Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 16/Dec 03:34

Dangerous new status symbol

DR LESTER PHILIP IN TT, we have an unhealthy obsession with status. A “VIP red passport,” a foreign accent, a brand new high-end car – anything to make you look like you “reach.” But now we’ve added something far more dangerous to that list: a licensed firearm. More and more citizens are treating a firearm user’s licence (FUL) like a prestige badge – a shiny symbol of importance, a way to say, “Look at me, I better than you.” But a gun is not a trophy. It is not an accessory. And it definitely isn’t something to flash when your ego gets bruised. A few weeks ago, while browsing the internet, I stumbled on a video that exposed this madness in full daylight. It was about a licensed firearm holder who got into an argument in a car park – over a parking space. A driver had parked a little wide. Annoying, yes, but hardly a crisis. Yet the licensed firearm user pulled his gun, waving it about. That is why too many people in this country shouldn’t own a slingshot, far less a firearm. People are chasing gun licences for validation, not protection – as if owning a weapon magically makes them important. Someone once said, “To know a man, give him power.” And nothing exposes a man’s true character faster than handing him a deadly weapon. History already taught us this. Look at Henry VIII – the perfect case study in power poisoning the mind. Men feared him not because he was wise, but because he could simply say, “Off with their heads,” and it was done. No reasoning. No restraint. Just ego backed by power. A man drunk on authority becomes reckless, dangerous, and unstable. This is exactly what we are breeding when ordinary, emotionally fragile people treat guns like status symbols. Power without discipline is a disaster waiting to happen. We know our culture. We know how fast a simple lime – Christmas, birthday, Carnival, or just a weekend gathering – can collapse into drama when alcohol, jealousy, and pride mix. Now add a gun. One careless comment, one drunken insult, one wounded ego, and suddenly someone “who feel he important” reaches for his licensed firearm to prove a point. In a single stupid second, a lime becomes a funeral. This is the reality we are building when guns become ego boosters instead of tools of last-resort protection. Yes, crime is out of control. Yes, people are afraid. But let’s not fool ourselves: giving guns to untrained, thin-skinned, easily-offended civilians will not fix anything. Even seasoned officers make fatal mistakes under pressure. Now imagine an ordinary man whose pride gets hurt because someone cut him off, looked at him sideways, watched his wife too long, or takes "his" parking spot. Putting guns into the hands of emotionally unstable people is like giving matches to someone standing in gasoline. As a nation, we need a cold, sobering reality check. A firearm is not prestige. It is power. And power, mixed with insecurity, pride, or ignorance, becomes uncontrollable. If you want a firearm, it should only be because: • Your job requires it. • Your life is under credible threat. • You are emotionally disciplined enough to handle the responsibility. But if you want a gun because you want to feel powerful, respected, or “bad,” then you are exactly the type of person who should never own one. Guns and fragile egos do not mix. They create chaos, tragedy, and tomorrow evening's Crime Watch feature. Before anyone applies for an FUL, they need to stand in front of a mirror and ask: “Do I want this for protection – or for status?” Because one path leads to responsibility. The other leads straight to prison, heartbreak, or the morgue. And TT cannot afford any more men drunk on power. The post Dangerous new status symbol appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.