U.S. gun culture diagnosed as a social disease

[SecularMotion]

Recently, a delegation from Tucson composed of some of the survivors of the mass shooting of January 2011, in which Rep. Gabby Giffords was gravely injured, met with the U.S. attorney general, urging him to take action and letting him know they expect President Obama to present a specific plan to reduce the horrific gun violence plaguing the nation.

In the wake of the two mass shootings this summer, some American physicians consider this country's gun violence a social disease. Mass murders of citizens by other citizens occur here with a frequency seen in no other nation in the world.

The mass murders in Colorado and the racist mass homicides in Wisconsin are illustrative of a type of tragedy for which the U.S. holds a near monopoly. The background facts speak for themselves.

First, the U.S. is awash in firearms. There are roughly 300 million guns in American households (per capita a gun for every citizen - this is the highest concentration in the world).

http://peoplesworld.org/u-s-gun-culture-diagnosed-as-a-social-disease/

[xchrom]

1. du rec. Nt

[Loudly]

2. Chalk up the Minneapolis workplace shooting yesterday in the endless parade.

And the victims included a genuine job creator.

[formercia]

3. If the crazies didn't have Guns

they would use knives, like is common in China. Failing that, a rock or big stick would do the job.

Get rid of Hate Media,fixing the Economy and being proactive with known bad actors will cure 99% of the problem.

[bowens43]

4. and mental illness.......

[Eleanors38]

16. Do not forget porno and penis extension! Nt

[GreenStormCloud]

5. So other types of violence and murders by other means are OK with you?

Our citizens can protect themselves, in most states.

In many other countries you are expected to meekly submit to a criminal's attack.

BTW - The greatest body counts in mass killings in the U.S. were achieved using homemade bombs.

[4th law of robotics]

9. I can't think of any other kind of crime where the implement

is blamed.

Drunk driving isn't a natural offshoot of our "car culture".

/although I do blame jaywalking on our ridiculous fetishization of walking.

[PavePusher]

22. Obviously, what we need is...

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-09-22/news/34026537_1_hatchet-first-degree-murder-spare-change

...hatchet control.

No-one needs to be able to conceal one of these nasty weapons. If you're found with a sawed-off axe, it should mean you get a longer sentance than if you used a full-handled axe. All the axe nuts and hillbillies will get along just fine without hatchets.

[4th law of robotics]

23. Our hatchet culture is a bit out of control

They forced us to read this book in grade school: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatchet_(novel)

[holdencaufield]

6. So...

... people who own guns should be taking penicillin?

How about I just wear a condom?

[oneshooter]

8. I always used a condom on my M16a1 in the RVN.

It didn't help. The bullets still came out.

[glacierbay]

28. Same here

always kept a pack in the liner of my helmet.

[rrneck]

10. I think they want you to put on the gun. nt

[oneshooter]

12. ? n/t

[rrneck]

13. With all these characterizations of guns as some sort of

disease the solution from some is to put a prophylactic on them.

[oneshooter]

17. I did. We used condoms placed over, and covering, the flash hider on our rifles.

It kept the rain out and didn't interfere with the operation of the weapon.

[rrneck]

19. Makes sense. nt

[rrneck]

20. Makes sense. nt

[oneshooter]

21. WOW!!!! I got a double reply!!! Isn't I special!!!

[rrneck]

29. LOL! I love my fucking phone. nt

[4th law of robotics]

7. "Some physicians" have recommended homeopathy.

Some physicians are idiots.

/gun culture isn't the problem. The social disease is a lack of funding for mental health and a social stigma on those (particularly males) who would seek such help.

[rrneck]

11. Oohhhh, more culture wars.

Let's write legislation based on our understanding of other peoples feelings in the interest of the public good.

Nobody ever expects the Inquisition.

[LAGC]

14. Gun violence = gun culture?

Nice Freudian slip there.

You won't find many in the "gun culture" condoning such rare acts of mass violence.

You might just find a few who stop it in its tracks though.

[Kolesar]

26. 2nd amendment solutions, we came unarmed--this time, all the gop talking points

...that are so cherished in gun-land.

[4th law of robotics]

31. I remember those rallies

Thousands mowed down by gun culture enthusiasts eager to show off their guns and kill stuff because that's what the 2nd amendment means.

