The genesis for this brief essay is the recent event in Orlando and the attempts to understand how and why it occurred. In the coming days, weeks, months, there will be countless pronouncements on the subject from pundits, beginning at the top (President Obama), all the way down the ladder to bottom rungers like myself. One of us may stumble onto the real answer by chance, or maybe even by logical reasoning.
Political Correctness is a Man Made Barrier to be Broken
Barriers not made by man have been regularly conquered by man's ingenuity, either by luck or well thought out science and clever engineering. A very early barrier was passed when prehistoric hominins learned some foods tasted better cooked after they discovered fire, presumably by accident. The limitation on travel by sea . . . the belief in a shallow, dish-shaped flat earth . . . was broken by brave sailors willing to peek over the edge just to be sure. Breaking the sound barrier ended the limitation on very fast travel when a daring pilot challenged the wall his plane was about to hit. We learned more about the universe we live in by sending man-made vehicles into the depths of the oceans or far into outer space. Danger be damned! The conclusion? Man may not have real, honest-to-goodness barriers at all. Why then are we damaging ourselves by accepting the limits of a man-made barrier, a.k.a. political correctness? Consider the following examples.
The Muslim Pacifist
Mohammed Ali, the self-proclaimed "greatest boxer of all time" (and who would now dare challenge that statement?) was also a self-proclaimed Muslim, having made the conversion to that faith early in his career. Ali was a "conscientious objector" who resisted being inducted into the army. He would have been ordered to carry a rifle, but he wouldn't take it. He could beat men to a pulp in the ring, but he wouldn't hurt a fly outside the ring, never mind kill someone. And he paid dearly for his pacifist belief. He was banned from earning a livelihood during several prime-of-life years to ply his trade. No boxing commission would grant him a license to fight in the U.S. He was stripped of his passport so he could not fight anywhere else on the planet. Physically he was shunned, and monetarily he was badly mauled.
The Muslim Killer
Fast forward to the environment man has since created. Ali's belief system and his treatment for same was far different than that professed by today's killer claiming the same faith. Relatively, only a few citizens appear on radar screens observed by law enforcement agencies. But the Orlando killer was a real live blip going back many years. According to a high school classmate he cheered the other side during the 9/11 tragedy. In later years his co-workers knew of his opinions about people who are "different". His employer was aware of the former facts but declined to act out of fear of upsetting him because he was a Muslim. He was "interviewed" more than once by authorities when his views of the world were deemed suspicious.
Now the BS
By proclaiming themselves to be "investigative agencies" only able to take action after the fact (i.e. an actual crime must already have been committed) law enforcers remove themselves from the proverbial hook of guilt for overlooking the attention killers actually deserved all along. Unlike Ali, and in spite of his beliefs, the Orlando killer was granted a license to ply his trade. And he was permitted to obtain weapons to carry out his duties. His employer received $millions performing under various government security contracts, meaning the perpetrator was paid by the U.S. government to perform responsibilities as an armed guard. How can this happen?
PC Must Be Branded as BS
The obvious answer is improper interpretation and implementation of political correctness. It is long past time to risk burning the fingers, or flirting with death by looking over the edge, or crashing full bore into the fictitious wall. When a person becomes a blip there must be action taken to reduce or eliminate the possibility the blip will perform a dastardly deed. Refusing to act on known or suspected information is refusing to pursue a horizon. It can never be reached because like a perceived barrier it doesn't really exist. So go for it. Action that can and should be taken are subject to thought and discussion, but doing nothing is not a reasonable option. It is BS.
Given the above, invoking the phony notion that more gun control is the answer to eliminate madness is just that . . . it is madness. If the killer had commandeered a vehicle and driven into a gay pride parade, killing and maiming dozens of performers, would the same people advocating confiscation and destruction of weapons demand cars be confiscated and ground into shards of metal? Or would they just demand elimination of all drivers' licenses?
Bob was born in Toronto and began his financial career as a trader on the Toronto Stock Exchange. He relocated to California and became SVP and CFO of a $multi-billion diversified financial entity. He served on the board of many companies in Canada and US. An avid yachtsman, he owns a twin diesel ocean going vessel once featured in Architectural Digest magazine. He maintains a hockey web site. “slapshotreport.com” and currently resides in Sausalito, California.
