Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unsafe In Human Hands
    Unsafe In Human Hands
    Unsafe In Human Hands
    Ebook150 pages2 hours

    Unsafe In Human Hands

    By Christopher Johnson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    We, the American family, have a problem. By our own hands, we kill as many of our own kind every month as the hijackers did just once back on 9/11. That’s thousands every single month! And the vast majority of these deaths come at the hands of family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Not strangers. As Pogo once said, we have met the enemy and he is us.

    In this book “Unsafe In Human Hands”, I try to contribute to the debate on violence and gun ownership in America by dispelling myths and sharing real research on a human level. And the data seems clear; guns pose a threat to their owners. Here are just two examples;
    ~Homes with guns are 12 times more likely to have household members or guests killed or injured by their own weapon than by an intruder’s weapon. (Southern Medical Journal in 2010)
    ~And there is a three-fold greater risk of homicide and a five-fold greater risk of suicide for residents in homes with firearms versus homes without firearms (American Journal of Epidemiology)( Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2004)

    Yet despite all the evidence, there is a perception gap; 71 percent of gun owners think a gun in the house makes them more safe, compared with 23 percent of non-owners (Gallup 2005 survey). This represents an enormous failure of perception. I’m not one for legislative action since Congress doesn't seem to respond to public sentiment anymore. This is more of a public health issue anyway, requiring a comprehensive education effort. There are existing models available to follow, such as the one we used to teach that smoking causes cancer (remember how the tobacco industry fought that one?).

    We need to inform the public of the risks these things pose to their families so that they can make the best choices possible. Hopefully this book can contribute to this public debate.

    (100% of the author's proceeds from this book will be donated to Cure Violence, Chicago.)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristopher Johnson
    Release dateMar 18, 2013
    ISBN9780989121903
    Unsafe In Human Hands
    Author

    Christopher Johnson

    Chris Johnson is the founder of several companies and the current owner and manager of two small businesses. He consults for clients in the areas of strategic management and sustainability. As an entrepreneur with a history of launching new products and new businesses, he is able to assist companies in identifying and leveraging their core strengths to develop winning market strategies. Chris also has extensive non-profit experience having spent years as Warden and a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Chris is currently Treasurer and Member of the Executive Committee of the Laymen’s Club, a group a lay persons from the Northeast who, for more than a century, have raised money in support of the Cathedral and its programs. Also philanthropic, Chris occasionally does projects like this book as a labor of love.

    Read more from Christopher Johnson

    Related to Unsafe In Human Hands

    Related ebooks

    Crime & Violence For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Mary Sanchez: Our Fear Of Mass Shootings Impacts Our Minds In Surprising Ways

      Apr 13, 2023

      You’ve all heard this take: Each school shooting in America, no matter how horrendous the carnage, eventually fades into the last one. The 1999 Columbine High School Massacre that left 13 dead seems to be where most people’s awareness begins. And of

      3 min read

    • Article

      It's Time To Disarm The Gun Debate

      Mar 8, 2018

      The "gun debate" is the national schism that seemingly cannot be bridged. Those on one side see the loosely regulated presence of 300 million firearms in this country as a threat to everyone's safety and gasp in ongoing disbelief when the gun lobby s

      4 min read

    • Article

      When Forgiveness Is The Headline – A Reporter In Search Of A Different Angle

      Feb 26, 2019

      Being the New York staff writer for any news organization could be an overwhelming job. With a population and an economy larger than many of the nations the Monitor covers, New York City is at the intersection of some of the biggest stories on the pl

      7 min read

    • Article

      Normalizing Violence

      Mar 22, 2018

      Addressing the Parkland shootings last month, and the apparent emergence of a movement for tougher, saner gun laws that has followed, a USA Today article asked: "What has been so different from all the other mass shootings over the years?" In one sen

