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THE ORDINARY GUY
Japan, Civility,
and Gun Control
[ BY MARK WALTERS ]
By the time you read this, Japan’s death toll will more
than likely have been determined, the financial damage
estimates calculated, and the nuclear nightmare will have
likely played out.
The incredible destruction
wrought by one of the world’s
most powerful earthquakes and
the resulting aftermath of human suffering
and displacement on an almost
unimaginable scale have reminded us
that humans are mere guests on this
planet we call home.
Like you, I watched the incredible
drama unfold before high definition
video cameras, the images of a relentless
sea taking anything it wanted, and
the helplessness of mortals running
from an inescapable destiny. Like any
catastrophe, we see the inevitable images
of despair: the lines of survivors
seeking food, water, and medical attention
in makeshift triage units. The
only walls left standing serve as a poster
site for photos and lists of the missing
left by desperate survivors seeking the
whereabouts of doomed loved ones.
But there was something else that the
world noticed. Amid the unimaginable
horror of destruction, the unimaginable
suffering, the Japanese people behaved
themselves in ways that American cities
could only envy. I am speaking of the
behavior of the Japanese people during
a time of great crisis, the civility with
which they have conducted themselves
in the face of tragedy, and the resulting
lack of the utter chaos that is so often
evident in an American city during less
catastrophic events.
I watched with fascination as the
walking wounded stood patiently in
lines that seemed to snake for miles,
awaiting food and water rations; the
very necessities of life. No looting. No
rioting. No scenes of street chaos. No
police abandoning their posts and participating
in thievery for a pair of stolen
sneakers. No Japanese standing on
rooftops with AR-15s poised to kill a
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USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM n CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE n MAY/JUNE 2011