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If you're Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard,' please carry a gun. Otherwise, here are 7 reasons not to.

Life isn't like the movies.

Let's face it. At one point or another, we've all wished we were Bruce Willis in "Die Hard."

"Awesome. Whoaoaoaoa. Awesome. Yeah. Ungh, awesome." — Everyone. GIF from "Die Hard"/20th Century Fox. Editors note: Upworthy does not endorse firing guns, especially not like this. Don't do it.


Who among us hasn't had the urge to strap a sidearm to our hip and roam around the local mall or college campus just daring the bad guys to try something so we can get our John McClane on? Because even the politicians among us have these fantasies, laws in several states are making it way easier to do so.

The thing is, reality has a funny way of interfering with even the most epic of fantasies. And being cavalier about guns — especially carrying a loaded one around with you with the intent to use it one day — is a very bad idea in reality.

As appealing as it may be, here are seven reasons why kicking ass and taking names is best left to the professionals.

Professionals like Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis in "Die Hard."

1. You're much more likely to injure or accidentally kill yourself with your own gun than you probably think.

In a major study that analyzed data across 19 years, researchers at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center found that there are seven times more accidental gun deaths in the states with the most guns than in the states with the least.

Not becoming one of those statistics ideally means not having a gun in the first place. Or, if you do have one, following proper gun safety protocol to the letter — which means not wandering around town with a loaded firearm — all the time, no exceptions, regardless of how annoying it may be or how experienced you are at handling it.

If you're Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," however, feel free to do this:

2. Guns are complicated machines, and it's not that hard to set them off accidentally.

For gun owners, it's incredible how much needless carnage can be prevented just by being the baseline amount of careful. A 1991 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that having the safety on could have prevented 31% of accidental gun deaths, and a "loaded" indicator might have stopped 23% of unintentional death or injury in a one-year span.

If you're carrying around a gun, no matter how securely, there's always a chance you'll drop it or it will fall. And when you try to catch a falling gun, as is many people's first instinct, you don't know where it's pointing or if you'll inadvertently brush the trigger. No matter how you look at it, toting around an unsecured or barely secured sidearm increases the risk of disaster.

But if you're Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," you can totally go ahead and shoot into the sky with reckless abandon. It's what you were born to do.

3. Having a gun in the home is a major risk factor for suicide.

A 2013 study found that for every 1 percentage-point increase in the rate of personal gun ownership in the U.S., there's a corresponding 0.5-0.9% increase in the rate of suicide. In other words, in a state of 5 million people with a suicide rate of 14 per 100,000 people, even a tiny increase in gun ownership from 20% to 21% would mean an extra four to six suicides per year. That's four to six more families who have to deal with a terrible, irreversible loss. And people who attempt suicide-by-firearm are much more likely to succeed.

This, of course, does not apply if you're Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," since any lingering thoughts of self-harm have long since been replaced by the overwhelming urge to rescue your wife and seek revenge on her captors by any means necessary.

4. Guns are more frequently used as an intimidation tool than to defend against a legitimate wrong.

Let's face it. If you've got a gun at your side at all times — and you're not a cop or a soldier — there's at least a little piece of you that's saying "Be afraid of me, world. Be very afraid." And the data backs that up. More than one survey conducted by Harvard researchers found that guns were used far more frequently to intentionally scare others — loved ones in particular — than in legitimate self-defense.

Guns are frightening things. So if you do have a gun, please keep it locked up, and don't bring it to Starbucks. And for gods sake, don't take it out and brandish it. I don't care if you know you're a "good guy with a gun" because I don't know you. You're just a guy with a gun. In a public space. And that really scares the hell out of people.

If you're Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," however, go right ahead and whip that puppy out and fire it indiscriminately with a full 90-degree spread. Don't even think about where the bullets might fall. Just do it.

5. Unsecured guns and guns in the wrong hands are a major killer of children.

The evidence here is, sadly, pretty stark. Children who live in states with laxer gun laws are far more likely to die in both accidental shootings and intentional homicides. Much like adults, teenagers who commit suicide are much more likely to live in homes where firearms are present.

If you do have a gun in the home, storing it safely — which means locked up and unloaded — is crucial. A National Institutes of Health study found states that implemented "safe storage" laws in the early '90s saw a 23% decrease in firearm deaths of children under 15 in a four-year period.

But if you're Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," you don't need to worry about securing your gun because you don't even need to bring one. One will probably just be lying on the floor. Several, in fact. Most likely near the bodies of various East German (?) flunkies. Just take one. And go bonkers.

6. Anger issues and guns are a deadly cocktail.

An April 2015 CBS News report cited a recent study that found about 1 in 10 people with easy access to guns have a documented history of anger issues and impulsive behavior. According to researchers, that's a recipe for big trouble.

Unless you're a loner, estranged from his wife with nine years on the force, a chip on his shoulder, and nothing left to lose. In which case...

7. Your gun is much, much more likely to kill you or a member of your family than a home intruder.

A recent study conducted by the NIH found that for every time a gun is used legally in self-defense, there are four unintentional shootings, seven assaults or murders, and a whopping 11 suicides or attempted suicides.

If you're Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," however, feel free to ignore these statistics, as your gun only ever kills bad guys — 100% of the time.

Unfortunately, none of us are Bruce Willis in "Die Hard."

I'm not Bruce Willis in "Die Hard." You're not Bruce Willis in "Die Hard." Nobody is Bruce Willis in "Die Hard." Not even Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis in "Die Hard." He's just Bruce Willis.

See what I mean? Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images.

"Die Hard" is a fantasy. A basically perfect, endlessly replayable fantasy (and surprisingly excellent Christmas movie to boot!). But a fantasy all the same.

And that's what's great about it.

Watching Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" allows us to satiate our urge to live out our gunslinger hero fantasies completely vicariously, with no cost to our own health or the lives of random bystanders or members of our own families.

This is America.

And in America, Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" gets to do this:

So that the rest of us don't have to.

Sponsored

Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

True

It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

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