The Scene of the Crime

Disturbing, violent images. Ongoing, sometimes violent, protests. Relentless coverage. Americans experience a lot of this when it comes to certain foreign wars. We get less of it when it comes to the endless war within; the relentless gun violence carried out with weapons of war on communities across the country. Somehow, gun violence doesn’t seem to trigger us. But maybe that’s because it’s so often covered as a political, cultural story instead of what it really is: a human one. WaPo (Gift Article) is trying to change that with its series on the AR-15 and the devastation is has wrought. Terror on Repeat. The article begins with an editorial note: “The photos, videos and personal accounts below are extremely disturbing and may be too upsetting for some people.” Imagine a culture in which being made aware of the damage caused by AR-15s could be too upsetting, but keeping them legal seems, to many, hardly upsetting at all.

+ “It was kind of a hobby that got out of hand.” Alta on a new book: American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15.