As a member of the Citizens Task Force on Violence, I am pleased and proud of the work we did and grateful to The Star for its extensive coverage of our recommendations and the laudatory editorial. (April 21, 12A, “There’s no silver bullet for Kansas City’s violent crime issue”)
However, I was dismayed by the headline using the words “silver bullet.”
Because we are concerned about the extreme gun culture in our country, our group has developed a thesaurus of more than 70 words and phrases that refer to guns and shooting. Although we clearly understand that words do not cause violence, we created this to illustrate how often we use these phrases and offer suggestions of how to avoid them.
For example, “silver bullet” means a perfect solution. “Under the gun” means you are busy. “Worth a shot” means trying. We believe if people become aware of these phrases, perhaps it will cause them to think about the gun culture that exists. It certainly won’t eradicate it, but it will raise awareness—and that is a good first step.
Judy Sherry
Board Chair
Grandparents Against Gun Violence
Kansas City
Note from KBJ: Criticizing moonbats such as Judy Sherry is like shooting fish in a barrel. Maybe people should provide a trigger warning for her before talking about guns in her presence. I do give her credit, however: In tackling gun violence, she aims high. Unfortunately for her, she is shooting herself in the foot.
