Category: News and Views
this morning me and a friend was talking on the phone when we started to talk about the empire state building shooting, no, I haven't done my homework but from my chat I have a piece of information or two, but no, this topic isn't just about that, there's of course the aurora colo shooting, the sikhe temple shooting, the jared loner one last year with gabrielle gibbfords however you spell her name but that arizona congresswoman being shot, and a few others, talk about them and discuss the cases, here, what do you think, well not the aurora colo one so much, as I did start a topic about it, and does all these shoottings being so frequent mean something?
and, oh, there was suppose to be a want to be James Holmes joker copycat but he got caught before he could start hurting anyone.
No, I don't think these shootings mean anything or are somehow related. I guess you just have people who are so focused on their own pain or fear that they think making people die will make them feel better.
I think the only thing these shootings suggest is that the world is getting crazier and crazier each and every day. Every day it seems like there are more and more shootings and violence in the news... its just awful and depressing.
Actually, if you look at the statistics, the number of shootings is going down. Its just that recently people want to hear about shootings, so the news picks up on every one that happens and announces it. So if anything, it means that the media is just as screwed up as we all know it is.
I think one of the best things I've done for my own mental health is just to not watch news. I mean, I don't think there is a way to escape from it a hundred percent, but I do not turn on my TV and seek out news to watch as an evening ritual for example. Now perhaps my viewpoint is completely missing something and I'd love for somebody to set me straight if you think I'm off my tree, but the news is not a reflection of reality as it truly really is, nor is it absolute unbiased truth. The news concentrates upon stories that reflect spectacular events or unexpected happenings, like mass shootings. This is supposed to keep viewers and readers interested so they can hopefully take in advertising whilst waiting for the next big story. So yeah, the news, to me at least, is just another show. Think about it. If the news was actually reflecting reality, you and I would be dead, because we will have been subject to some mass shooting or gang attack or something else deadly. I also don't buy into the idea that the world is crazier, simply because the statement offers up no point of reference when the world was less crazy or not crazy at all, save for some unnameable time in the past. We just have very instantaneous ways to report things when such things happen, and anyone with an iPhone and a Twitter or Facebook or YouTube account is their own journalist. And that' boys and girls, is my decidedly cynical take on the purpose of the news media, take it or leave it.
Simple solution, bann all guns that's the only way. Australia banned guns although some require Guns permits from Government but we here in Australia hardly have Shootings as much as over in America. That's not to say we're perfect but I believe you should have tougher laws about Guns. It's sad and I know you require guns for protection but I think it's getting out of hands especially when College students are bringing guns to School and shooting innocent students.
Absolutely agree with the last post. Too many guns in this country. Every time there is a mass shooting, the subject of limiting or banning guns is discussed, but that's as far as it goes. I limit news watching too, and crawl into music or something nice, just to not let myself get depressed about this stuff. The media does hype everything anyway.
Guess what, those people who shot all those students, didn't listen to the sign that banned guns on the school grounds. The students at columbine didn't listen to the laws against them buying guns, or the bans against the guns they bought, or the bans against bringing guns onto campus. And no, Australia is not this shrine of nonviolence, Australia is actually a pretty violent place, including with guns. I will be happy to get resources for that claim if they are requested. England, which has also banned guns, is a morass of gun violence.
Banning guns will not stop guns, because the only people who listen to laws are the people who follow them. People who plan to shoot up a school already do not care about the laws against murder and assault, let alone the laws against guns. What makes you think they will listen to more laws against guns?
Every single state, every single one, which has enacted conceal carry permits has seen a drastic drop in violent crimes. The states which still ban guns entirely, and the states which highly restrict the legal carry of guns, also boast extremely high crime rates. Washington D.C., which banned concealed weapons until recently, was the leader in murder and assault for fourteen years running. Now they have seen drastic reductions in crime. The same can be said of chicago, which recently began to issue concealed gun permits.
Besides that, all you hear about are the illegal uses of guns. You never hear the lawful uses of them to defend people and property. Go to concealedcampus.org if you want to see some stories of people using guns for good.
If you are fighting people who don't follow the rules, the way to stop them is not to make more rules. The criminals will get guns whether they are legal or not. And according to several criminals interviewed in prison, the thing they want most is gun control laws. Because the less likely someone is to pull a gun when they're being mugged, the happier the criminals are.
People act like its simple to get a gun in this country. it is not as easy as buying milk. You don't get to just go out to a gunstore, say "I'll take that glock" and walk out the door with it. You must be fingerprinted, background checked, vetted by local and state and federal police forces, and allowed by the store owner. Then you must go through a waiting period which ranges from three days to two weeks, and that is in the more simpler states.
