Carol’s Column

I still hate guns, but I’m not joining the chicken run

When I suggested in a recent column that guns should be banned in this country, I didn't realise I'd unleashed a second Noah's flood, so to speak.

To me, the issue of increasing gun ownership is indicative of how we live.

A violent lifestyle creeps up on us and we don't realise how pervasive it is. We don't like it, but we acquiesce and, before we know it, things escalate.

Take housebreaking. Just drive through our suburbs to see how we accept the fact that more likely than not, we will be burgled.

Modern suburbia decor is walls, security fences and gates, electric wiring and razor wire. Whole complexes are walled and armed security guards prevent people from freely coming and going.

Cluster homes have mushroomed, not because people enjoy living like ants, but because they offer a strong security aspect. Clusters can be walled and guarded.

On a personal level, you seldom leave home without deploying an electronic burglar alarm. These days, many folk don't fall asleep before they've fully alarmed the rest of the house, excluding the bedroom and toilet. Heaven forbid, you might want to nibble a snack in the middle of the night. If you don't switch off the alarm before you step into the kitchen, you'll find yourself snacking with armed guards from the alarm company.

Remember those days when you'd hop into a car to go to work, do a lift scheme, pop up to the shops? Forget it. Today you lock your handbag or briefcase in the boot. Then, once seated, check all the doors to ensure they're locked. If you own a cellphone, you make sure it's hidden from view. Only then do you drive away.

If you're alone, you don't enjoy driving at night. You don't stop at stop streets and, under certain circumstances, you jump traffic lights. If, when approaching your destination, you notice the entrance wooded, you'll peer intently into the dark to make sure nobody's hanging around to hijack you.

The newspaper arrives and you read about somebody who's been robbed and shot dead in Melville, Mayfair, Germiston, Soweto, Crosby, Sandton. About a bank heist downtown, a building society heist uptown.

The litany of crime is never ending.

I go to a restaurant for lunch with a friend, glance around and observe that, because of the heat, several men have removed their jackets. I notice four are packing guns.

And this is a normal way to live?

Since I advocated the banning of guns, I've been called everything from a single-issue fascist (the most polite epithet) to pejorative words even I’d never heard of. I've received hate mail and countless abusive phone calls.

Nice.

Well, contrary to suggestion, I am not f*g off and getting out of South Africa. This is my country too. While I hate the bad things, the crime, violence and the siege mentality under which we live, I'm proud of the good things. The fact that so many people who didn't have it before, now have water and electricity; that schooling is available to all children; and that medical care is accessible to those who were previously denied it.

I'm proud I live in a country which has abolished capital punishment. It’s a step in a civilised direction.

Finally, I still believe guns should be banned.

And, to the delicate chap from Brits who told me he'd like to insert his gun up my rear, I'd like to suggest he rather lock the gun away in a safe and throw away the key. Or, alternatively, hand it in to the nearest police station.

Much more civilised.

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