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Abstract

d="86fc">I live in the suburbs so, unlike people who live in seriously dangerous neighborhoods, I’ve avoided the daily proximity to gun violence — but if there are 120 guns per 100 people, how long will that last?</p><p id="eba2">All my life I’ve lived on an island surrounded by violence, but the tide is rising. Will we move to Canada? Do they even want us? I seriously doubt it. If I tell them I hate guns, will they let me in? Do I even deserve entry or do I smell like gun powder? Is that the American natural deodorant now? Secret Aerosol Gun Violence?</p><p id="ee75">One night when I was younger, I was driving home with a friend. A group of men blocked our car from moving by pulling up beside us when we were parking. They ran toward us and shoved a bunch of guns into our open windows. The guns were touching my friend’s face as she sat incredibly still, crying, trying not to move.</p><p id="f524">I guess you could call what was happening a stick-up, a robbery, or a mugging. I don’t know what you call it when you’re in a car. They took our wallets and our purses and left.</p><p id="7a90">When we started to get out of the car, they came back a second time and pulled my friend’s ring off her finger. <i>I saw a ring,</i> one of them said. Let me have it. She tried to hide her hand, but guns.</p><p id="0c66">It was a diamond and emerald ring that belonged to her grandmother. It didn’t come off easily and I got scared. They had to pull and twist. It was too much contact.</p><p id="196d">There was something more brutal about yanking the ring off her finger than the guns themselves, but the guns were what made her let go of something irreplaceable. The guns gave her no choice.</p><p id="af44">I don’t remember their faces. I’ve tried to, but I remember their guns and her face like I remember my most cherished memories — the ones I do not want to forget.</p><p id="39ce">I’m sure when I got home that night, my own mother thought, <i>I wish that was not one of her memories.</i> As long as I have been alive, guns have been getting closer. If I pack up and move away, will I ever be far enough away to stop guns from catching up to me?</p><p id="e859"><i>Thank you <a href="https://garyparkerchapin.medium.com/">Gary Chapin</a> for being an honest and kind editor.</i></p><p id="20a9">Rather be contemplating? Follow <a href="https://aculberg007.medium.com/">Amy Sea</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/contemplate

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STICK’EM UP

Looking Good Canada❤️ America! Why So Many Guns?

Coming soon to shootings near me

There was another shooting near us again yesterday.

They’re getting closer, my son said.

Shit, I thought. Why does he have that in his brain? Why aren’t we talking about his friends, sports, school? Guns always win.

My husband came downstairs and said, We’re moving to Toronto.

Can we? I asked.

He showed me a bar graph on how many Americans per 100 owned guns — 120. That made sense. Of course, 100 people needed 120 guns. Holsters from Amazon come in two packs — it’s cheaper to buy multiples and this holster has 8,456 five-star reviews.

Then my husband showed me what percentage of Americans die from gun violence — big percentage. Better statistics than who graduates college.

Then he showed me the much lower percentage of Canadians who die from gun violence — smaller but a lot of them were still getting murdered.

Humans.

This is a weird article. I realize that.

Then my husband said, If Canadians are not shooting each other but they’re still getting murdered, are they stabbing each other?

This is how we Americans think. How do they murder each other if they don’t have guns? Guns are so effective.

4,000 years ago I wrote an article about a Canadian couple who murdered a lot of people. They were blond, attractive and they liked to chop people up. I remember showing a Canadian friend when I was finished.

She said, Yeah, we’re less day-to-day violent, but when we murder, we go over the top.

I looked at her face for sarcasm. Nothing. She was truth-telling.

I don’t know why we call Earth a civilized society. I’m sure the aliens are like ‘maybe we read the translation wrong.’

We are not civilized. We are uncivilized. We should call earth an uncivilized society. An uncivilization.

I live in the suburbs so, unlike people who live in seriously dangerous neighborhoods, I’ve avoided the daily proximity to gun violence — but if there are 120 guns per 100 people, how long will that last?

All my life I’ve lived on an island surrounded by violence, but the tide is rising. Will we move to Canada? Do they even want us? I seriously doubt it. If I tell them I hate guns, will they let me in? Do I even deserve entry or do I smell like gun powder? Is that the American natural deodorant now? Secret Aerosol Gun Violence?

One night when I was younger, I was driving home with a friend. A group of men blocked our car from moving by pulling up beside us when we were parking. They ran toward us and shoved a bunch of guns into our open windows. The guns were touching my friend’s face as she sat incredibly still, crying, trying not to move.

I guess you could call what was happening a stick-up, a robbery, or a mugging. I don’t know what you call it when you’re in a car. They took our wallets and our purses and left.

When we started to get out of the car, they came back a second time and pulled my friend’s ring off her finger. I saw a ring, one of them said. Let me have it. She tried to hide her hand, but guns.

It was a diamond and emerald ring that belonged to her grandmother. It didn’t come off easily and I got scared. They had to pull and twist. It was too much contact.

There was something more brutal about yanking the ring off her finger than the guns themselves, but the guns were what made her let go of something irreplaceable. The guns gave her no choice.

I don’t remember their faces. I’ve tried to, but I remember their guns and her face like I remember my most cherished memories — the ones I do not want to forget.

I’m sure when I got home that night, my own mother thought, I wish that was not one of her memories. As long as I have been alive, guns have been getting closer. If I pack up and move away, will I ever be far enough away to stop guns from catching up to me?

Thank you Gary Chapin for being an honest and kind editor.

Rather be contemplating? Follow Amy Sea and Contemplate