Inside Out

I’m still thinking about the Jodie Foster/John Hinckley Jr. thing.

When you rewind this narrative and look at it from a historical perspective, what would have happened if she had come out of the closet before John Hinckley fired his gun at Ronald Reagan?

Think about gun laws and gun violence in America, especially in the context of recent events. If Hinckley hadn’t tried to kill Regan and subsequently killed James S. Brady, there would have been no Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. All causes, no matter how noble, need a figurehead. Sometimes, unfortunately, that figurehead needs to be a victim. America has a love affair with it’s guns. Look how adamantly the NRA and other enthusiasts are opposing the possible ban on assault rifles. Even then, suggesting restrictions on selling handguns to prevent people like Hinckley -a deranged and obsessive man with a history of violence- from owning them was vehemently opposed. Arguably, the Bill did what it intended and kept guns away from dangerous people who would otherwise have easier access to them. What if without it, gun violence in America had escalated to level worse than we’re seeing today? Could this Bill have helped stop a tragedy equal to, or greater than what happened with the most recent school shooting? We'll never know, because Jodie Foster kept herself in the closet.

What if she had come out earlier. How would Hinckley have reacted, knowing the object of his twisted affection was a lesbian? What is his reaction today? Would he have turned his gun on himself, or on her, or some other innocent victim? Gays and lesbians often feel like they are risking their own lives if they choose to expose what they are. In this case, the threat was quite real. Hinckley could have killed her.

One difficult choice, with so many different paths. Because of one man, and his illness, her choice could have had consequences we never dreamed of. Brady might still be alive if she had come out, but countless others could have died.

I was checking wikipedia, and it says over 1.9 million firearm purchases were blocked because of the Brady Bill. That’s a gun for every man, woman and child in a major city. Think about how many lives 1.9 million guns could have taken. 1.9 million guns is enough to arm an entire army of soldiers. Don’t believe me? That’s enough guns for every active soldier in North Korea, or India, and yes, even AMERICA. There’s only about 1.4 million soldiers active in the States today, during the twilight of the War in Afghanistan, and Post-Iraq. Over 8,000 people can expect to die of gun violence in America every year. Now imagine how much larger that number would be if every person who least deserves to have a gun have total access to them.

So Jodie Foster isn’t a coward, by any means. She’s unwittingly saved more lives than possibly anyone living in America.