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Oberon · 10-02-15, 05:42 AM

Turns out that the 4chan link was false anyway, it wasn't the same guy who posted on the board.

Anyway, I hear the response that restricting guns won't stop the people who want to do this kind of thing from doing it a lot, so let's examine that.

Obama made a comment back in June that the US was the only nation in the world where this kind of thing happens and happens so often. He was only half correct. Certainly other nations suffer from mass killings, and by mass killings I define this as incidents when more than 3-4 people are killed by one or more people. Putting aside terrorist incidents for a moment, if you look at figures, such as those posted by politifact:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...nt-happen-oth/

You'll see that while the number per population may not put US that highly, nor per 100k...the frequency in which it happens far outweighs the other denominating factors.
In short, whilst other nations may have had more killings, the frequency in which they happen in the United States, to the extent where it is treated almost as norm by many of its populace, that is a factor that really does deserve examining. In fact, if one takes a mass shooting to mean that four or more people are shot, including the shooter, than the US has had more mass shootings than it has had days in this current year. (source: http://shootingtracker.com/wiki/Mass_Shootings_in_2015 )
Now, outside of war-zones and failed states, I don't think there are any nations you can put a similar figure on, certainly none in the western world.
Why is this? Well, to try and find out the answer to this, I think that a comparison between the US and other westernised nations need to be made, and that comparison needs to look at the following:

1) Access to firearms and weaponry
2) Access to mental health care
3) Media reporting

Now, one can argue about the state of youth culture, but that's a problem that is hardly unique to the United States.

In all the furor we make about hunting down terrorists, all the money spent, all the fuss about the dangers of radical Islam and the possibility of a Muslim kid making a bomb...more people have died in America through shootings than have died through terrorism over the past decade.
That's not right, guys, and I know you don't need people from outside the country to tell you this, you all know this already...and yet here we are, on a frequent basis, having this same conversation. Would any other nation have let this carry on for as long as it has?

I've said my piece, and no doubt I'll get shat on for saying it, but please America...stop killing yourselves.

10-02-15, 05:42 AM	#7
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Turns out that the 4chan link was false anyway, it wasn't the same guy who posted on the board. Anyway, I hear the response that restricting guns won't stop the people who want to do this kind of thing from doing it a lot, so let's examine that. Obama made a comment back in June that the US was the only nation in the world where this kind of thing happens and happens so often. He was only half correct. Certainly other nations suffer from mass killings, and by mass killings I define this as incidents when more than 3-4 people are killed by one or more people. Putting aside terrorist incidents for a moment, if you look at figures, such as those posted by politifact: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...nt-happen-oth/ You'll see that while the number per population may not put US that highly, nor per 100k...the frequency in which it happens far outweighs the other denominating factors. In short, whilst other nations may have had more killings, the frequency in which they happen in the United States, to the extent where it is treated almost as norm by many of its populace, that is a factor that really does deserve examining. In fact, if one takes a mass shooting to mean that four or more people are shot, including the shooter, than the US has had more mass shootings than it has had days in this current year. (source: http://shootingtracker.com/wiki/Mass_Shootings_in_2015 ) Now, outside of war-zones and failed states, I don't think there are any nations you can put a similar figure on, certainly none in the western world. Why is this? Well, to try and find out the answer to this, I think that a comparison between the US and other westernised nations need to be made, and that comparison needs to look at the following: 1) Access to firearms and weaponry 2) Access to mental health care 3) Media reporting Now, one can argue about the state of youth culture, but that's a problem that is hardly unique to the United States. In all the furor we make about hunting down terrorists, all the money spent, all the fuss about the dangers of radical Islam and the possibility of a Muslim kid making a bomb...more people have died in America through shootings than have died through terrorism over the past decade. That's not right, guys, and I know you don't need people from outside the country to tell you this, you all know this already...and yet here we are, on a frequent basis, having this same conversation. Would any other nation have let this carry on for as long as it has? I've said my piece, and no doubt I'll get shat on for saying it, but please America...stop killing yourselves.