Deploy words, not guns

Our Ukrainian neighbors moved into a rundown trailer years ago and two large dogs started running loose. We grumbled, talked to others and finally I armed myself with a jar of homemade grape juice to “welcome” them to the neighborhood, and also ask them to keep their dogs under control.

Fast-forward several years. About eight people of all ages met me with open arms in that old trailer, turned down the blaring Russian subtitled TV, spread out treats on the table, and we chatted for an hour about the neighborhood. They did not own dogs.

With just talk and no facts, things can go sour. Truth may uncover a very different picture. Harvard University Professor Steven Pinker states: “Violence has been in decline for thousands of years. To any headline-clicker, that’s false. The year 2015 included the Charlie Hebdo massacre, a failed ceasefire in Ukraine, atrocities by Islamic State, and a human catastrophe in Syria. But headlines are a poor guide to history. There will always be enough violence to fill the evening news, so impressions of violence will differ from actual likelihood.”

Lesson? If you feel your neighborhood is dangerous, go visit your neighbors, don’t buy a gun.

Barb Brock

Cheney