Firstly, I'll just say that I'm for background checks and limiting gun violence as much as possible. This view is one of humanity and I do the best I can to be a human being. However, with the social lean of a "mentally ill" bipolar person, I often view politics through that crucible. As a member of what I consider a socially outcast and often persecuted group, I analyze the current and ubiquitous gun debates with a detached, intellectual thought process but I, like mainstream people, feel such issues, as well. Gun control vs. gun rights, left wing vs. right wing, is obviously one of the most passionate, contentious subjects in our country (and I'm sure in many parts of the world.) This issue is fascinating for one major reason and that's because it's one of the very few issues that cause Democrats to "let down their hair" AKA say what they really feel. We all know what conservatives feel as they've hated and stereotyped people with mental illnesses forever.
All that said, here are the views of both sides: Conservatives quote the second amendment to defend their gun love/addiction/perverted sexual fetish. To these people, to crack down on certain guns means to take away all their guns. This is foolish and false, of course, but it's how they feel. Their mantra is "guns don't kill people, people kill people." This view is one of intent. That it leaves out the obvious problem of gun accidents which are caused by guns and not people killing people is irrelevant to their argument. Their desire is to choose guns over people. What sets them at ease is that the people they're choosing guns over are the "whackos." THEY'RE the ones that are the problem. Background check those people and all is right as rain. So who gets scapegoated? People like me that have bipolar disorder and, if you also have a mental issue, you're being scapegoated, too. Can't take any guns out of the hands of "real Americans" and can't blame guns so blame the whackos. I grew up with conservatives. This is how they feel.
Now liberals. I posted several months ago about how comments by Charles and Amy Schumer stereotyped mentally ill people as being the primary cause of gun violence. This narrow view, no doubt spoken by Amy Schumer with the strong encouragement of her liberal relative, can largely be excused because she's a celebrity popularity butt kisser and wants to get on the mainstream left wing celebrity bandwagon by calling press conferences and saying things. Democrats care SO MUCH about this issue (nothing wrong with that) that they're willing to leave politically correct territory. Their view? Guns kill people. I suppose they think people kill people too but their focus is on the weapons, themselves. Get rid of the guns and all is well. It's naive and impossible to politic for as guns have existed for hundreds of years and no doubt always will. The message is passionate, repetitious, and perpetual. However, Democrats, as shown by Charles and Amy Schumer and President Obama and others are also into background checks (they're on the lookout for right wing crazies) and treatment for the mentally ill.
Here is my take on that last point, which makes me VERY MAD! As a person with a mental issue, I've gone through incredible suffering. I don't own a weapon, don't want to and have never tried to. I work all the time at staying sane and take powerful medications that make me heavy and anesthetized for certain periods. I, like all others battling such problems, fight it everyday. Why do Democrats want people to get mental health treatment? On this issue, it's not because of concern or compassion. It's to take the guns out of the hands of the "crazies." To me, the comments of Amy Schumer with her grinning goon of a relative by her side conclusively prove that (and I don't want it to be so.) Democrats feel like blacks and gays are their family and friends. As members of persecuted American groups, I also feel kinship with such people. HOWEVER, it's clear that, to Democrats on the issue of gun control, the "crazies" are to be scapegoated by them as well. "Mental health treatment" not because it helps us but because it will cut down on gun violence in their eyes. Left wing ideology preaches that people are innately good. What makes them evil is when they go insane. It's ignorant because many sane people choose evil (as strange as that seems.) Therefore, when evil is done, it's the "crazies." Drug them up and keep them down and away. It hurts my feelings anytime I get that vibe from Democrats because they're supposed to be the "rainbow party" that accepts everyone. Do they have friends with mental illnesses? Are people with mental illnesses a color on their rainbow? Are we?
The struggle to limit access to certain weapons is the contentious point between the two sides and where they both get stuck. Democrats want to eliminate as many dangerous weapons as possible. Conservatives think that AK-47s and other overkill guns are vitally important to making sure Barack Obama doesn't come to their neighborhoods with red Communist tanks or some such nonsense that they truly believe. At the latest shootout, both sides express their views, butt heads a little then cool off to be dormant until the next bit of gun violence comes to our attention (a nearly everyday event in today's world of extreme social media.) Who gets treated like second class (at best) citizens? We do. People with "mental issues." We're discussed like Americans used to talk about blacks. We're not people. We're an issue to be debated and we have no say in the matter. Background checks will undoubtedly exclude people with mental illnesses from owning weapons. Who will make that decision? Democrats and Republicans jointly (so long as the "crazies" pursued aren't traditionally right wing "crazies.") What will the cutoff be? Blacks used to be considered 3/5 of a person. Will people with anxiety disorders be allowed guns? What about people with depression? Well, I'm bipolar and they're all a bunch of psychos so our fearless leaders will exclude me, right?
As I stated earlier, I have never owned a gun and don't want to. I don't need one. I'm not afraid of non-existent gun toting Commies in America knocking on my door to shoot me. The second amendment was very important when the colonists were fighting against British soldiers in their backyards. Does any American really need an arsenal of assault weapons to feel happy and safe?
My last comment is that I'm keenly aware that people with mental illnesses are responsible for some gun violence. Sadly, mental illnesses can so greatly affect people's brains that wonderful, well meaning people sometimes grab nearby weapons and go shoot up a shopping mall. It happens. Mass shootings are often the result of people in the grip of delusions and hallucinations. I'm certainly not advocating putting weapons in the hands of all or people who can be dangerous to themselves or others. My point is that it's a REPRESENTATION issue. I guarantee guys like Charles Schumer don't consult NAMI or other such groups on issues like this (however, I could be wrong on that.) After Amy Schumer's "Dude! I'm a celebrity!" comments, I sent an angry E-mail to his website expressing my feelings. Unsurprisingly, I got no reply. Carrie Fisher (who I think is great) is bipolar. If she sent an E-mail, he would call a press conference to talk about how great it is. The average citizen with mental issues? Excluded. Our opinions don't count on the issue of gun control. This is strange because background checks will effect us the most. Are Democrats and Republicans rendering us invisible as people and as Americans? I will leave that up to you to decide. Thanks for reading this far! You must be a masochist like me.
