John Lennon Shot: 40 Years Later

Most of the things that I ultimately learned about John Lennon came later in life.  I was too young to remember the Beatles.  But I've heard tons of stories about how talented of a musician he was and it is sad that the world lost a musical genius on this particular day 40 years ago.

I remember watching a Monday Night Football game between the Dolphins and Patriots when Howard Cosell announced during the game that Beatles singer, John Lennon, had been shot and killed.  There was no internet back then, so radio and TV were your only sources for breaking news.    

I remember asking my dad why someone would kill somebody who was famous.  I was about 9 years old at the time and I thought that everyone loved celebrities and would never harm one.  I don't recall what his answer was to me, but I just remember going to bed that night wondering what in the world caused someone to shoot John Lennon.  

As I got older, I've learned that celebrity shootings weren't so rare after all and that the reasons for them weren't always good either.  My favorite singer, Sam Cooke, was shot in 1964 in what was called a "justifiable homicide" although most think that he was murdered for being a black man with a white woman.  Marvin Gaye was shot in 1984 during a family dispute.  Selena in 1995 by a crazed fan.  Tupac, Biggie, Roger Troutman, Jam Master Jay.  The list goes on and on.  

Lennon's murder was probably my first introduction to the underbelly of the real world.  There isn't a person on this planet that is loved by everyone.  Someone will always have a problem with you or seek something to gain by harming you (physically or emotionally).  

I'm not a Beatles fan or anything.  I own none of their albums.  But I understand what they brought to society by way of their music and I respect their craft.  It's a shame that folks have prematurely taken from us some of the most gifted people in our society.  

Gun Control Won't Work

No child should ever go through this.

The shooting that occurred today in Connecticut was extremely sad.  To see innocent children lose their lives to a maniac is tragedy defined.  However, as much as I'd like to think that gun control is the answer to the random, cowardly and senseless violence that occurs in our country today, it's not.

We keep discussing Afghanistan and spending money over there despite the fact that we have terrorists here in the states.  Terrorists who walk around daily and who look exactly like us.  The latter is the scariest part of it all.

What can we do to prevent things like this?  Well, it won't prevent it, but maybe it would help to have more troops here in the U.S. than overseas in some other country's business.  It would help if people actually tried to raise their kids properly and provide them with professional help instead of sedatives.  It would help if gun possession was taken more seriously.

We keep hearing about "gun control," but what exactly are you controlling?  Do you think making it harder for the average citizen to get a gun is going to protect from random shootings?  No!  Why?  How many dope dealers do you know that buys their guns from Walmart?  When is the last time that you saw someone fresh out of a psych ward in Academy Sports getting an AK-47?

Don't get me wrong.  Gun control would prevent some bad guys from getting guns, but I'd doubt that it would be very many.  Gun control would prevent someone like me from buying a gun for my home for protection.  Well, maybe not prevent, but make it difficult.

Look, I'm not a gun advocate.  I despise guns.  I'd much rather punch an assailant in the face than shoot him.  But, let's be real: assault and high-powered weapons will always be accessible by nuts and cowards.  Always.  Because there is always someone willing to sell to Satan himself just to make a dollar. 

So, why should the cowards be armed and the people who want to protect their families have to go through legal red tape?  I really feel badly for the deceased victims' families in this shooting.  Every holiday season, they'll have to think about how someone took their loved one's life. 

Something needs to be done, but it needs to be creative.  Stop punishing those without criminal records and limit gun control to those with criminal records.  Have real laws for illegal gun possession instead of these slaps on the wrists.  Actually put people in jail for a significant length of time for severe domestic violence convictions and provide counseling.  Let some of our military people provide security at home instead of in some other country.

We're just one or two more incidents away from all public places being locked down like prisons on a regular basis.  We need to do something before we reach the day that we get frisked and scanned going into a McDonald's.

What do you think that the stop the violence solution should be?