      4 min read

    • Article

      Mary Sanchez: An Uptick In Gun Sales Following The Texas Massacre

      Jun 1, 2022

      More guns are being purchased across America in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 elementary children and two teachers were slaughtered. It’s almost guaranteed. The pattern has long been set in the United States. Mass shootin

      3 min read

    • Article

      Change Is Coming

      Mar 29, 2018

      The cries of loss and anguish become public, at last. A million young people seize the truth: "Half of my seventh-grade class was affected by gun violence. My own brother was shot in the head. I am tired of being asked to calm down and be quiet." The

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Rules of the Gun Debate

      Oct 6, 2017

      The Rules of the Gun Debate
      8 min read

    • Article

      Mary Sanchez: Invoking Emmett Till’s 1955 Murder For Gun Reform

      Jun 3, 2022

      Can blood and fragments of human flesh motivate politicians to act reasonably on firearm reforms? The question was raised shortly after the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 grade schoolers and two teachers were slaughtered with a military-grade we

      4 min read

    • Article

      Robert C. Koehler: Mass Murder: Our Wounded Humanity

      Apr 20, 2023

      Once again . . . once again . . . once again . . . I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. Yeah, another —the latest (?) —mass shooting in the United States, this one at Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 10, two days ago as I write

      3 min read

    • Article

      Robert C. Koehler: Mass Murder: Our Wounded Humanity

      Apr 13, 2023

      Once again . . . once again . . . once again . . . I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. Yeah, another — the latest (?) —mass shooting in the United States, this one at Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 10, two days ago as I writ

      3 min read

    • Article

      Robert C. Koehler: Mass Murder: New Victims, Same Old Questions

      Dec 8, 2021

      Four students dead, six more, plus a teacher, wounded. Can you believe – another mass shooting last week. This one north of Detroit, at Oxford High School. A 15-year-old boy – and his parents – were arrested. While the shock and collective horror are

      3 min read

    • Article

      Problem Solving In a Post-Truth World

      Sep 1, 2017

      “They all die!” We were on our way out of a screening of Rogue One – A Star Wars Story, and the 8-to-10-year olds in the group were consumed by the realization that every single main character had died. This was not what they were expecting. To those

      3 min read

    • Article

      It’s the Guns

      May 18, 2018

      It’s the Guns
      2 min read

    • Article

      What Was the Crack Epidemic?

      Aug 24, 2023

      "That this happened to a drug that disproportionately hit Black America is no surprise." The post What Was the Crack Epidemic? appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      At The Intersection

      Jan 13, 2021

      At The Intersection
      8 min read

    • Article

      Meet The Gun Owners Who Support (some) Gun Control

      Apr 29, 2021

      George Cook had never thought much about guns until about four years ago. Then he grew older and got married, and felt like he had a lot more to protect. So he bought a handgun. And last year, at the height of social justice protests and scattered vi

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Grim American Anniversary

      May 23, 2023

      A Grim American Anniversary
      4 min read

    • Article

      Our Wounded Planet

      Mar 28, 2019

      Should we save the planet or kill the enemy? Perhaps no question more succinctly separates the past from the future, or so it occurred to me after I read Rebecca Solnit’s stunning observation in a recent essay: that the mass murders in Christchurch,

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Unsafe In Human Hands

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Unsafe In Human Hands - Christopher Johnson

      Unsafe in Human Hands

      The human stories behind gun ownership and violence in America.

      By

      Christopher Linley Johnson

      Smashwords edition

      Copyright 2013 Christopher L. Johnson

      The Linley Company

      New York

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Introduction

      Section One: Defining the problem; an overview of homicide and suicide in America

      Guns in the wrong hands

      -Anecdote 1: Teenagers and guns in the inner city

      Gangs, guns and violence

      -Anecdote 2: The lessons of Romeo and Juliet

      Power that seduces and corrupts the heart

      -Anecdote 3: How guns change a personality

      Availability of guns – where do they come from?

