Some blindness’s are total and in these blindness’s nothing is seen. A much more troubling blindness is when no darkness is present, vision is good, but the existing object is simply not perceived. Light abounds but the object is nowhere to be found in the field of view. In this case, one is unaware of their blindness so there is nothing to trouble them about their lack of perception. Today I watched as Saint Petersburg city officials once again asked for thoughts and prayers for another murdered policeman—murdered by gunshot—as are most police killings. A huge array of police forces combed the vicinity surrounding the murder scene without success. One difficulty was that the murderer was believed to be a black youth in his late teens to early twenties—a description that fits many innocent people in the area cordoned off and searched. (A 16-year-old ultimately confessed to the crime.) Where does the ghastly blindness lie to which I refer? The blindness is the peculiar absence of seeing an obvious need—the need for handgun control. Surely and hopefully at some point the answer will appear—less massive and heartfelt response to gratuitous tragedy and more effective action to prevent it. Not only are public servants the target of handguns, but also are countless vulnerable servants in the private sector—low-paid convenience store clerks come readily to mind. It is time to disarm the public of handguns and limit their use to law enforcement agencies. To do otherwise is to invest in individuals the police power of a mini-state—a gross distortion of institutional physics.
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