Artist's POV:
A cop shoots a man dead. Is your first thought to want to know their racial profiles?
A man uses a military assault rifle to kill multiple people. Is your first thought to hope for a reason that won't conflict with your political views?
A neighborhood teen takes his own life with a handgun. Is your first thought to wonder why a handgun was available to him at a moment of despair?
A young woman is gunned down in Chicago. Is your first thought to consider how this might affect gun control statistics?
A homeowner uses a gun to kill somebody on his property. Is your first thought to feel gratification for justice served?
A little girl finds a loaded gun in her house and shoots her younger sibling. Is your first thought to ask whether the gun was legal?
Do you see where I'm going with this? When your life intersects with stories of guns and death, is your first instinct to align the news with your politics? Or is it to consider the loss of human life?
It's the politics, right? Me, too.
But maybe making the loss of life our first thought would be a real starting point for reducing gun violence.
John Auchter is an editorial cartoonist. Views expressed in his cartoons are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.