      -Anecdote 4: Pouring gasoline on a fire; the case of Mali & Algeria

      Legacy Guns

      -Anecdote 5: The gun in the closet

      -Anecdote 6: The guns of a dead man; the case of Freddie Fudge

      Global Arms Trade

      Bad choices made by good people

      -Anecdote 7: The choices we make; the case of Churito

      Suicide as a choice

      -Anecdote 8: The worst moment in a young man’s life

      Social and financial costs

      -Anecdote 9: The things we do when we’re young

      Overall summation of the problem

      Section Two: Our misconceptions; the myths and biases that hinder our debate

      The lonemadman myth; the case of Sandy Hook Elementary

      The gun makes you safer myth

      Ban assault weapons and everything will be OK

      -Anecdote 10: The case of Alan Zaleski

      Racial barriers to empathy

      The changing American experience, becoming two Americas

      Changing demographics are altering the political power base

      Civil Religion and the branding of the American foundation myth

      -Anecdote11: Seventeenth Century New England

      -The role of taming the frontier and its part in creating the gun culture in contemporary America

      The Second Amendment and the balance between rights and obligations

      Is compromise possible?

      -Anecdote 12: Germany between the wars

      -Anecdote 13: Slavery; our peculiar institution

      Section Three: Conclusions and Recommendations

      Summary of Legislative PolicyProposals

      Summary of Social Policy Proposals

      Last thoughts

      Appendix

      Acknowledgements

      Dedication

      About The Author

      Reference sources

      Introduction

      The events of December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary shocked me from a state of complacency. Along with so many Americans, this was a watershed moment for me that focused attention on the problem of violence in our country in a way it never had done before. And yet, on a personal level, I didn’t know what to do – only that I wanted to do something.

      I suspected that the study of violence and the role of guns were going to be complex. In my attempt to better understand the dimensions of the problem, I began reading all the quality research on the subject I could find. What started as a personal journey of inquiry ultimately turned into this book. It highlights the conclusions I’ve come to during this journey, and in the end, I hope it helps contribute positively to our public debate.

      My worry is that the ensuing conversation will be one about guns, which are only things, when it should remain about people. Guns are only the gasoline poured onto a fire, volatile to be sure, but only part of the story. By contrast, people, in all their infinite diversity and complexity, should remain our spiritual and moral priority. And therefore the focus of this debate.

      Often it takes a particular human element to make a story resonate with the public. Statistics never do it. For those of us old enough to remember the Vietnam War, the photos in Life Magazine of the 200 Americans who had died that week or the image of a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc who, in order to protest, set himself on fire in a busy Saigon intersection, all combined to change America’s mindset on that war. It made it personal. The five and six year olds in Newtown, CT have certainly done the same, making this story resonate with us now.

      Surely, in any subject of national importance, saving lives first should be our most worthy endeavor. Few of us would fail to rescue a child from harm if we saw them running out into a busy street. But on a national scale, it is harder to find our role in such a matter. Who are we to each other and how does that play to this issue? What is our obligation to one another in society? Are we our brother’s keeper?

      The victims of violent deaths are often our most vulnerable citizens; those with suicidal tendencies and young adults. Young people are doubly at-risk; those aged 15-24 are most likely to experience a serious violent crime and also are the ones most likely to commit one. Therefore, at the worst moment in someone’s life, when they are, for whatever reason, making the worst decisions they could possibly ever make, how does a gun end up in their hands? And who is responsible? What is the broader social responsibility as well as the cost to society on these issues? With the highest cost in terms of lost youth, both those who die and those who spend the rest of their lives incarcerated, it is incumbent upon us adults to consider these matters seriously. Aren’t we supposed to be the ones to shepherd these youth through troubled waters into positive adulthood? Do we cast them to the wolves?

      Part of the difficulty in discussing these issues is a gap in our perceptions of the problem. There are a few mistaken myths which impede our ability to see things clearly. For example, too many of the recent mass shootings – horrible as they have been - have mistakenly focused the debate on the lone madman – the maladjusted person someone should have identified earlier on. In fact, the bulk of gun shootings are not like that. It is one point we need to clarify if we are to get this fixed.

