For Millennials. By Millennials.
Taika Waititi is a fan favorite. Fans have loved him for his work as the director of Thor and Jojo Rabbit. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak, almost all productions have seized. Therefore, he has more time to kill on his hands, and he does talk about politics a lot. And that he did, by criticizing people buying guns before a lockdown, which pointed fingers at Americans too!
Taika Waititi goes to Twitter
Due to social distancing and national lockdowns, everyone is spending time on Twitter, and Taika is no different. There was news that Kiwis (nickname for New Zealanders) were lining up to buy guns due to a fear of lockdown due to Coronavirus. However, that did not sit well with Taika Waititi, who gave this news a very angry response!
Fucking idiots who think The Road or I am Legend is about to become reality. Bet only two people in this picture actually hunt for food. https://t.co/aLExWShRqx
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) March 24, 2020
Naturally, whenever guns or gun control is mentioned anywhere, Americans come to mind. Sadly, they’re lining up in even longer queues than Kiwis’ to buy guns. This is because news of lockdowns has created mass hysteria among some people. As Taika Waititi said, movies, like I am Legend and The Walking Dead, have made some people think that there’s going to be some kind of apocalypse. These Americans have a bunker mentality and are therefore busy buying guns and stockpiling other essentials. However, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Is there any need to buy guns?
Simple answer, no. We can understand that things might seem crazy because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it’s not as bad as some might think. And Taika Waititi also has a point when he says most of us can’t hunt for food. Here are some reasons why we think buying guns right now is a bad idea:
1. Guns are dangerous
We think it goes without saying that guns are really dangerous. There are many reasons why you shouldn’t buy guns. Guns alone have killed 40,000 people in 2019 and are far deadlier than Coronavirus itself. Other than that, there’s always a chance of them getting stolen, or being used for suicide, domestic violence, or even unintentional shootings. And like Taika Waititi said, gun buyers rarely know how to hunt. Moreover, people have bought them mostly because they’re scared of some apocalypse that might happen because of Coronavirus. However, that’s really not true or possible. And that is the second reason.
2. There isn’t going to be an apocalypse
Movies, like I am Legend, are just that – movies. They are barely a representation of real-life and are just a source of entertainment. Even though we live in unprecedented times, it can’t be as bad as The Walking Dead, or I am Legend. First of all, governments are actually putting in a lot of effort to control the pandemic. A number of countries have gone in full lockdown to protect their people, however, their essential services are still doing their job. Farming, groceries, medicine, electricity, the internet, and all such important services are working. So, Taika Waititi wasn’t entirely wrong in suggesting how unnecessary it is for Kiwis or Americans to buy guns.
Moreover, governments are giving the affected a lot of relief too. Like the US Senate just approved a $2.2 Trillion relief package to help keep the country running. I mean, at this point even Will Smith has spoken out about how his film misinformed the public about pandemics.
3. Even Will Smith has spoken out
Will Smith joins the ranks of Taika Waititi in criticizing Americans for buying guns. He said in an interview that he felt responsible for some of the misinformation about Coronavirus. People got a very wrong idea about the world turning into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
However, this isn’t just happening in New Zealand or the US. It happened in Italy too, where a town’s mayor had to scream at people to not consider themselves Will Smith. It’s silly to think that people have to be told that it’s not going to be that bad. Like Taika Waititi said, not many people even know how to hunt. And it’s best if they don’t try it out on anyone either.
