My Family’s Gun Wounds: A Tale in Three Acts
I used to find humor in the stupid mishaps that plagued my family. But I don’t laugh anymore.
For years, I laughed off guns. They were part of the scenery where I grew up in Chicago. Street gangs fought each other with switchblades and brass knuckles and sometimes you heard the pop of gunfire at night. I shrugged it off. Made jokes about the situation. Closed my eyes and went to sleep.
In America, we “go ballistic” when we get angry. We “shoot from the hip” when we talk out of turn. We have “trigger warnings” in the classroom. Guns and gun culture are everywhere in our lives.
Living with gun violence can desensitize you. Humor was our