      Another involves the concept of the law-abiding-gun-owner. The truth is that any good person who under normal circumstances might never have harmed another soul, could in a moment of extreme rage make a very bad choice. Add a fire arm to that scenario, and you have permanent, unfixable damage. To say gun owners fall into only two categories; law abiding citizens and the few mentally unstable outcasts, is to both over simplify and to dangerously get it wrong. Studies show that individuals in possession of a gun are 4.46 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not in possession (American Public Health Associations 2009 study Investigating the Link Between Gun Possession and Gun Assault). The truth? Gun possession increases risk to the gun holder and those around him. Gasoline on a fire.

      In later chapters, we will review dramatic demographic shifts which are causing the evolution of two different Americas. These have profound effects on all our political and social viewpoints. In particular, the tipping point – the move toward urbanization – has the greatest impact on one’s attitude toward gun ownership and the threat of violence. Clarity about these demographics will surely increase our mutual understanding and further help us to plan strategies for change.

      Any gun discussion must include consideration of the Constitution and the Second Amendment. It would be impossible in any society to casually throw out our mutual social compact without serious consideration to something that has lasted so long and has been so successful. But what role does this play in the discussion? What is the balance between our rights and our obligations to one another? And is there a priority system with rights and liberties – are they all equal? I will offer up my thoughts on these issues using examples.

      This one book cannot be a panacea to such a profound bundle of complex issues. But it can perhaps convey the story behind the statistics and help dispel some of the myths and biases which impede our discussion. Hopefully, the framework for any discussion on violence in America will focus on our humanity and the stories behind the decisions we make. We are at our best when we care for the least among us. Two groups especially, people at-risk of suicide and young adults, represent the most vulnerable members of our society. We have to make a safe place for them. Our future depends on it.

      New York City, March 14, 2013

      Section One: Defining the problem;

      an overview of homicide and suicide in America

      As timely and important as this topic seems to us today, it certainly is not new. Statistics vary, but according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, between 2001 and 2010, a total of 306,946 people died of gunshot injuries in the United States. That number includes both homicide and suicide. It means we average over 30,000 gun deaths per year, a number shocking by comparison to any other developed country. In roughly the same period, only about 3 percent of that number of Americans has died in the War on Terror. Yet consider the enormous difference in time, energy and money we spent on both problems.

      In 2010 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were 19,392 firearm-related suicide deaths and 11,078 firearm-related homicide deaths in America. Plus another seventy five thousand or so shootings that did not result in death, which is a compliment not to our culture but to the emergency medical community.

      With numbers of this magnitude, we have some important questions to ask and big decisions to make. As a country, we should be very clear whether we want to continue down this path. It speaks to how we wish to live together as a people. This is our choice as a society, and we need the clearest illumination of the problem and some real solutions if we can have any chance of controlling where we are going. Yet just outlining statistics doesn’t help us to see the real problem in all its complexity. These numbers don’t mean anything if not given context.

      This book seeks to humanize the story of people facing violence in America. Too often, when one hears these subjects talked about on TV or in the press, it seems the speakers are always trying to dehumanize the participants. Either they talk around the people factor with a focus on statistics or weapon capacities. Or else they talk about people by using labels. Calling someone hippie, redneck, gang banger, separatist, drug dealer, good guy, bad guy – these are all just ways of dehumanizing someone and boxing them into a category rather than viewing them as a person. It increases the otherness of someone we perhaps don’t want to understand. It doesn’t help us get to the human dimension of our problems. Easy to dismiss a dead black kid on the streets of Philadelphia as just one less gang banger. But one man’s gang banger is really just someone else’s kid, a teenager who maybe could have used a little more adult supervision. And the person another might call a redneck is really someone’s dad, a guy with a perspective and a story that needs hearing too. Each of the parties to this debate on violence in America has a story to tell. Each is a real human being. Where we go wrong from the very start

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1