One thing Americans are notoriously bad at is knowing anything at all about the rest of the world. The right-wing is buried so deep in their American exceptionalism bubble of delusion that they can barely breathe let alone pick up a book.
We aren’t the only country that has ever had mass shootings. Hell, they happen all around the world, but we are the country that has the most, by far and we refuse to do anything about it.
Australia knows a bit about mass shootings. In 1996, they experienced the worst one in the world to date. 35 people were killed and 23 wounded. Unfortunately, the world has had several worse since, but Australia is unique in that it recognized the problem and solved it. They got rid of guns.
Australian comedian Jim Jeffries put some perspective on Americans’ obsession with guns. He completely tore apart the argument that guns are for protection, for one thing, he noted that they call them “assault rifles” not “protection rifles.”
While his standup is very funny, it’s also filled with a lot of facts, like that people are 80 percent more likely to use a gun on themselves than on anyone else.
He also told a horrific story in which he and his girlfriend were in a situation where a gun would have been no help whatsoever:
“I had a break in in Manchester, England where I was tied up. I had my head cut. They threatened to rape my girlfriend. They came through the window with a machete and hammer. Americans always go, ‘imagine if you had a gun.’ Alright, I was naked at the time. I wasn’t wearing my holster. I was staring at the window waiting for machetes to come through. What world do you live in where you are waiting constantly fuckin’ ready?”
Jeffries also destroys the NRA and their “more guns” arguments. He also points out that the idea of security guards in schools won’t work, especially since they make on average about $16.00 an hour. “Not a lot of wiggle room to be a fuckin’ hero.”
He even took on the holy grail known as the second amendment, saying, “your first amendment says that I can say the second amendment sucks dicks.”
“I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘you can not change the second amendment.”‘
“I am like yes you can. It is called an amendment. If you can’t change something called an amendment… See, many of you need a thesaurus. If you don’t know what a thesaurus, get a dictionary and work your way forward. Don’t think your constitution is set in stone. You have changed things before. You used to have prohibition in there. Right? Then people were like ‘hey who likes getting fucked up? I like getting fucked up too. Let’s get that one out.’ You used to have this other thing in America called slavery.”
He also said that slave owners then used the same arguments that gun owners use today, “why should I have my slaves taken off me, I’m a responsible slave owner. I’m trained in how to use my slaves safely. Just because that guy mistreated his slaves doesn’t mean my rights should be taken away from me. I use my slaves to protect my family. I keep my slaves locked in a safe.”
His perspective on the argument that if guns are illegal only criminals have guns is perhaps the best part of the video. He notes that in the U.S., the AR-15 that was used in Sandy Hook cost only $1,000. In Australia, where guns are illegal, that same AR-15 would cost $34,000 on the black market. Most criminals wouldn’t be able to afford guns.
Here’s the video:
Featured image via Wikipedia.
