About the Shooting in Las Vegas

I was going to talk to you about art, but I had to put that topic aside because of events that, in my view, are completely extraordinary. I think that you have already heard of the shooting that occurred today in the U.S., in Las Vegas. According to the information I have at the moment, more than 50 people were killed and more than 400 have been wounded.

There was a concert or country music festival called “Route 91,” and from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, a 64-year-old man who was named Steve Paddock opened fire on spectators. I say “was named” because he was killed by police after they stormed the room. Again, as far as I know, this person wasn’t famous for anything, didn’t serve in the military, didn’t have any run-ins with police, never did time, etc.

President Trump reacted on his Twitter feed, writing, “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!”

There will, of course, be quite a few people who will take advantage of this tragedy to kick America again. They will be partially correct. I’m talking about the fact that in America, guns are more or less sold quite freely, in almost every state. According to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, every citizen has the right to bear arms. This amendment was ratified at the end of the 18th century and was meant to ensure that every citizen had the ability to defend himself against an oppressive government, against an administration that betrayed the ideals of the country. But that was the 18th century, and guns back then were the same for the government as they were for ordinary citizens.

Today, of course, this amendment makes absolutely no sense, but it is used by those who sell guns and make a lot of money from doing so. They fire up Americans saying, “Of course, this is our right; this is our constitution,” and because of this, any attempt to restrict or ban the sale of guns is unsuccessful.

But I ask myself this question: If guns were as accessible in other countries, including in our Russia, could such a thing happen? I would like to think not, but I’m afraid that there is no basis for this thinking, because the level of aggression, the level of tolerance, anger and mutual enmity is such that it doesn’t take much imagination to doubt that this could happen. I’m not even talking about some right-wingers or certain kinds of people. I’m talking about the whole state of society, one that doesn’t listen to each other, one that, when a person doesn’t agree with someone, that’s the absolute end of it, and it doesn’t matter what side he is on, left or right, liberal or conservative. The emotions are exactly the same. If someone does not want to be on one side or the other, if they want to take a neutral position, that person is considered either a traitor or a coward.

Look at your television screens, at the so-called “debate shows,” and sense the level of tension, hostility and at times hatred, and think about it.

Good luck to you.