A Gun Culture

The cover of Time shows a cute

, smiling boy, Andrew Golden, fully dressed in camouflage . The toddler is

clutching a high-powered rifle bigger than him

There is an eye-catching yellow headline on the cover Armed & Dangerous Below, there is a caption telling the reader what happened : two gun-happy killers. Arkansas . A small inset picturing two boys can be seen above the big headline, with the photos of the two kids murdered some of their classmates somewhere in

The Newsweek caption informs

cover shows the same boy but older , also smiling , and holding a very long .

pistol . He is in army camouflage too . The headline tells us he is one of The Schoolyard Killers, and the the reader there is more inside Behind the Jonesboro Tragedy There is not the slightest doubt schoolyard. This article dates back to 2000. It raises a burning and topical issue, namely the problem of gun control and gun culture in the United States. The author tries to account for a widespread phenomenon, a scourge that plagues America. The article starts with concrete and precise examples. The author refers to two tragedies that involved young people. The two magazine covers clearly demonstrate that the two teenagers had been brainwashed about what Andrew Golden did to be featured on the covers of these two

international magazines: he is a murderer . Both covers

tell us he killed some of his schoolmates in the

since they were born. They had been brainwashed into thinking that arms were part of their daily lives. Further in the text, the writer wonders how his country may have reached such a high level of violence and why giving a young child that it is similar to the level of violence in countries that are at war. The number of murders is staggering and the parcel of peoples daily lives. It is thought to be normal to have a loaded gun at home. thinking that self-defense is the only solution. a gun for Christmas has become a custom in some families. He compares the States to other countries and points out figures are huge and alarming. He then examines the causes and lists them. First, gun violence has become part and Secondly, the media play a key role because they focus the light on sensational events and brainwash viewers into Thirdly, video games are also responsible for this level of violence. Players are trained to shoot point blank without thinking and thus become potential killers. Lastly, the government is also held responsible

because there is no control of the arms that are purchased. The writer clearly advocates stricter gun control.

GOING FURTHER. What does the writer mean when he writes : . A shotgun for Christmas ? For Christmas ! l.24) By using, first a question mark ( ?) , then an exclamation mark (!) , the writer wants to show the reader how shocking / stupefying / outrageous/ revolting /scandalous / sickening the attitude of the boys parents is. His questions show not only the writers anger and indignation but also his desire to understand, analyse and find answer to the problem. He is actually telling us that he holds the parents responsible for the slaughter. In his opinion, there is no doubt about who is guilty. This tragedy does not indicate a lack of parenting, but irresponsible parenting. Christmas is a period of the year associated with love and birth. By offering lethal/deadly weapons to their kid, the parents turned Christmas into a period of hate and death! Explain the sentence: The questions asked repeatedly after the Jonesboro tragedy () seem depressingly familiar . (l.18) The use of the words repeatedly, similar mass shooting and familiar clearly points out that this sort of tragedy has already happened, quite a few times elsewhere. It means that it is a common incident and a widespread phenomenon , a scourge that plagues America. The word depressingly indicates that some people find these events intolerable but that nothing has been done to prevent from happening.

Which countries have the same level of violence as the US ? The author says that the USA has an astoundingly high level of personal violence, the highest in industrial nations. He adds that to find comparable levels of interpersonal violence, One must examine nations in the midst of civil wars and social chaos (l. 28). What he means is that such a level of violence is to be found in countries which are more or less lawless or in a state of civil war. According to the writer, what are the causes of the high murder rate in the US ? While examining the causes of the high murder rate in the US , he first points out the fact that gun violence has become part and parcel of peoples daily lives. It is thought to be normal to have a loaded gun at home. Secondly, the media play a key role because they focus the light on sensational events and brainwash viewers into thinking that for this level of violence. Players are trained to shoot without thinking and thus become potential killers. Lastly (last but not least) , the government is also held responsible because there is no control of the arms that are purchased. The writer clearly advocates stricter gun control and believes that guns should be registered. self-defense is the only solution. Thirdly, video games are also responsible