The US Will Benefit the World by Solving Shootings

Published in Huanqiu
(China) on 21 July 2012
by Renping Dan (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Stefanie Zhou. Edited by Jonathan Douglas.
On July 20, the serious shooting incident at a Batman movie screening in Denver resulted in the appalling tragedy of at least 12 dead and 38 wounded. The event was quickly identified to be unrelated to terrorism, but this bloody slaughter is heinous.

It is very regrettable that this type of gun homicide continues to emerge in highly developed American and European societies. These countries are often seen as role models by underdeveloped societies, but the recurring vicious shootings and bombings show that a society, no matter how highly developed, still has its own weaknesses, and in some cases, these are very severe. Debates surrounding firearms and weapons regulations have been long drawn out in the West, but United States and some other countries are still undecided. A lot of fresh lives have been taken away during the debate.

Perhaps we should also call to mind what would happen if less developed Eastern societies were to implement similar gun control standards as the West. It is very difficult to perform this kind of validation in China, but in some Asian countries vendetta or physical elimination of political opponents is indeed endless. Due to these factors, social order is very difficult to maintain.

It appears that every country has its own scripture to read and difficult ridge to step past. Countries need to learn from each other by exchanging experiences and lessons to focus on solving their own problems.

The United States has the highest number of shootings, but over the years it has made little progress in addressing this issue. It could be a setback that serves as warning to other nations worldwide. It shows that sometimes, we may see a problem and a solution that seems obvious, but truly solving the issue requires rounds and rounds of reiteration. Societies have many loopholes, dead ends, and dim resistances that impede the solution.

After all, the United States is highly developed; when some of its frustration is put in undeveloped societies, it will be magnified many times, bringing more pain. This is probably why social governance in many undeveloped “democracies” is a mess.

China must adhere to strict firearms and explosive management. In recent years, there have been very few violent terrorist attacks, and events in China that use violence to vent anger involve standard firearms and explosives; the scale of damage is therefore limited. Other regulations in China also need to adhere to a principle that seeks truth from facts through rigorousness. The complexity of Chinese society is much higher than that of the United States. The flexibility of social management must not use the standards of the United States as reference.

Globalization is opening the world’s vision and stimulating material and mental well-being comparisons between people, which is a long-term challenge to social management for all countries, especially those relatively backward countries. Promoting and calming public opinion is therefore a long-term task for these countries.

The Denver shooting is sad. I hope that the United States will make a real breakthrough in overcoming this difficult problem by accumulating modern experience to balance between freedom and public security, and thus provide a new reference for the world. Because the United States is in the upper stream of soft power, its appearance and action in this aspect will be of world significance.

The author is a commentator of the Global Times.


美国丹佛20日的《蝙蝠侠前传3》首映式上发生严重枪击杀人事件,造成12死至少38伤的惊人惨剧。事件迅速被认定与恐怖主义无关,但这一血腥杀戮令人发指。

  社会治理高度发达的美国及欧洲社会不断出这种持枪杀人案,非常令人遗憾。这些国家常被不发达社会看成榜样,但反复出现的恶性枪击及爆炸案却显示,再发达的社会也有自己的弱点,而且有的还很严峻。围绕枪支和武器管理在西方的争论旷日持久,但美国等一些国家一直拿不定主意,很多鲜活的生命就在这种争论期间不断被夺去。

  我们或许还应想到,如果欠发达的东方社会执行同西方差不多的枪支管理标准,会发生什么。在中国很难做这种验证,但在有的亚洲国家,灭门仇杀或肉体消灭政敌的事情的确层出不穷,社会秩序仅仅因此就很难有持续的安定。

  看来各国都有自己难念的经,都有很难迈过去的坎。国家间需要切磋经验和教训,并专注解决自己的问题。

  美国出枪击案最多,而且这些年对解决这一问题几乎没有进展,这的确应是全世界的殷鉴。它证明有时我们看到一个问题,解决它的办法似乎也明摆在那里,但真正清除它却需一轮又一轮的反复,社会有很多漏洞、死角以及半明半暗的抵制拖解决事情的后腿。

  美国终究很发达,它的一些无奈放到欠发达社会里,就会被放大很多倍,带来更多痛苦。很多不发达“民主国家”社会治理一团糟大概就是这个原因。

  中国必须坚持严格的枪支和爆炸品管理,这些年中国的暴力恐怖事件和暴力泄愤事件中极少有制式枪支和爆炸物的参与,伤害规模因此受到限制。中国的其他管理也需坚持实事求是,该严则严。中国社会的复杂性要比美国高很多,社会管理的宽松性切不可以美国的标准做参照。

  全球化在打开世人的眼界,刺激人们对各种物质及精神福利的攀比,这对各国、特别是相对落后国家的社会管理构成长期挑战。促进社会舆论的冷静也因此是这些国家的长期任务。

  丹佛枪杀案令人难过,希望美国能在克服这一老大难问题上做出实质突破,从中积累实现自由和公共安全两者平衡的现代经验,给全世界提供新借鉴。由于美国处于软实力的上游,它在这方面的反思和行动都将具有世界意义。▲(作者是《环球时报》评论员)
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