"In the aftermath of two mass shootings in less than 24 hours in the United States, we posed that question and others to Vin Gupta, a critical-care physician with military experience. And he is a scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which compiles comprehensive data on what it calls the "global burden of disease," including data on deaths from gun violence around the world. What are the theories about why the rate of death from gun violence isn't higher in countries like Afghanistan and Yemen?
The IHME [Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation] does not have an explanation, but I like to speculate. Off the top of my head, my gosh, my sense is that the easiest explanation is the most plausible. In countries that are chronically in conflict, you have tons of arms, but my speculation is that the arms are really concentrated in areas that are very militarized, in the hands of militia men and militaries. But in the United States, essentially in every ZIP code you have some exposure to somebody who may own a firearm."
Quoted: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/06/748778300/a-doctors-insights-into-gun-violence-and-gun-laws-around-the-world
We can think of a surreal beauty in art, to help us understand the unthinkable, a forbidden fruit that will help us move on. In hope. It brings attention to our deep flaws, as human beings, and it gives us a powerful message to change our ways.
