It’s often said that it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Is it better for a Colorado church congregation to fold 33,215 cranes — one for each “gun violence death” in 2016 — than it is to actually do something about reducing firearms-related homicide? Especially when you consider . . .

that roughly half of those “gun deaths” are suicides. All that time folding could be better spent reaching out to people in their Lakewood area suffering from loneliness, depression, PTSD and other mental conditions that lead to suicide. IMHO.

Not to mention the work that could be done to address the gang banging that results in firearms-related homicides and injuries. Or teaching children about gun safety to protect them against negligent discharges.

But what do I know? Besides, there is some good here:

The Peace Crane is an international symbol of peace and for the past year, Mile Hi Church has already been sending them all over the world. For example, cranes have been sent to Orlando, Florida after the nightclub shooting, others were sent to Paris after the terrorist shootings and many were sent to the communities affected by the shootings in Dallas. Senior Minister Dr. Roger Teel shared; “Peace Cranes from Mile Hi Church are an extension of the hearts of every beautiful soul who crafted them. They also represent the universal urge and vision within the heart of humanity for peace and well-being for all people.”

Who can argue with that?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

56 COMMENTS

    • I felt a little bit sick watching that father convince his son that the candles and flowers would protect them.

      His son actually had some great insight, but the father shot it down (pun not intended).

      As noted below by Rick P – useless symbolism.

    • Not sure I agree.

      The Paris thing was clearly off target, as it suggested that a devotion to peace in light of violence would pressure a cessation of the latter. While that has worked for many movements in the past, it is essential that the target of the movement be swayed by the peacefulness. Not sure that is the case there.

      I don’t know where the cranes are trying to get with their message, but there is certain value. The mass of cranes is clear visual evidence that there are too many people who died at the discharge of a firearm, and might have reached some for whom 30k is too large and abstract a concept to really understand.

      Had the cranes been made of specific color paper to reflect the incident – suicide, gang violence, ND, etc. – it would have been a great way to show people how much death we could prevent by taking an interest and intervening when someone is mentally troubled. It would also help evidence the need to address the underlying causes of gang violence rather than the symptomatic shootings. It might have also shown where we can save the most lives per dollar, something that is emotionally painful to hear but part of the reality of a world where good feelings and hugs don’t pay the mortgage.

      • Movements that use nonviolence in the face of violent suppression only work, historically, against an opponent who wants to see itself as morally advanced, liberal (in the classic sense), and civilized. The continued use of violence against the non- violent threatens that self-image.

      • “Had the cranes been made of specific color paper to reflect the incident –…”

        Interesting idea. They would immediately suggest the color red, to represent the blood spilled, when the color blue would be far more appropriate.

        Blue representing the color Democrats use, and oh-so-appropriate considering it’s Democrat policies in the inner city that are directly responsible with the carnage in Chicago, Baltimore, etc…

      • Another color coding could be Unicorn White for all the times it was the gun all by itself. No human pulling the trigger.

  3. If god does look out for fools and children then he will send an angle with a CCW when the time comes.

  4. Would somebody do the math for me? How many rounds of 12 gauge #10 birdshot would it take to kill 33,215 origami cranes?

    • Assuming 12ga shells with 1oz loads of #9 shot, and one pellet per bird, it’ll take 57 shells (56 and change, based on average pellet counts).

  5. I hate that “Gun Violence” statistic. At best “fake news”, at worst (and most likely) intentional deception. What about all the poor souls that died from rope violence, pill violence, gravity violence, carbon monoxide violence, and razor blade violence!?

    • Gravity violence is the worst. Gravity won’t even let these paper cranes fly. Fascist gravity.

    • Exactly, pick you cause. Is it violence or is it suicide? Either way, reach out to wayward or despondent youth. Otherwise you might as well hold up a sign that says ‘I’m a self-serving douche’.

