学了英文去了美国才知道的事
我小时候是个枪械迷，可能是我GTA玩多了，我当年一直想体验下射击的快感。但是因为我的国家对于枪支管控是有非常严格的规定和法律的，别说是枪支弹药，就算是普通的刀具都是在公共场合禁止携带的。小时候我会求我爸妈给我买那种仿真的bb枪，在家里自己练习瞄准，觉得自己帅爆了。
我一直听说美国枪支合法。在1787年美国的制宪会议上，几位开国元勋把持枪的权利写进了美国宪法。其中第二条明确规定：纪律优良的民兵部队对自由州的安全是必要的，因此，人民持有并携带武器的权利不可受侵害。美国大将军和总统华盛顿也曾说过：”一个自由的民族不仅应该武装起来并接受训练，还应该拥有足够的武器和弹药，以免遭受来自某处的压迫，包括他们自己政府的压迫。“
我记得小时候有一次我爸带我去超市买菜。路上的警察佩戴着对讲机，警棍，和辣椒水，但是我左右看来看去没有看到手枪。我问我爸为啥美国人可以有枪，中国人不可以。他跟我说：”美国人基本上个头儿都大，人高马大的，他们一拳下去可以揍死人啊。那有枪就可以保护自己啦。不像中国人，力气还没有他们这么大。“他的话吓得我哆嗦了一阵。
来到美国之后我才证实了这一说法：美国人买枪就像我们买菜刀差不多方便。如今在美国3.3亿人口中，4亿枪支流动在美国的大街小巷，如此可见两三百年来，这种人人都有持枪权的传统已经在美国人心目中根深蒂固。即便是当今激进的民主党想要禁枪（因为美国校园枪击案频发，警察滥用枪支），也是一件非常困难的事情，除非修改宪法。
枪支提供了安全，除了当它不是的时候。美国枪支杀人犯的数量比其他高收入国家大25倍，美国女性的因枪支死亡率比其他国家高出百分之21，大约每年3百万美国小孩目击枪支暴力。当然了，如果你住在mountain brook的那种高端豪宅社区，枪支暴力对你来说应该只出现在新闻媒体和报纸上。
最近弗洛伊德事件在全球掀起了一波热潮。人们各持己见。有人说他有罪，但罪不至死，这件事错的还是警察，如果他不是黑人而是白人那么语录可想而知；有人说穷不是吸毒抢劫的借口，明明可以自己努力赚钱，却偏偏高喊“反对种族歧视”来吃福利，把纳税人的钱白白的浪费掉了。在美国，枪支滥用的话题已经持续很久了，两三百年来还从未想出一种可以控制的方法。在美国校园枪击案，黑人无辜被杀频频发生的大背景下，不知道美国政府在这时候会作出什么抉择。
和中国比较起来，枪击事件我是从没听说过的，但菜刀杀人事件倒不是没有。但到底来说，中国禁枪这方面给社会保证了生活安康美满的必要安全。各种枪击案我还是来美国之后才听说的，我想在此将其归纳为我人生中一大文化冲击吧。
https://everytownresearch.org/report/gun-violence-in-america/
When I was a kid, I was a firearm buff. This may be partially because I played too much GTA, but those years were when I always wanted to experience the thrill of firing a gun. However, because my country, China, has extremely strict regulations and gun control, guns and ammunition–and even ordinary knives–could not be carried in public. So I would beg my parents to buy me a BB gun, so I could practice aiming at home and feel “cool.”
I’ve always heard from others that guns can be carried by the everyday person in the United States. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, this right to bear arms was written into the United States Constitution, in which the second article clearly stipulates that a well-disciplined militia is necessary to retain the liberty and security of this nation. Thus, the right of people to bear arms is inviolable. As Washington himself once allegedly said “A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.”
I still remember once when I was younger, my dad brought me to the supermarket to buy groceries. On the way, the policemen I saw were wearing walkie-talkies, batons, and pepper spray, but as hard as I looked, I could find no handguns. Turning to my dad, I asked him why Americans could have guns, but Chinese people couldn’t. He said, “Americans are big and tall, they could strike people down with one blow. Having guns, then, allows you to protect yourself. This is unlike the Chinese, who aren’t as strong.” Hearing his words scared me as a kid, and left me trembling for a bit.
It was only after I came to the United States that I realized the truth of other’s statements. It really was incredibly easy to purchase guns–for Americans, buying guns was almost as convenient as buying kitchen knives! Currently, among the 330 million people in the United States, 400 million guns are owned, which just exemplifies how deeply rooted the tradition of gun rights is in American hearts. Despite the fact that today’s radical Democrats want to ban guns (due to frequent school shootings and police violence), it’s extremely difficult to do so without a constitutional amendment.
A gun promises safety, until it doesn’t. The number of gun killings in the United States is 25 times larger than that of any other high-income countries. The death rate of women, specifically, from gun-related crimes is 21% greater than that in other countries. Approximately 3 million American children witness gun violence every year. Of course, if you live in more wealthy neighborhoods such as Mountain Brook, gun violence is far from a reality for you. Instead, it’s something observed at a distance through the media.
The recent murder of George Floyd has set off an outpouring of voices around the world, with many people holding vastly different opinions. Some opine that he was guilty, but that the crime didn’t warrant the violence exacted upon him. They believe that the police were undoubtedly perpetrators in this matter, and that if he wasn’t black but instead white, that this would have never happened to him. Others say that poverty is no excuse for drug use and robbery, that he could have simply “pulled himself up by his bootstraps,” instead of using racial discrimination as a vehicle to take advantage of welfare benefits. Within the United States, this topic of gun violence and control has been an endemic topic, and there has yet to emerge an agreed-upon solution. Against the backdrop of innumerous killings of innocent Black people, school shootings, and more, I wonder what the response will be at this time.
In China, I have never heard of violent shootings, but violence through knives and such are not uncommon. But at the end of the day, China’s gun ban has guaranteed society the safety necessary for a healthy and happy life. The only times I’ve heard about instances of gun violence were after I came to the United States, and so I would consider this a major cultural shock after coming here.
Translation: Carina Lim ‘21
SIMON MA ‘22 (HE/HIM)
Simon is a junior and an boarder. It is his first year in his entire life ever wanting to write anything serious. He used to write only to memorize things because he could never remember important things unless he wrote it somewhere. He read his first book from cover to cover at the age of 16.
He is a free-bird as a writer: he doesn’t have a specific topic which is the only topic he writes about, and he does not write to please anybody. He writes to share his opinion, to spread positivity, and to create impact.
Contact Simon at simon.ma@indiansprings.org