A Bullet

The bullet doesn't consider let alone care about who fired the gun which projected the bullet to its target. The bullet doesn't ask the person why they fired the gun, what was their state of mind, their thoughts and feelings. The bullet just goes where it's fired.

The bullet doesn't consider let alone care about its target, who they were, what they did, what they said, or why they are the target. The bullet doesn't bother with formalities to warn its target. The bullet just enters and destroys, and kills.

The bullet is simply the means to an end, the person firing the bullet and the person being hit with the bullet. And while we focus on the people involved in the shooting, we fail to see the bullet did the damage. The bullet sent the message, one of hate, anger, rage and violence. By one person to another.

While we can argue about who's to blame for gun violence, what to do to resolve it, and where we should spend the money, we're still selling massive amounts of bullets to gun owners, some of whom will use them against someone.

Against a loved one, family member, friends, co-workers, people during criminal acts, or just random people. The news is full of stories. The news knows about half of people killed by guns are commited by people who knew them, even loved ones or family members.

While people excuse gun violence as acts of illegal gun owners, unstable people or criminals, and that lawful, legal gun owners are responsible, those arguments don't hold when the bullet doesn't care about who the shooter is and why the person is a target.

It only knows its fate. A bullet is neutral, the shooter isn't. They knew what they are doing, and most victims were not shot in self-defense, but shot because the shooter wanted them dead. And that the bullet does an extraordinary job, killing people.

It's both guns and people who kill people. Without guns, and more so without bullets, people don't get shot and killed. When can we have that discussion?