Ban Knives?

In the last two weeks, 8 people have been killed and 41 injured, some seriously, by knife attacks in China. One had his hand chopped off. All the victims were either teachers or students. Many in China are alarmed at the attacks. So far, one of the attackers has been sentenced to death. Despite the violence, there has been no effort in China to ban knives and cleavers. It can be assumed that if the men had owned guns, those would have been used rather than knives and cleavers. As it was, the attackers relied upon the weapons at hand: knives, and cleavers.

This is something that should be borne in mind by those alarmed at similar attacks here in the U.S. where an assailant attacks multiple victims. Unlike the case in China, the weapons of choice in the U.S. are firearms. After each attack there has been an outcry against guns and efforts to ban them. The assumption is that banning guns would prevent such attacks. Even if guns were banned, it is unlikely that violence would cease: it would simply become more problematic as attackers searched for alternative weapons. There have already been incidences of mass attacks were vehicles were used.

Whatever the merits of gun control, and there are some, it should not be assumed that violence would cease where it is adopted. It wouldn't. Deranged attackers, disgruntled employees, unhinged postal workers, and jealous spouses would still plot and scheme. They would simply resort to different weapons. Perhaps they would push people out of windows or throw them under trains. Vindictive spouses might have to return to poisoning each other.

What lay behind attacks such as recent violence in China and the outrage at Columbine has nothing to do with guns or meat cleavers. It has everything to do with people. Restricting guns is an obvious first step, but it is only a stop gap. Law abiding citizens would have a harder time purchasing fire arms, but criminals would only be slowed down. They will still be able to acquire guns, despite laws against it. Criminals rarely have qualms about breaking the law. That is why they are criminals to begin with.

The use of violence to spectacularly lash out at coworkers, students, and society in general is a disturbing trend, but it is a recent one. Violence and murder have always existed, and they always will exist, just rarely at the level we experience today. If we really want to address the issue, we need to examine and try to understand what lay behind it. We must examine the alienation, frustration, and anger that permeates our society. We must seek to determine what it is about our society today that causes such outrages. People don't just attack students because they hate children. They attack students because it is spectacular. It is the result of a deranged mind seeking retribution and notoriety. Guns are no more behind attacks such as Columbine than meat cleavers are behind the attacks in China. The attack at Columbine was just more effective. If they had to, the attackers would have used baseball bats and sharp sticks. That might be of solace to some, but it shouldn't be.

The issue behind the attack in China is not about meat cleavers. It is about a man who attacked people with a meat cleaver. The issue behind gun violence in the U.S. is not about guns. It is about why so many people are willing to use guns.