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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGender Split Over Newtown Shootings
A striking gender gap has emerged in the way that people are reacting to the horror of the Newtown school shootings.
By a margin of 54 to 37 percent, women say the Connecticut massacre reflects broader problems in society. But men, by a 51 to 39 percent margin, say such shootings are the isolated acts of troubled individuals.
Thats according to a Pew Research Center survey that provides the first detailed snapshot of public reaction to Fridays tragedy.
There is a partisan tilt as well, with 54 percent of Democrats saying such shootings reflect societal problems, and 49 percent of Republicans blaming troubled individuals. College graduates (54 percent) were also more likely than those with no more than a high school degree (42 percent) to blame the broader problems of society.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/18/gender-split-over-newtown-shootingshttp-www-people-press-org-2012-12-17-public-divided-over-what-newtown-signifies.html
Xipe Totec
(43,890 posts)As a male fighting the tide.
teddy51
(3,491 posts)and becoming more often.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I think that's what people mean when they say it's isolated incidents: the country as a whole is less violent, even if mass shootings are more common (and they're still rare enough that figuring out if they're becoming more common isn't exactly easy to do).
Yes, I know, it sounds a lot like Marion Barry's "Except for the drive-by shootings, violent crimes in DC are way down", but in both cases it's an awkward way to say something basically true, that notorious crimes don't always reflect the underlying level of violence.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)enlightenment
(8,830 posts)if 54% of Democrats say "reflects societal problems" and 49% of Republicans say "troubled individuals" then does that mean that 46% of Dems say "troubled individuals" and 51% of Republicans say "societal problems"?
Or are the unlisted percentages saying something else entirely?
Assuming it was an either/or question, then: 54% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans say "reflects societal problems". Doesn't seem like much of a partisan tilt to me.
srican69
(1,426 posts)Shame on us
okasha
(11,573 posts)Societal problems are likely to produce more troubled individuals. Troubled individuals in larger numbers are likely to produce societal problems. It's a self-reinforcing cycle.
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)by eunuchs.