Gunman kills
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. These words hold so much truth that it should be taken as an axiom, or even a truism, I believe it qualifies for both.
Today, an unfortunate event came to be that once again proves this and a tragic one at that: 10 people were killed. Where did it happen? Again in Finland, the land of the suiciders. For almost a century, Finland has been a constant in the world top of suiciders and depressive people but it has been a relative low-profile actor in the land of mass murders (yes, US is leading this). Generations of psychologists have tried to give explanations for this, to find and eradicate the cause which pushes finns towards violent outbursts, either towards the self or others.
Personally, I don’t think I can, not will I try to solve this. I do have my theories but unfortunately I have no way of verifying them or otherwise offer support except for a set of personal beliefs. However, I would like to pinpoint one thing: the perpetrator of today’s homicidal act was visited by the police in the eve of his rampage.
Matti Juhani Saari, 22 years old, from Kauhajoki posted several threatening messages and movies on his Youtube profile, prior to his attack, where he described his view of life as a constant war against the rest of the world. Taking the words literally, he acquired guns and even posted a video of himself firing a gun.
Consequently, the police visited him at his residence where they concluded that there is no motive to revoke his weapons permit. As a statistic, Finland, the land of suiciders is also a leader in the world top of gun ownership. Now, with this kind of verifications, I’m actually surprised that the incidence of massive violent crimes isn’t actually higher. I mean, just look at the situation: a young man which makes his violent tendencies known in more ways than one, is allowed to have guns. Sounds ridiculous to me.
So maybe banning guns is futile, which is true in a way. Aftr all, whoever really wants a gun to go on a killing spree can do it, regardless of legality. I’m sure that when Matti brought his guns to school, the law was the last thing on his mind. But still, putting some difficulty in the way of gun ownership can make someone think twice. If I would have to save all my salary for three months in order to go get a gun on the black market, there’s a good chance that after the second month I might start thinking that there are better ways to spend my money.
Of course, banning guns won’t solve the problem. Psychiatric evaluations are a must and good ones too, not the superficiality which led to Matti being left alone after boasting with his criminal tendencies.
I know that this life is hard and the world is cruel .. but if I’m going to leave it, I’ll do it quietly and in my own way, without dragging anyone else with me. After all, I’d be trying to get rid of them, not take them along for a ride.