He never stopped to think

When the cab driver picked me up I said to him, “I don’t have a gun.” He smiled

By DAVID GEFFEN
Ramle (photo credit: Courtesy)
Ramle
(photo credit: Courtesy)
On Monday, one day after the horrid killing of an innocent young father in a Ramle shopping mall garage, I passed through the early part of my morning repeating a warning to myself.
When the cab driver picked me up I said to him, “I don’t have a gun.” He smiled. When I went into a stationery store I said to the owner, “I don’t have a gun.” She smiled. As I came upon a man giving out free newspapers I said, “I don’t have a gun.” He smiled.
As I bought two pitas I said to the salesperson, “I don’t have a gun.” He responded, “Wasn’t that horrible what that 74-year-old man accomplished by shooting a young man as his wife and children watched? She is now a widow and her children are orphans. His wife and one daughter have muscular dystrophy and the other daughter has cerebral palsy. All I could think of was, ‘Oh how we danced on the night you were dead.’”
I come from the USA where many people have guns. Some use them safely, others kill mercilessly. What I recall, however, is killings being largely limited: the famous rivalry between the Hatfields and McCoys; inter-tribal warfare between Native American bands; and of course, Mafia feuds. Those shootings were never condoned by me, but I assumed I understood what was happening.
I was totally wrong, though, because when I heard of those types of shootings and the innocent people killed in similar deadly rivalries, I just smiled.
I can’t offer any meaningful comfort for Sunday’s killing in Ramle, only condemnation of the murderer. I will try again, as I did in the past, to awaken our nation to the roots of these innocent killings. I will push for education about the haughty use of guns whose powerful bullets kill so easily. I will try a little harder to promote gun control and gun education. I will call on my friends here in Israel and in the United States to make contributions to assist the family, bereft and grieving after Sunday’s senseless killing. I will not hesitate to speak out to anyone who will listen. Perhaps someone will get the message,
I will urge that those who have gun licenses be tested routinely, just like drivers and their cars are tested. In my case, I will pray for the soul of Ofir Hasdai, and beckon God to offer consolation to the family.
The saddest part is that one human being took his gun and fired directly at another, with what seems was a desire to kill. We hear about criminals killing each other because of feuds, but here we witnessed one person who had no knowledge of the other just shooting without cause. We say that every person should be responsible for the other, but here irresponsibility prevailed.