A Bird’s Eye View
Despite being a bastion of democracy and human rights, the US has been grappling with “inhumane practices,” namely “gun shootings” at schools and universities, in its homeland for several decades. The Washington Post reports that since 1999 there have been 417 incidents of school shootings. Consequently, 383,000 students have experienced gun shootings.
Additionally, 2022 has presented a grim picture, as 46 incidents occurred that year alone. The most notable incidents are Rancho Tehama Elementary School, Marshall County High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Robb Elementary School, Santa Fe High School, and Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. The RTES shooting incident took place in November 2017, when 43-year-old Kevin Janson Neal, while on a rampage, killed 18 students by shooting them.
On the other hand, the Marshall County High School incident took place in 2018 in Benton KY, when 15-year-old Gabriel Parker killed 18 students and injured 2 by opening fire at the students. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas incident happened in 2018 in Parkland, FL, when former student 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, gunned down 17 people while injuring 17 more.
The Robb Elementary School witnessed the killing of 17 people on May 24, 2022, when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos walked into the school and opened fire. In Santa Fe High School, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis gunned down 10 people while injuring 10 others. Then, on March 27, 2023, 28-year-old Audrey Hale gunned down seven persons including students and teachers, by opening fire on them.
A Culture of Ubiquitous Gun Ownership
Gun ownership is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the USA. There are more guns than the people. For instance, the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based organization reports that the population of the USA is 341 million, yet, more than 390 million guns are owned overall in the USA. The countries next to the USA in having greater estimates of gunkeeping are war-torn countries like Serbia and Yemen. This can be attributed to the presence of lax laws to regulate the purchase and sale of guns. For instance, if one is 18 and has cash, he/she can walk into any gun store and buy one.
However, other countries have robust and legal mechanisms to regulate the use of guns. For instance, citizens in these countries must pass a test to obtain guns. Additionally, they also demonstrate the reason for obtaining a firearm. Furthermore, though authorities keep a track record of criminals, for ordinary citizens no one keeps a track record of who buys what or how much they pay for it. Moreover, even the legal system of the US is not a deterrent to the gun culture in the country. For instance, in 2022, the US Supreme Court struck down the legislation advocating for restricting the carryout and private possession of guns, further enhancing the risk of gun violence.
Bullying and Marginalization in the US
Bullying and marginalization based on race, culture, and religion are prevalent norms highly entrenched in American society. They’re a pressing social, political, and public health issue. Consequently, the emotional and physical trauma experienced by victims often leads them to seek vengeance as a means of reclaiming their self-esteem. The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center reports that 80% of school attackers had been bullied, with 57% experiencing this bullying over extended periods.
This is demonstrated by the tragic shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and Columbine High School were perpetrated by the victims of bullying. Additionally, loathing is also instilled in white Americans against black Americans, leading some to gaslight their presence. A study found that gun violence disproportionately impinges on black boys, with much higher gun deaths per capita for this group than for any other group of youth. Similarly, black girls are disproportionately affected compared to girls from other ethnic/racial groups.
Domestic & Foreign Implications for the US
The Hobbesian social contract theory holds that the citizens of any state must sacrifice some rights as a quid pro quo to demand protection from their state. This contract grants state sovereignty and monopoly over the use of force. If the state fails to protect its citizens from wanton use of force, it implies that its sovereignty no longer has a hold. This raises several questions about whether the US is sovereign or not.
Additionally, the aggressive deployment of military forces under the guise of humanitarian intervention by the USA to protect its citizens also comes under scrutiny. As a retired four-star marine general, John Allen of the US writes, America is more likely to experience gun violence in schools and other places of worship than the countries where she deploys forces under the pretext of protecting Americans from threats.
Additionally, despite being a social and political concern, America depicts the shooting in schools as an internal matter and domestic violence rather than dealing with it as a national security issue. If it does so, this would undermine its status quo as being a bastion of democracy and human rights. Furthermore, such incidents are detrimental to America’s foreign policy and soft power, as they often raise concerns and impose sanctions on other states predicated on humanitarian grounds.
China and Russia often reference such incidents in the USA as acts of hypocrisy. As Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia House minority leader, recounts, “How can we cast aspersions on other nations for not ensuring the security of their people when we allow our people to be randomly murdered due to our lack of spine to address the problem?”
Conclusion
While the US is highly shaken by the thousands of killings in the Russia-Ukraine war and the spurious reports of an Israeli child being beheaded by Hamas, it is giving a wide berth to the number of acts of butchery perpetrated against its people. In 2024 alone, 35 incidents were reported impacting schools and colleges nationwide.
For this reason, the gun culture must be constrained by rules and regulations. Additionally, those who have been victims of bullying must be rehabilitated. Furthermore, there must be monitoring systems in schools and colleges so that such incidents of bullying can be reported effectively. The USA must put its own house in order before raising concerns regarding reported violence in other countries.
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Qirat Mirza is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in international relations from International Islamic University Islamabad. She is also a writer for Modern Diplomacy, International Affairs Forum, Pakistan Today, KIIR, CISS AJK, and Pak Observer. Recently, she completed a six-week internship at the Kashmir Institute of International Relations and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) to foster her academic insights and gain practical experience.