In this case, I have no idea. Overall, of course. The harder it is to shoot lots of bullets, the less people die. That's common sense. And again, I have yet to see you propose a solution. Mental health is a problem all around the world yet the death rate is not. So the "woe is me, nothing we can do about mentally ill people" excuse doesn't fly. This is just nonsense. Just because you can't eliminate something doesn't mean you can't make it harder to access. That's been shown over and over and over again.
Violence is part of Human culture. Nothing unique to American culture. Where it differ is the tools used. Violence x gun everywhere = violence^2.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UPDATE: VA shooting suspect transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries, police say <a href="http://t.co/06x396Q3pR">http://t.co/06x396Q3pR</a> <a href="http://t.co/l6JZ1a161x">pic.twitter.com/l6JZ1a161x</a></p>— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/636577398444687360">August 26, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I see it as a reflection of where American values lie vs other modern countries. Violence is desensitized at a younger age here. But I do agree with you 100% that the issues lie much deeper. I'm not blaming violent shootings on video games or movies, just pointing out violence as a whole is more tolerated in American society, and how hypocritical it is that Americans think issues like gay marriage and mar1juana legality are eroding society when the real issue is mental health, perspective, and easy access to dangerous weapons.
Agree with access to weapons and the other issues, but I just don't see how violence is more tolerated in the USA than compared to other modern countries. We all watch the same violent movies and play the same violent games at a young age, no matter what country. Barely anyone here condones violent movies and the criticism on games is the same as in the USA (mostly politicians or old people). Only real difference I see is access to guns and how so many US children are introduced to weapons at a young age, whereas here in Europe most people never fire a weapon in their life, except for soldiers and the extremely few members of shooting clubs. But saying entertainment is worse in the USA or spreads violence more than in other countries is not true imo.
gun violence has been declining precipitously (as gun laws became less restrictive and gun ownership increased) Spoiler
Guns are worshiped here because of the power they confer through their ability to take life and because of the riches they bestow on the manufacturers and their sycophants in the NRA and the political world.
I think the question is how do we make it better, and at what cost? Especially in light of the fact that other countries in the world seem to be "much better" in this area. Are they sacrificing something - freedoms, liberties, whatever? - in obtaining these better levels? Is it pure socioeconomic? And what would happen in America if there were much stricter gun laws in place? I don't have the answers. I like to think, that I do think logically. Logic tells me that right to bear arms means something way way different now than it did when this country was formed, and that much stricter gun laws would likely only have further positive impacts to the precipitous declines your charts show (much of which seems to be attributed to declining rates among african americans and hispanics, which likely is a result of increased cultural integration and changes in socioeconomics among those classes), while doing little to limit any personal freedoms that would have a direct impact on short, medium and long term quality of life. I am open to any rationale or logical arguments otherwise. But in a world where the current state of non-violent but incapacitating weaponary is advanced enough - and could be meaningfully further advance with an influx of money (which might come with much stricter gun laws) - to quell any fears of "protecting ones family" from everyday common dangers, and where even an EXTREMELY well planned and armed militia of civilians could do little to nothing against its own government in the highly unlikely scenario where America begins to become a dictator state requiring "revolt", I am not sure what rationale or logical arguments can be made??
Very sad news..... Prayers to the loved ones. R.I.P to the people who lost their lives in this horrible tragedy.
So, disgruntled ex coworker? Edit: confirmed His Twitter says she made racist remarks and the cameraman filed a complaint to HR about him.
The cops would be the first group I'd encourage to move away from guns. Why is it funny? And is your position that the danger in America is from our police force more than from other civilians?
Well then we agree. Nothing funny there. Cops kill an average of 3-4 people a day. Hopefully soon with body cameras we will have this sort of view for all of them.
Summary of what WDBJ just said live: When Bryce worked there, he quickly became difficult to work with. He was looking out for people to say things to be offended by. After many incidents of anger, they fired him and he did not take it well. The police had to escort him out. Then he filed an EEOC complaint about members of the staff making racial comments. But NONE of the complaints could be corroborated and they think they were fabricated. The investigators asked other employees and nobody heard anything racial and EEOC dismissed the complaint.
