ACROSS THE POND: Gun violence means what I did in Achiltibuie wouldn't cross my mind in California
When I started writing this column, there were three things I swore I’d never write about.
Politics, religion, and guns.
All three make me uncomfortable. All are divisive, and despite me saying I’d never write about any of them, here I am.
Coming from a country with very little gun violence to living in a place where it’s an everyday occurrence has been hard to get my head around. It’s estimated that there are over 393 million guns in civilian hands in the USA. That’s pretty scary.
The South Bay is a pretty safe place to live, but I’m a bit more mindful of keeping my mouth shut if someone annoys when I’m driving, for example, because you don’t know how they are going to react. The last time I drove to Achiltibuie, my vocal chords got a vigorous workout over the tourists using the passing places the wrong way. I wouldn’t do that in California.
When I read the news, my heart aches. Every day there are more shootings. At first, it shocked me. And now? I don’t want to say I’ve become used to it, but I’ve accepted that it’s a part of life when you live here.
One of the questions I get asked the most from people back home is: Do you feel safe living in the USA?
To that my answer is: Not totally. At the back of my mind, there’s always a thought. Does that person have a gun? Does this one?
The South Bay is a pretty safe place to live, but I’m a bit more mindful of keeping my mouth shut if someone annoys when I’m driving, for example, because you don’t know how they are going to react. The last time I drove to Achiltibuie, my vocal chords got a vigorous workout over the tourists using the passing places the wrong way. I wouldn’t do that in California.
There is the worry that guns will get into the wrong hands. Maybe someone is ill or has a score to settle. Maybe you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I try not to think about it too much or else I’d never go out. You can’t stop living your life because of it. You hope that if the worst happens, you’ll come out the other end okay.
I’ve never seen anyone carrying a gun in person over here. Well, except for the time at the airport where four security guards pointed their rifles in my face when I forgot to show my green card, but that’s a story for another time.
Now you see why I don’t write about guns. I don’t know what to say about it. I don’t know what to do about it. But I can guarantee you that my next column will not be about religion or politics.
Kerry MacIver originally hails from the Black Isle and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She writes about being a Scot in the USA.
