Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Aurora, Colorado irony of Batman and guns

The Batman comic has historically been anti-gun.

In the origin story, Bruce Wayne is horrified and traumatized to see his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, being murdered in a hail of bullets by a mugger in front of his very eyes, which leads him to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman.

The issue “Seduction of the Gun” was responsible for Virginia's one gun a month bill. the story behind that issue started with John Reisenbach going outside to make a phone call because the phones in his apartment were out of order. Minutes later, he was shot to death in a random, senseless killing.

John was the son of DC Comic’s Sandy Reisenbach. His death inspired the folks at DC to take a stand against the incredible, violent madness that seems to be gripping America. They created "Seduction of the Gun" to dramatize the effect of a gun-crazed culture where children must pass through metal detectors at school, people are killed in playgrounds for their sneakers, and the merest provocation is seen as excuse to use deadly force against someone.

The Comic's storyline concerns an evil gang in the fictional Gotham City arranging to take a ride to real-life Virginia to buy all the weapons needed for their deadly deeds. One character asks 'You still got those connections down in Virginia?' asks the henchman. 'Chaka wants your butt down there and hook us up with some guns'.

The issue was a deliberate attempt to help expose the role of Virginia in gun-running and worked quite effectively. Governor Wilder wasted no time in drafting Batman and his sidekick, Robin, into supporting his gun bill campaign. 'The fact that the state has achieved this notoriety in a comic book strip should be an embarrassment to all Virginians,' said his spokesman, Glenn Davidson. 'If the statistics and the headlines don't make the point, this comic book will.'

Early issues of the Comic did have Batman using guns to combat crime, but later the comic developed a self-imposed no guns rule. In Batman #129, a letter writer asked why Batman doesn't carry a gun. The response was that he preferred to rely on his ingenuity and resourcefulness to combat crime.

Bruce Wayne has set self-imposed rules to govern his actions as he tries to justify his mission as a costumed crimefighter, and his ban on using guns is one of those moral guidelines.

Batman's origin is entwined with the tragedy that guns in the wrong hands can bring, so it is fitting that writers try to delve into more complex storylines that do not shy away from talking about guns in society instead of just using them as props for shock value and gratuitous excess. In a medium that regularly glorifies violence, and brandishes guns with often reckless abandon, it is good to see that the symbol of the gun when used with Batman still causes people to pause and think.

The Aurora, Colorado shooter bought his guns legally, as did Jared Loughner, Seung-Hui Cho, and many other shooters. There is no real gun control when realises the ease which a lunatic can purchase a gun and carry it on the street.

Now, we have yet another instance when Batman's aversion for guns might finally cause the American public to ask questions about whether it is sane to keep the current regime which allows for guns to fall into the hands of lunatics.

With any luck, maybe Batman will once again stir the American public into positive action about gun control.

See also:

8 comments:

  1. Pooch said:
    "With any luck, maybe Batman will once again stir the American public into positive action about gun control."

    What was that definition of "fuckwit" again?
    You seriously think a comic strip character is gonna change American culture?
    Possibly you do since you are the same guy who quoted Oliver Wendell Holmes on 'taxes', a guy who died at least a decade before the income tax and withholding was levied against the citizenry.
    orlin sellers

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  2. Orrin--did you actually read this post?

    Yes, a comic book strip character did change US gun laws--It is well documented that the comic in question led to the passing of the Virginia One gun a month bill.

    And since you raise the topic of fuckwit and are someone who can't read and continuously makes moronic comments--you fit the bill.

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  3. Pooch, you are in a serious mental fog.
    orlin sellers

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  4. Excuse me, but a fog is a hell of a lot better than up my arse, which yours is, Sellers.

    Once again, you didn't read the post since I DOCUMENT (do you understand that word, Sellers?) that the Batman Comic "Seduction of the Gun" contributed to Virginia's adopting the one gun a month law during the 1990s.

    I know my post is far above your exceedingly limited intellect, Sellers, and I don't expect you to have the knowse to understand it.

    You can say I'm in a serious mental fog, Sellers, and I know this comes from the fact that you were told you were special when you went to your special education classes, but riding the short bus does not make you an intellectual heavyweight.

    Your comments demonstrate that if anyone is in a serious mental fog, it's you, Sellers.

    Try to say something substantive, but I am not going to waste my time on you since I have a list of things which are more productive than trying to get you to show intellect that exceed the contents of the British Library.

    I'd add something about art embarrassing people, but given the shit you spout, Sellers, I know it would go over your head.

    MikeB has a thing about making fun of the mentally disabled, but I don't. I will happily laugh at your making a fuckwit of yourself since you have no idea what the term means.

    But, I suggest that you start some serious self-examination to try to get some clue as to what the term means.

    In short, Sellers, you are too stupid to insult me.

    But you do waste my time.

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  5. I don't have to insult you, you make yer ownself look foolish enough all by yourself.
    I mean, what does an Oliver Wendell Holmes know about taxes when he never was coerced to pay an income tax or experienced withholding taxes?
    And aren't you the guy who fell for the crazy myth of 'bunker-buster' bullets.
    I just find it difficult to believe you were the fastest out of 100,000 sperm.
    your friend, orlin sellers

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  6. Uh, ya'll do realize that the original Batman carried twin .45's, right?

    Look it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How Batman Lost His Gun
      http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/07/gun-laws-and-batman.html
      orlin sellers

      Delete
  7. Needless to say, there is the worst case than the Batman Killer: Gameel Hamed Al-Batouti did kill all 216 people by crashing the airplane in the Atlantic ocean and it is the worst mass murder by one man in known peacetime history. Ironically, there was a superhero, Darkwing Duck and after all, Al-Batouti means in Arabic, Duck!

    Important: (this is no joke)
    Anybody, please do not hesitate to pray to God to take James Eagan Holmes' life, so people will not suffer any longer. Please pass it along.

    ReplyDelete