Son of a Gun

 "Son of a gun", 'chickens have finally come home to roost', this is the common refrain at the assassination bid on Donald Trump. Isn't it ironical that ardent supporter of US Gun Laws became a victim of the very same gun, which is supposed to be meant for self defence and protection? A gun is a gun it doesn't distinguish between who is a supporter or who is not, it just does its task. So Thomas Matthew Crooks decided to put it to 'good use' as per him. After all second amendment to the US Constitution empowers each American citizen to bear arms and form part of a militia should the need arise. That may have been the case way back in the 18th century, wonder who in his right frame of mind would like the presence of armed militias roaming around the streets? The yanks think it is their right and that is not negotiable, well in that case they might as well go to Somalia, Sudan, Congo, Syria or any of the other strife torn places, where militias roam freely unchallenged. If things carry on like this the US may actually be heading in this very direction.

Guns wield power, "power flows from the barrel of the gun" as Chairman Mao said, no wonder US is the most powerful country in the world, a super power, they have more guns than people. People they have no dearth of, as there is a beeline for immigration to the El Dorado and guns are available in plenty, so more the merrier. We normally have been following or rather aping the West in most activities, so it is quite surprising that our leaders haven't thought of this short cut to power, just authorise them to wield guns and watch the fun. But on second thoughts, we don't need to, as our desi kattas (country made pistols) are easily available in the badlands where they could get you votes, organise kidnapping, carry out assassinations with the supari or merely threaten the people at large merely by carrying one. Whoever asked for a licence, that is for sissies, the bahubalis are supermen who are a law unto themselves.

We in the Army have been handling weapons since our training days, starting from the good old .22, 303 to SLRs, INSAS, Kalashnikovs, Uzis,  Pistol 9 mm, Glocks, Carbines, Dragunovs and what have you. The key to becoming a marksman was the grip of the weapon, as our Weapon Training Ustaads would say, "Nimbu nichod pakad", i.e. hold as tight as though you are squeezing a lemon, then just keep your weapon stable by taking a deep breath, exhaling just partially and holding it, thereafter squeeze the trigger gently not with a jerk. With the tripods and bipods, the stability issue was addressed by itself, so the wannabe assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks did not have to bother about undergoing extensive training in carrying out his operation. It was providence which saved Trump, a tilt at the last millisecond saved him from being a dead Donald Duck. So Donald literally ducked the Crooks' bullet.

Despite having lost four Presidents to assassinations and attempts on couple of others, the Gun lobby continues to wield such powers that even frequent shooting incidents in schools, public places the public is not outraged. Wonder when sanity will prevail…