I hate when people talk about guns and gun laws as if they are apples which can be bought at walmart for fifty cents. Most people who support gun laws have neither even held a gun, let alone been put in a position where one was required. Look up the story of the gun owner who was in the loby's shooting, and ask her if she thinks gun laws should be tightened.
The media is the reason that this happens. We learned absolutely nothing from Columbine and this year shows it.
We gave those two kids endless media attention, idolizing them simultaneously as psychotic and misunderstood kids. We showed other angry, confused, isolated people that the best way to inflict their rage and push their message was to cause massive death/destruction.
Holmes, for example, we all know his name for what he did, but we don't talk about why kids in schools aren't being taught to drop and crawl on the floor to hiding, to play dead, if they hear shots go off near them and have no clear exit. The media ate him up, studied his whole life, talked to his family and friends, connected him to the Joker, fired up debates about gun laws and basically gave any other mentally unstable dude an excuse to go out there and copy this guy because hey, it obviously gets people's attention.
Here, this is a study done in australia on the effectiveness of the gun laws going all the way back to the eighties. Its long and there's a lot of big language, but its sited and sourced, and it will show you the truth of those laws. http://www.gunsandcrime.org/aussiegc.html
It's not the ownership or lack thereof of a gun that's the problem, it's the sick minds that say, "if I kill people, even though I'm not supposed to, I'll be happy and people will pay attention to me. If I'm still not happy I'll use my gun to kill myself. That'll show the world, that'll show them how much I hurt, how mad and scared and sad I am. It'll send them a message!"
And even if somehow you do prevent them from getting a gun, they'll make a bomb. Its not hard to do. In fact more damage is done with bombs than is done with guns. The most lethal school attack in american history, not done with a gun. Oklahoma city bombing killed 168 people, no gun involved. Bombs are actually easier, cheaper, and impossible to make illegal. One trip to a hardware store and you could get everything you need.
Guns aren't the problem; people are. Someone who's hellbent on killing a bunch of people will find a way to do it whether it's with a gun, bomb, plane, car, poison, bio-weapon, fire, etc.
Right now it's just really popular for the media to focus on and hype up the mass shootings for political and sensational purposes. Ok, that didn't come out quite right. Of course there are no words to describe the horror of the loss of those who were murdered so please don't take that as glibness toward those who died or who were injured. Gun control is a polarizing issue and the media will take any opportunity to stir up trouble especially in an election year.
So, how do we fix the nutjobs of the world who go around shooting people? Well, that's a question for someone much smarter than I although I wish I had an answer.
No easy solution, but banning guns would make it worse. I agree with that.
The media really plays these things up. 5 minute reports, reshoing the same thing over an over all day, and people are glued.
I personally am one that doesn't listen to news either. I stopped that a long time ago, and I don't miss it a bit. If I hear about something late, what could I have done about it anyway if I had heard a "breaking news bulletin"? Nothing at all.
The world is the world, and things happens in the past and will happen in the fugure.
I also want to blame the medical profession now that we have it for much of the medicated depression. You say you are depressed, doctors give you a pill, but don't try to figure out the reason. Depressed, here, take 2 of these daily.
Yeah, and when those pills don't work like an illicit drug, the people taking them get even more pissed off because they're not helping. Of course, that's not everyone who takes antidepressants. Most people on psychiatric medications don't go out and kill people, despite what the media would have you believe. But therein lies the problem: what the media says and what is fact are usually 2 different things, or at least a grossly inflated version of the truth. I, too, stopped watching the news several years ago, a real problem when I was in high school and had to do current events. But you know what? I didn't give a fuck if I failed. So finally some of my teachers started taking a hint and actually banned stories that had to do with murder and violence. Most kids resented me for it, I'll tell you that, because what stories are most easily accessible? That's right, depictions of violence. So I actually made our lives harder, but I did get my point across, although it still sucked because I had to watch the news or read the paper or call Tell Me and still hear that crap once a week.
There are studies that show that reducing the rate of poor people would go a long way towaard preventing gun violence and other types of violence. The vast majority of people who shoot up places are poor and underprivileged. If we find a way to have fewer poor people, we'll have lower crime. How exactly we do that though, I have no idea.
I agree. Banning guns isn't going to help eliminate violence or even come close because guns themselves aren't the problem. People are going to find ways to acquire guns if they want them badly enouh. It's just like drugs. A drug-free America, while an admirable dream, is just that, a dream. Because again, if people want them badly enough they'll find ways to get them. The sooner we accept these truthes the better off we'll probably be. But just because this year's seen a lot of shootings and natural disasters it does not mean we're getting anywhere close to the end of the world despite what the conservative religious folks say. Quite frankly I don't believe the world's ever really going to end, at least not the way we've been taught. And the 2012 phenomenon is a bunch of crap. Me, I look forward to finding out believers' reactions when we wake up just fine in 2013 and the world's still here.