  9. It more like 2/3 are suicides. 11,000ish is the number of homicides with a gun the other 20,000+ are suicides.

  11. Some people obviously have too much spare time. But it is up to them how they use it.

  13. Yesterday my wife and I were pulling into the mall as two ladies were arranging 20 or so pinwheels in the grass to help end child abuse. As someone who has to help people find healing and recovery from abuse that stuff drives me nuts. I can’t imagine the fairy tale world where pinwheels and paper cranes are the solution to violent crime, terrorism, and abuse.

    If you are a pacifist, I get it. But this isn’t pacifism. It’s Romper Room.

  14. Sounds to me as if the church has “created” a huge fire hazard that needs to be dealt with forthwith. This could be a terrible tragedy, Oh the humanity!! For God’s sake, shut them down

  18. MORE POWER TO ‘EM!

    That’s some bona fide 1st Amendment Goodness right there. Matter of fact, I’d be exceptionally pleased if they recruited more like-minded folks to sit around and fold origami as a way of expressing their dislike for all things GUN.

    Feel afraid for your life because you saw an ordinary citizen open carry a GUN in your local supermarket? Fold some origami.

    Lie awake at night feeling depressed for the “thousands” (and even zillions!) of innocent little children purportedly-but-not-actually killed by dangerous GUN “accidents” every year? Fold some origami.

    Just stressing out with gnawing righteous indignation about those evil bloodthirsty “weapons of war” GUNS saturating our “streets?” Fold some origami.

    Wringing your hands while waiting for the next mass shooting by a GUN, and wondering if other people think that Sharknado is plausibly realistic? Fold some origami.

    Feeling perfectly logical and sane when you see Wayne La Pierre on teevee, while suddenly having an epiphany about the genius of buying a GUN so that you can shoot him with it (because you cleverly deducted that if “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a GUN is a good guy with a GUN,” and he’s obviously a bad guy, and you’re obviously a good guy, and ohh the irony, then IT JUST MAKES SENSE… maybe even common sense)?! Fold some origami. Heck, fold some origami in the shape of a GUN! Or a shark.

    Because for all the ultimate futility of huffing around and spouting nonsensical lies as facts, emotional opinions as rational logic, and misinformed prejudices as “common sense,” when the organized antigun zealots spread their childish fever, it does cause its fair share of problems for us ordinary citizens who would prefer to enjoy our civil rights in peace and productivity. I’d much rather have Gabby Giffords and her space cadet hubby hold some seminars on how to fold origami and organize yuuuggge antigun origami walls, than… than whatever the hell useless hypocritical control freak blame-game zeal’n’squeal hoohah they’re cooking up nowadays. I can envision it, can you? Origami– THE TIME IS NOW! And I’m all for it.

    And, I will shut the hell up, and not tell them what to do. I won’t tell them what kind of paper to use, or what sorts of colors I think are origasmic, or even *how many* origami pieces they can make… or how many sheets they can stack deep in their GUN safe spaces. None of my damn business! These are Americans, and they have guaranteed rights, people. And every once in a while, if I want to mingle and entertain with neighborly folks that share different & varied interests than mine, I just might mosey on out to the church and take a look-see and listen to some fascinating origami displays. Heck, maybe I’ll even try my hand at squeezing off a few sheets off into an origami koala bear… life is good, lots of experiences worth sharing out there.

    So, do it. Fold away, and cherish your origami. It’s not a waste of time at all… no more so than popping off rounds at tin cans in the desert, anyway… and lord knows, I’ve wasted many an hour plinking. Who knows how many origami masterpieces I could’ve folded in that same time?

    I suspect we can all agree on this. Sure, there’d still be some insular, short-sighted curmudgeons who would poo-poo and guffaw if we woke up one morning and Shannon-Bloomberg’s site suddenly became, “EVERYTOWN FOR ORIGAMI!” Some people always want to be mean and petty, and don’t necessarily know how to savor a good victory with dignity and graciousness. But most of us would be downright thrilled. God bless them, I’d say.

