Gun Culture in Black and White

[Draggingtree]

National Review :

Gun Culture in Black and White

by David French February 20, 2017

 

The experience, and danger, of firearms varies by race On December 17, 2015, a young Tennessee boy named Zaevion Dobson died a hero. Zaevion lived in Knoxville, Tenn., in one of its worst neighborhoods. He was 15 years old, a high-school football player, and universally hailed as a good kid, son, brother, friend, and teammate.

 

The last night of his life, he was hanging out with friends in his neighborhood when shots rang out. Three men had started firing into a crowd in apparent retaliation for an earlier gang-related shooting. Zaevion acted instantly, grabbing two girls and shielding them with his body. The fatal bullet struck him instead of them, and he died on the scene — apparently never regaining consciousness after his heroic act.

If you’re black, on the other hand, it is entirely rational to immediately answer that yes, you are afraid of gun violence. If a white man dies from gunfire, the odds are that he pulled the trigger himself. If a black man dies from gunfire, the odds are that someone else pulled the trigger, usually another black man.