I really am in no position to properly reply on a small, work phone, but I have many rebuttals.
Wait a few days, please. In good fun, my friend :D.
A lot of it is media frenzy, but a large part of it is how our country is afraid to actually have a debate about the subject and at least try methods to alleviate this growing problem. But the soul problem at the heart of this is how in the 70's and 80's America began to deinstitutionalize its mentally impaired citizens and bring them back into their communities. Nowadays, our mental institutions are weak and could never take in the amount of people that most likely need to be put into them. These people are either poor, religious, or simply angry (perhaps all 3) and easily purchase firearms locally (legally or illegally) and then go on their shooting sprees. The media gets ahold of this and then absolutely glorifies them and plasters their "acheivement" all over television and social media, making more crazy people come out of the woodwork to go on these killing sprees, rinse and repeat. At this rate, the next mass shooting will be in a week or two and we'll have the same debate.
Just let me buy my AK74 before they get banned, Obama pls.
3,000 people were killed during 9/11. Ceremonies remembering it were canceled because Muslims were offended.
http://www.allenbwest.com/2015/12/concerned-citizen-didnt-report-shooters-suspicious-behavior-for-outrageous-reason/ <---------READ THIS ARTICLE A PERSON DIDNT REPORT THE SHOOTING BECAUSE HE'D BE ACCUSED OF BEING ISLAMOPHOBIC. Please look into the Rotherham rape scandal too.
Black gun violence is 4X the rate of white gun violence. Black non-gun violence is an additional 4X the rate of white gun violence.
wut?
If they took the Murricans' guns away, we poor moose loving nanaimo bar eating shlubs would have nobody to defend us from those awful jihadists.
xD
In all seriousness, tho, I agree with the Murricans on this. Sux to have to contradict myself bc I like our strict gun laws. But they make sense here. Our gun laws wouldn't work in the US. Guns don't kill people. An overblown narcissistic sense of entitlement kills people. Good luck arguing with those people. All you can really do with that kind of ego is feed it fake supply till it calls you friend and lets you gradually talk some sense into it.
Kinda like befriending a moose, ya know? ;)
"Problem is, I have a hard time imagining the American public being aroused to a revolt of any consequential size. We're too divided, ideologically. And too complacent in our comfy, modern world. Fear is what makes Americans refuse to give up their guns, and fear is why the same Americans will never use them."
I agree with this to an extent. I think that right now, as politically fucked as so many things are, there is a lot to be discontent about here. But looking at the situation, even from a cynical perspective such as my own, the climate doesn't seem to merit a call to rise up—at least yet.
People are definitely afraid...of many things...and no doubt the media plays a major role in this by constantly feeding the public stories which seem designed to incite fear. If it's not terrorism, it's something else; I'm sure many Americans remember the West Nile and SARS hysteria...and going even further back, the ridiculous Y2K episode that had people clearing out the canned food and bottled water shelves of stores. Fear is a consistent theme of the media narrative.
If it comes down to it, if the government goes too far, I think Americans would react, if they can see that things have gone too far. The problem is, we have this shit:
"This is like asking, what's the point in banning heavy drugs then, if you can still get them illegally? As if not more people would be tempted to shoot heroine if it were being sold next to candy."
"No it's not, you're fucking retarded. Do some research on gun violence and what percentage of legal guns are used in crimes before you start making such comparisons. Banning those would simply be restricting a freedom while doing nothing to stem the crime rate."
Let's be realistic here. Although Ed's example is an inaccurate comparison, it's not realistic to say that banning guns would make no difference at all. Would it cut down on the problem? Almost certainly. Would it eliminate the problem? Certainly not. It's a matter of weighing the potential improvement against the potential flaws. And since the potential flaws in this case are more a matter of ideals and eventualities than practicality and statistics, that's very difficult to do. Let's not pretend anyone here has a real solution.
"I really advise you take a more tolerant, open minded perspective before taking on something as broad as judging anothers culture, but time and time again you've shown that's beyond you. I'll be awaiting your close minded response Ed."
On one hand, I completely understand your offense. Europeans often have a tendency to be more close-minded and elitist regarding American culture than just about anything else. And it's true that Ed may not be fully taking the cultural differences as a legitimate factor for consideration. However, he and every other European have every right to express their opinions on issues facing Americans, just as we have to discuss issues facing Europeans. Criticizing aspects of our culture doesn't necessarily make them bigots. Despite what many people seem to think, culture is not some sacred thing that shouldn't be questioned. If I dare to throw a little WW3 at you, that's PC bullshit. Think about how it must look from the perspective of someone who grew up in a statistically much safer place, where guns are not allowed. Although I agree with you on this issue, I wouldn't write off Ed's perspective as nothing but judgmental bigotry. He made some good points, that deserve to be responded to with sincerity.
This country was built off of the second amendment, the right to bear arms, you'd have another civil war on your hands if the right was revoked.
So you admit this is backwards mentality. The whole point of this thread kinda is criticizing that Americans don't change their mentality, but would rather be stuck as they are even if it's bad for them.
People do not need the degree of firearms that they have in the US and yes this causes casualties but what doesn't? We do not need all you can eat buffets or the amount of over proportioned food sizes and because we do people die of obesity.
So because Americans have bad habits that kill them, they should encourage or not change other bad habits? How the fuck does that even make sense.
whats the point in banning it if the criminals can still obtain them illegally, like they always have. People that acquire their guns legally arent the issue here.
This is like asking, what's the point in banning heavy drugs then, if you can still get them illegally? As if not more people would be tempted to shoot heroine if it were being sold next to candy.
84 percent of those guns were stolen in a burglary; including 4 percent stolen from a relative or a friend,6 percent of those guns were confiscated and resold by a “law enforcement officer.â€
This is a even dumber argument. Apart from the percentage smuggled in or stolen from cops and military, the guns used in criminal activity are still those available because they're legal (the guns stolen from family and friends, and from all the corner gun selling shops). I doubt the autistic kids going on shooting sprees steal their guns from the FBI though.
People's mentality and acceptance regarding things are trained by what is available and what is not. You Americans are in the situations you are, because you've got used to guns in the first place. And yeah, that's because you are a nation of fearful people. It's hard to change something if you don't want to in the first place.
Sweet, as a proud rifle owner I'd be happy to defend the 2nd amendment :D
This reaction is like a toddler not wanting to have his blanket taken away from him. That rifle is your toy, because society and video games got you into thinking guns are cool, guns provide safety, even when completely useless, like that rifle. I mean, the fuck do you even do with it? It's not like you carry it around to defend yourself or hunt people.