BLOOD LITERALLY FLOWING IN THE STREETS!

Seriously. It happened.

[friendly_iconoclast]

34. That's not nice of you, making fun of the 'challenged' like that.

Keep it up- eventually, they'll get distracted by something shiny and wander off.

[4th law of robotics]

30. Gun culture has become a meaningless term

apparently every gun owner fits the very worst hollywood caricature of a rightwing militia type (or redneck) out to solve every problem with a machine gun.

Oddly enough it does not seem to include the legitimate use of guns for self defense.

[friendly_iconoclast]

33. Gun prohibtionists are prone to the occasional bout of revealing word vomit, like that one.

They will then go on to pretend that they never happened. But we'll remember, won't we?

[Marinedem]

15. How pathetic

I guess the gun-grabbers finally ran out of reasons, so now they just make shit up

"Nah, man, it's like....a disease now! We gotta treat that shit, cause diseases are bad!"

I think I'll celebrate my birthday by shooting some of my scary rifles at the local range, all while observing safe gun handling, transportation, and muzzle/trigger discipline.

I'm one sick motherfucker, I tell ya.

I prescribe myself 5,000 of 22LR and another 880 rounds of 7.62x54R.

[oneshooter]

18. You might add a mag or two of 223, just to make sure!

[PavePusher]

24. If you can go through 800 rounds of 7.62x54R in a session....

you're a better man than I, Gunga Din.

Unless maybe you're using a PSL?

[4th law of robotics]

32. I'm leery of labeling any large group of people a "social disease"

That thinking has led to some nasty stuff in the past. (oddly enough that nasty stuff was often preceded by removing the ability of those people to defend themselves).

[friendly_iconoclast]

35. Bookmark this thread, so it can be linked to when they claim to be "concerned about public safety"

Amazing what people say when they think it's "just us" listening. You would have thought that the Rmoney campaign had taught them differently.

[rDigital]

25. Japan's Sucide rate dwarfs our total murder rate, Russia has 3x our total murder rate and

Last edited Fri Sep 28, 2012, 01:46 PM - Edit history (1)

neither of those countries have civilian legal handguns.

It's not the objects, it's the people silly.

Did you know you are 10x more likely to be violently raped in France than the U.S.?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

36. Krupke, we got troubles of our own!

Gee, Officer Krupke,
We're down on our knees,
'Cause no one wants a fellow with a social disease.
Gee, Officer Krupke,
What are we to do?
Gee, Officer Krupke,
Krup you!

[spin]

37. Are you possibly old enough to remember watching West Side Story ...

in a theater? I am. I was 15 when the movie version of the Broadway play was made.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

39. Yes, my class in jr high school made an outing to a theater

http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_w/west_side_story.htm

[spin]

38. It could be argued that the internet is an even larger and more significant social disease. ...

Social problems

The real problem with this addiction, however, is its sociological effects. A number of people say that the Internet is like traveling. They say each trip is like a new journey and they never know where they are going to be taken to. The problem is that they spend so much time on the internet that they withdraw from regular society. They escape reality into a realm with no real boundaries or existence.

While lost in the cyber world for long periods of time, they are neglecting other important activities like; time with the family, socializing, work and health concerns. Internet addiction has been cited as a contributing factor in the disintegration of marriages and families, and the collapse of promising careers.

The anonymity of the Internet not only made people socially withdrawn, it also made it easier to indulge the addiction, and encouraged "deviant, deceptive and even criminal online acts, such as the development of aggressive online personas or the viewing and downloading of illegal images".

The internet provides an outlet where individuals can interact with other individuals behind the screen, without knowing the other individual’s appearance. Such an interaction consequently makes the addicts lose real life communication skills, and even become socially withdrawn. On the Internet, emotions can be expressed with symbols (e.g.?) and specific words designated to convey a feeling (e.g. LOL). Hence, it takes away the need for using visual communication skills of the face, body, and hands. Without exercising these skills, they can weaken and may end up becoming expressionless, using only text to convey their emotions to others when meeting face-to-face. In addition, as an internet addict spends more and more time online, they can become used to only communicating with typed words, and finding it difficult to talk to people in real life.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1172&pid=75097

[Inkfreak]

40. I find this fascinating.

I believe it to be quite probable & have seen evidence of it in individuals I know in my personal life.