inanimate objects, whose to blame?

I have been watching Agatha Christie’s Poirot on Netflix. It’s a show about a private detective and his partner solving mysteries and crimes. I like it.

 So, picture a detective coming up on a crime scene. There is one dead body lying on the ground with 10 to 12 stab wounds, and a knife still protruding from its face. Next to it covered in blood is a person alive and well. Now picture this happened in a room with only the two people in it. The room was locked inside and out, with no way in or out, with a ventilation system filtering to 5 microns, which is too small for a third person to pass through (just in case that was not obvious).

The detective interviews the suspect, who says the knife caused the death and that they were lucky the police arrived when they did or it could have killed him next.

Chief detective quickly seizes the moment before someone else takes the credit, and he outlaws knives everywhere, so we can sleep safe. He also tracks lesser knives hiding under the title of butter knives.

Now, would you want to watch the sequel?

No, you would be wondering some obvious things:

First, were they even asleep when the knife attacked, and if not, does it affect you at all when you sleep?

Second, knowing when and where a butter knife came from, does that help a victim? Because I am sure they would be thinking, "at least I am being stabbed by a tracked knife, I would just die if I did not know where it had been." That way the government can get in on this violent action. They can track where the knife came from and ruin the life of someone else because they did not control the ultimate outcome of another person and their decisions (which if they tried to control them they would have also been in trouble for kidnaping or tying them to a robot to control their movement... or some nonsenses like that). As if one person is responsible for the decisions of another… which if that is not true, then why is the government not at fault for the crime?

Third: Who is going to make sure all the illegal knives will be properly disposed of? The same people who prevent the knives from falling into their hands in the first place… because they suck at it. This will leave any person who uses knives for their intended purpose without them, and anyone who wants to misuse one with no reason to fear the other guy. Oh, my bad... I mean, "The people who let the knife use itself in the proper manner", because we already came to the brilliant conclusion that people do not control the knives.... or did we?

Really! You would not wonder any of this (unless you are president of something, because they see things we only dream of.... in nightmares maybe). Let’s not be stupid. I believe John Wayne said "life is hard, it’s harder if you’re stupid". My life is hard enough. Blaming inanimate objects is stupid, a knife cannot kill someone any more than a car, or bus, or airplane, or rock, or pen, or paper clip, or sandwich, or carpet, or this computer (that I am writing this on) can. -Aren't you glad the before mentioned, and completely made up, detective was not president of the United States of America when the twin towers were struck? He would have outlawed air planes, and asked us to examine our conscience if we questioned him. He would have begun tracking all airplane tires and jet engines, blah, blah, blah.-

Any one being killed by a knife is a tragedy. But it is foolish to blame the knife. It is the person behind the knife that is the problem. And if you must stretch it further, it is the society who does not do all in its power to persuade its people to live in accordance with its laws. It is the people who interact with the aggressors, who had a chance to change them for the better, but did not. It is the society who puts a larger emphasis on money than life. It is a society who cares more about oneself than for your neighbor. It is the government who cares more for power and money than for the people, more for the businesses than for the people. But most of all it lies with the aggressor. Even if nothing was ever done to help them change, it still does not matter. They chose that path and they are solely responsible for the consequences. Even in an ideal society where the government, community, neighbors, friends, and family do everything possible to help them there will still be people who act up and will misuse anything in reach to cause pain. All tools we use have benefits and when misused can have horrible consequences.  It is odd that the knife the detective wants to outlaw may have been the one that granted his freedom to choose so foolishly, or the one that stands guard around him at all hours.

I do not believe the solution to removing violence from a society lies in removing anything that can be used to take a life, nor does it lie in teaching everyone how to take a life to defend it, nor does it lie in restricting everyone in society so it cannot happen.  I believe it lies in teaching people to love life and their neighbors in spite of their flaws, and allowing everyone to enjoy their freedom, even when they want ten knives and when they want none. Because it is that freedom that knives were used to take in the first place and it is that freedom that many lives have been laid down to protect. It is not right for one man to decide that it is his responsibility to remove those rights.