I lived in the Bahamas and used to date Cristina Zenato the girl you often see during Shark Week wearing chain mail suits. Almost every day, UNEXSO takes tourists to see sharks. I cannot tell you the number of sharks that have swam past me in 37 years. I've had 3 bull sharks circle me aggressively. A Tiger shark as big as an F-150 swam within feet of a girl I was guiding on a dive in Key Largo and she didn't see it because she was looking inward toward the wreck we were diving. If I had to make a conservative guess, I probably met 20 sharks a week during shark tours and filming and I had over 50 random encounters with dangerous species. Once, I came up the ladder and one of the crew said, "We thought you were going to be lunch." I asked what he meant. They said, a large white tip just veered away just a couple feet behind my tanks. I called BS. The next diver up the ladder exclaimed, "We thought you were going to get attacked by that shark!" One I didn't see. I used to swim laps wearing yellow board shorts (called Yum-Yum Yellow) around a 250 yard course marked by buoys in the Turks & Caicos every morning and evening. Every evening like clockwork a reef shark made an appearance and never bothered me.
What does this have to do with guns? Every day divers, swimmers, and surfers are surrounded by sharks. But, the media never reports on how many daily encounters with sharks most likely occur without injury. Instead, we hear about the attacks. If enough happen in a single season, the media asks what can be done? It's the same with guns. Law abiding gun owners go shooting, hunting, carry for protection, and Americans are surrounded by guns every day. Gun owners represent only 18% of gun crimes. Yet, the media reports gun crime like they do shark attacks. We never hear about the number of times guns carried into convenient stores every day by concealed carry permit holders. We almost never hear about the times a gun is used to save a life. Instead, the media directs public fear over the relatively rare media worthy mass shootings. When they talk stats they throw mass shootings into their stories as every shooting involving four or more people, but those statistical mass shootings are often not news worthy on a national scale. Rival gang guns down 4 gang members at an urban park. Rarely gets out of L.A., Chicago, or Baltimore. Father kills ex-wife and 3 kids. Local news and an episode of Discovery ID.
So, the blame is placed on the law abiding, the NRA, and everyone other than the person(s) responsible. Why are there still gangs? Why do we still have a drug problem? Why does 13% of our racial population get arrested for 80% of crime? Of course, laws will always solve the problem. After all, criminals obey the law. Sure, you could make a case for gun control preventing about 100 deaths a year committed by AR-15's and AK-47's. Sure. We can sound very righteous by saying if we prevent 1 death that would be worth it. But, the reality is the 150 scuba related deaths every year don't make the media. The ladder falls that kill 300, the electrocutions that kill 300, the 40 or so skateboard deaths, hundreds of bicycle deaths, and joggers hit by cars never create a media frenzy. We could save hundreds of lives with modern crumple zones and airbags + the 55 mph speed limit from the 1970's. But, no one wants to drive through rural South Carolina at 55 mph. If every American wanted a gun, the media wouldn't vilify the gun just as they ignore the 70 mph speed that contributes to 1,000's of deaths every year.