Guns are bad and kill; guns are necessary and protect. It’s contextual, post-modern and also Mondo Cane out there.              

I’ll sign any petition that restrict at-a-tat gun sales; it’s my pro forma public position. But it’s look out for No. 1 first. I’m going down the rabbit hole with Alice, where I know there’s no one 10 feet tall.

Poor taste

I was appalled when I saw my friend in the Rap Sheet section of your magazine. My friend was arrested for an addiction problem, and it’s a heartbreaking experience, and then have the added humiliation of be mocked in your pages. These are real people… not just something that your magazine can make a game out of. Shame on you. Maybe your reporters should find some real stories about problems in our community instead of sitting on their hands looking through mug shots on the Internet. Your magazine defines poor taste.

CORRECTION: Corazon Coffee Roasters, an organic, Fair Trade coffee roasting shop, opened in Valley Junction. The name of the restaurant was mistakenly cut from that sentence in last week’s Side Dishes (“Cityview Bites,” Jan. 3).

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