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There's no avoiding Newtown and the topic of gun violence in America. The week has been too filled with images of a town still in mourning to simply sidestep the discussion. This ordeal has been gut-wrenching television, a New England town reeling from the loss of 20 first-graders and six adults at the hands of deranged gunman. The individual and collective losses are almost inconceivable, and yet a week removed we're starting to actualize the damage to our national psyche and searching for remedies to prevent future acts of mass violence.
Let me start by stating that I don't have kids. I know that I'd love to have a few one day, but for now it's playing uncle to a handful of half pints. What would it be like to lose one of them? What would they be like in twenty years? How would my life be better by having them around in twenty years? What kind of uncle could I be? It's a selfish thought, but connecting to the emotional magnitude of this tragedy necessitates personalization. To really comprehend the loss you have to reduce the victim pool to one, twenty-six is too many lives to imagine.
Jack PintoI don't own guns, and I don't really enjoy shooting them. If I did, I'd probably see this tragedy as a cause to stand my ground. Defending constitutional rights is an American past time, and keeping the 2nd intact is as selfish as wanting to personalize a tragedy. After a mass shooting, gun owners buy more guns, larger clips of ammunition, and launch offensive riffs on nighttime TV (Smith & Wesson, Glock, and others have all reported massive profits in 2012). In the Meta sense it's puzzling that death by guns would cause people to want more guns, but on a personal level it's a defensible reaction. You are taught that gun ownership is a right, and now there is a hint that it might be taken away. Preparation is the best defense.
Guns control is a divisive issue, and I know that the wrestling community is filled with avid hunters, including Oklahoma State head wrestling coach John Smith all the way down to my high school coach. But across the spectrum of opinions on gun control from "more is better" to "Melt 'em all" we can probably agree on a few simple and broad statements. There should be fewer military style weapons on the street, elimination of secondary gun sales, and increased penalties for gun-related crimes. They're all important first steps to take.
I'm not a zealot. I live in Chicago, a city soaking in the blood of gun violence, and if I had children I can't say that I wouldn't consider owning a gun for my home. Many proponents of gun control would agree too -- guns are necessary for home protection and rifles are an integral aspect of preserving our country's hunting culture. But AR-15's and semi-automatic rifles with 100 bullet clips? Those are less-defensible, since they're mostly used in military combat, for self-amusement and in the case of Newtown, the mass slaughter of children.
What can be done? As always, innovation should be the answer. Gun technology has stayed primarily unchanged since the 18th century. The guns have gotten way bigger and more advanced, but the simple technology of pulling a trigger to drop a hammer on a bullet has remained static. Could some modernization of the weaponry result in fewer accidental deaths, suicides, crimes of emotion, and mass killings? What if every gun purchased could only ever be fired by the person who purchased that gun? Like in James Bond you could develop a palm print recognition, or other identification techniques. When you want to sell that weapon you have to send it back to the manufacturer before it could be put back onto the market. The killing sin Newtown would have been prevented if that technology was in use.
There are other ideas as well. Make the waiting period for guns 28 days. Mandate two personal references on every application. Broaden the mental health network to include restricting gun sales to those who've shown signs of increased instability. There are plenty of workable solutions to allow for law-abiding gun owners to keep their weapons, but to limit the number of deaths occurring due to gun violence.
I just keep thinking about watching a high school-aged Jack Pinto wrestling. What would he look like? What would be his style? Aggressive and dominating, or tricky and great on top? Would he dye his hair the same color as all his teammates for districts and states? Would he be the team leader, a guy that all his buddies wanted to be like? Would he be popular?
We'll never know. But in the meantime we can work to make something productive come from the tragedy, we can work to become better friends to those in need, and to those who might have lost their grip on reality. We could sacrifice just a touch of our personal freedom in the hopes of saving thousands of lives a year.
If we all agree that something has to change, and that we all would prefer to see Jack Pinto winning a state title than being buried this week along with 19 of his classmates then now is the time to create productive conversations about gun control and mental health. Think about new technologies, new outreach programs, new, new, new.
Leave comments below, but stay reasonable and respectful. We're here to create a positive dialogue, not tear each other down.
Hudson Taylor-- Anon
Foley: I don't recall if there were any bold political or social statements made in recent years. However, Taylor has kept with the promise to see equal rights for the LGBT community. He recently established the non-profit "Athlete Ally," which uses the athlete community on campus to create a welcoming atmosphere for LGBT students. You can check out his site, or his twitter at @hudsonism.
You can also check out Taylor at this year's MIdlands where he'll be competing at 197.
Q: Who came up with these matchups for the Grapple at the Garden? Why weren't the upper-ranked teams wrestling other teams of the same caliber? Sure there were a few good duals, but why was Iowa wrestling Bucknell and Hofstra? Or Ohio State vs. Maryland and Hofstra? I feel that the powers that be really wasted a great chance to showcase top notch wrestling.
-- Jefferson T. B.
Foley: The other most emailed topic of the week was the Grapple at the Garden. I wasn't able to make it out of Chicago for Sunday's meet, though many who went reported the same criticism. But let's first look at the positives.
We wrestled in Madison Square Garden. Regardless of the critiques the wrestling community was able to put on an event inside the country's most famous arena. That's just cool. The event showcased some of the best teams, and was able to generate good amount of secondary media coverage, most notably a front-page write-up in the New York Times of Kyle Dake and his pursuit of four titles at four weight classes. Again, that's the NYT and MSG all rolled into one weekend in the middle of the collegiate wrestling season. Very, very good stuff.
I wrote this last week, but wrestling is in its Golden Era. We've never had better access to information, or larger, brighter, more fulfilling events. Just this calendar year we'll have the NWCA All-Star Classic, Grapple in the Garden, Grapple in the Big Apple, Midlands and Southern Scuffle, in addition to the NCAA Tournament. That's an incredible amount of hard work that is resulting in marketable events that have undoubtedly grown our fan base. Wrestling is heading into uncharted territory, and I couldn't be more excited.
As for the critiques ... Yes, the matchups could have been a touch more compelling. I think everyone would have loved to see Okie State and Iowa face off, or Cornell take on Iowa. But these matchups are the ones we were given and while not the VERY best that we could have scheduled there were some exciting matchups.
Others were a little salty about the production value once the matches started. There was difficulty figuring out who was wrestling on which mat, when and what the score was. I think the Olympics have is pegged by displaying a few big screens. I think we should adopt for all out big matches, including the Grapples and NCAA.
Some were a little concerned about the blandness of the interviews being broadcast during the event. I wasn't there, but I assume it's not easy to get compelling, dynamic answers for 9k people from a media-trained athlete on the big screen in MSG.
I'm sure that the committee that ran the event saw some of their own flaws, or places where improvements could be made. The Grapple series will (hopefully) be an annual event and as we grow use to its existence we'll increase attendance and the operators will increase the quality of the product. But out of the gate, I think they're onto something wonderful.
As for the NCAA tournament heading to NYC? That might be too much sticker shock for many fans, though I agree it would be worthwhile to see this guy coaching his team towards a national title.
Happy holidays, wrestling fans. Your questions and comments have made this an exciting and challenging time to be a writer for the wrestling community.
Stay present.
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