    I would tell the origamists to brush off the Negative Ninnies with: Don’t like origami? Don’t fold. Just stop trying to control the rest of us. (And then maybe stick in a hashtag there, for the KiDz, #1A … #origamisense … #momsdemandorigami … et al)

    Be safe. Watch those papercuts…

        • I sympathize, nonetheless. But my comment had to be long. Anyone who might’ve been inspired enough to print it out and fold it into origami, come on… with any less rambling, I’d be severely limiting their design capabilities. I’m just some “crazy gun guy,” see, not a fervent anti-origami statist manipulating the fate of anyone’s origami futures. Try printing and folding this comment… with 32,678 origamis to go on the wall, this reply ain’t doing anybody any favors.

          Be safe. And thanks for reading.

  20. What a huge waste of time and effort. If only they would have expended that time doing something to actually make some improvements in the world.

    Very sad.

  21. Again, why is so much hostility against guns coming from the Christian community ?

    Ironically they keep blathering on about “violence and death” yet they worship a God who drowned almost the entire population of man an animal on planet Earth. Idiots.

    • Mile High “Church” in Lakewood is not a Christian church. Why are you so bigoted?

      Mile High Church is a “Religious Science” church. You learn how to speak positive affirmations to the universe to shape it in the way most harmonious for humanity. Of course, if YOUR positive affirmation affirms the opposite of you NEIGHBOR’S positive affirmation, it’s like dividing by zero and the entire “church” building disintegrates into the Void.

      So, in a nutshell, not Christian at all. Just another rehash of Gnosticism, with pro-abortion dogma thrown in.

      • Ahhh, a completely different cult. Thank you for pointing that out.

        Sorry for triggering you with my vicious bigotry.

        • Not at all. On the other hand, RF apologizes for triggering YOU into an insane, off topic tant.

  22. A quick scan of their faq section (on their website) is all you need to realize what a box of fruit loops these people are.

    • If you wrote on them : “Peace Through Superior Firepower”. Then yes, that would count.✈

  25. I wonder if they can even contemplate the waste of time and the pointlessness of this?

    But so mech easier to talk about change than to put effort forth to enact it. Like how liberals talk about letting refugees into the country, but ain’t a single one staying at their house.

  27. To the Good Folks at Mile (gettin) High Church:
    The Civilian Marksmanship Program has received word that the Philippine government could be shipping 86,000 M1 Garand rifles back to the United States for distribution to American civilian shooters.
    For your next act, could you please make 86,000 more cranes so the CMP can pass one out to each law abiding purchaser of each M-1 Garand? A crane and a CMP certificate would go a long way to making a better country don’t you know.
    Senior Gun Owner

    • Did President Trump undo obama’s State Department ban on the reimportation of WWII rifles loaned to our allies?
      Will that also allow South Korea to return some tens of thousands of Garands?

      • This has nothing to do with Obama’s ban. His ban covered commercial imports which is what the Korea deal was by Century Arms, a private company.

        These guns are still U.S. Army property on loan to the Philippines thus are exempt from the ban.

    • Unfortunately, all the clubs in my area that are CMP qualified have a 2 year waiting list, except for the ones associated with Dudley Brown, and I won’t send a dime to that man.

  28. Colossal waste of time. Making origami paper cranes is going to change approximately nothing at all. Typical warm and fuzzy liberal activity.

    Furthermore, they harp on about gun deaths but dismiss other murders performed by other means. They should focus on all murder not just those that happened to own a gun. Since my guns and the guns of all my friends and family don’t kill people, they should focus on why someone decides to kill another person – rather than how many deaths occur in the US tied to guns. This would require them to use logic and reason, but that wouldn’t be their style. Better to use feelings and make paper cranes and feel good about what you are doing.

  29. These paper cranes will end up in landfills within a year. As useful as a hashtag.

    The time they spent folding these things could have been better spent with a family member or friend in need of help to maybe prevent a suicide or domestic abuse or a life of crime.

  30. Serious question: What are they going to do with the cranes when the whole thing is over? Cuz that is alot of cranes.

    I would not mind having a couple. I like paper cranes I just do not like arms prohibition.

Comments are closed.