Why are guns and death so prevalent in our society?

[kentuck]

This is so disturbing.

Are people so depressed and out of touch with reality that they no longer have respect for their own lives or the lives of other people??

It seems to me that idle hands are the devil's playground.

People need to be creative. People need to be active. People need to work and feel that they have accomplished something.

Personally speaking, I know I feel a lot better when I accomplish simple, small chores around the home. Humans have a need to make their surroundings better, in my opinion.

Perhaps this is too simplistic of a view? But I feel that many of these young folks are lost in technology and do not appreciate life. They have no purpose in life. They feel they are just a random piece of human flesh and there is no meaning to anything.

[Iggo]

1. Because freedom.

Duh.

[upaloopa]

2. I don't think there is a generation that doesn't think younger folks

are on to something that will really screw up their lives.
Everything we did in the sixties was either going to turn you into a vegetable, send you to hell or make you unemployable for the rest of your life.

[Journeyman]

3. "I see no hope for the future of our people . . .

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint."
~ Hesiod, Eighth Century B.C.

"The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
~ Peter the Hermit, A.D. 1274

Same ol' same ol'

[kentuck]

4. Yeah....

Those youngsters just walked into the Coliseum and started shooting spectators, as the lions ate the Christians, as I recall?

[Decaffeinated]

13. If Pete was a hermit...

... One wouldn't think he was in a position to judge society.

[Journeyman]

16. But then, most who make sweeping judgments of groups of people are unfit to make such assessments…

[One_Life_To_Give]

5. Poor Economy

Desperation and Hopelessness can have bad effects on a population. When there is nothing to Gain or Lose even Life and Death can become trivialities.

[rrneck]

6. Actually

violence has progressively declined. Even the twentieth century was less violent than pre industrial society.

[rustydog]

11. Violence, especially lethal violence seems to be the norm these days

why reason when you can kick the living shit our of someone, or just pull your handgun and prove you have balls and courage.
Our culture (TV, Movies, Gaming,) preach that violence first is the only way to go.

We had two guys shoot it out over a parking space argument! Lethal force as the ONLY option to two goobers with firearms, rather than looking for another parking spot and not being shot.

[Decaffeinated]

14. It seems... But it ain't....

'Cus math ...

[Glassunion]

17. That is perception

In actuality, our Violence and Murder rates are 1/2 of what they were in the early 90's.

With the internet, 24-hour news cycles, twitter, etc... It is more in your face.

Think of it like this, for every assault or murder you see on Twitter, Facebook, CNN, MSNBC, Local News, DU, newspaper, Yahoo News, etc... There were 2 in 1992.

People have been doing violence on other people over stupid crap since the dawn of humanity. Violence is a behavior, and behavior is a tough one to fix.

[SomethingFishy]

18. Thank you...

Violent crime is at an all time low. In spite of the recent mass shootings...

But that doesn't sell commercials, or newspapers..

[rrneck]

20. It's not the norm...

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html

Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Better-Angels-Our-Nature/dp/1455883115

We’ve all asked, “What is the world coming to?” But we seldom ask, “How bad was the world in the past?” In this startling new book, the bestselling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era yet. Evidence of a bloody history has always been around us: the genocides in the Old Testament and crucifixions in the New; the gory mutilations in Shakespeare and Grimm; the British monarchs who beheaded their relatives and the American founders who dueled with their rivals. Now the decline in these brutal practices can be quantified. Tribal warfare was nine times as deadly as war and genocide in the 20th century. The murder rate in medieval Europe was more than thirty times what it is today. Slavery, sadistic punishments, and frivolous executions were unexceptionable features of life for millennia, then were suddenly abolished. Wars between developed countries have vanished, and even in the developing world, wars kill a fraction of the numbers they did a few decades ago. Rape, hate crimes, deadly riots, child abuse — all substantially down. How could this have happened, if human nature has not changed? Pinker argues that the key to explaining the decline of violence is to understand the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away. Thanks to the spread of government, literacy, trade, and cosmopolitanism, we increasingly control our impulses, empathize with others, debunk toxic ideologies, and deploy our powers of reason to reduce the temptations of violence. Pinker will force you to rethink your deepest beliefs about progress, modernity, and human nature. This gripping book is sure to be among the most debated of the century so far.

Every time something bad happens the media gets the blame. It just ain't so. There is no one to one connection to anything in the media and any action perpetrated by anyone. Fiction doesn't work that way.

[badtoworse]

7. I believe the glorification of violence in the media is a big factor

Violence is all over the media - in movies, TV, video games..., everywhere. We have an entire generation that likely saw tens of thousands of murders and other violent scenarios where human life was depicted as having little value. The vast majority of this violence involved the use of firearms. Combine this message, relative ease in acquiring a firearm and an individual with mental health issues and you have a recipe for disaster.

Historically, guns were always available and restrictions on buying them were not as stringent as today. A person inclined to commit mass murder had easier access to firearms 30 or 40 years ago than they do today. Given that the use of violence as a solution to personal problems seems to have greatly increased in the last 20 years or so, I would conclude that the availability of firearms is not the root cause. IMO, it's the message being sent out in the media and the fact that many more people are under psychological stress because of the socioeconomic conditions that we currently have. (and that have been getting worse for some time now.)

[aikoaiko]

8. Seems less prevalent than 25 years ago.

[Dr. Strange]

9. I would say...

it IS less prevalent, but it seems MORE prevalent because of the media.

[rock]

10. Perhaps it's explained by that old saying

You know, the one that goes, "Don't make me come over there and shoot you, so I can have my freedom!"

(Of course, sarcasm)

[rustydog]

12. Gun rights goobers just succeeded in overturning the gun ban in Seattle libraries

WHY DO YOU NEED A FUCKING FIREARM IN THE LIBRARY, Goober Pyle? Why?
Are you that fucking chicken shit that you have to pack heat in a library? Does your shadow scare you that much?

[badtoworse]

19. What an erudite post

[kentuck]

15. In the old days, they would write books about the shootout at the OK Corral...

Because it was not normal behavior.

It seems we have an OK Corral shootout every other day now?

[ConcernedCanuk]

21. DoD - needs warriors/cannon fodder for its agenda

.
.
.

It's that simple imo

No way would us Canucks sign up and participate in all the wars USAmericans do.

We're not at all unhappy we are not allowed to "bear arms", or even OWN handguns/automatic weapons etc., unless under VERY strict regulations and background checks. Even then we cannot carry, concealed or otherwise - must be transported locked to shows or licenced gun ranges.

PNAC/MIC et al are quite content to allow USAmericans to slaughter each other with weapons provided, as long as they participate in the overseas slaughters as well.

If the USA had a pacifist society, PNAC/MIC et al would cease to exist.

Can't have that now,

can we . . .

(sigh)

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