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Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 07:10 PM Jan 2013

Heart Disease, gun violence, and apathy.

Over the last month there has been a lot of talk about gun violence and the statistics are nothing short of alarming. There have been 1102 deaths due to guns since Sandy Hook.

http://tinyurl.com/dxx9724

If this trend continues that will be over 12,000 this year alone. It is appalling that even in the face of such carnage many people are against strict gun regulation.


Heart disease on the other hand kills nearly 1 million people a year, slightly more women then men. Heart disease like gun violence is in many cases preventable. Like gun violence there is a great deal of apathy to the problem and sometimes hostility to people trying to bring preventive measures about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UpdatedHeartDiseaseMap.jpg

If you look at the map both gun violence and heart disease have an eerily similar geographic pattern. What interests me about this is that the people who suffer the most and have the most to lose if nothing changes are the most strident opponents of change. I would wonder why liberals care about these statistics since these things are far less prevalent in progressive areas. But, I don't wonder I know why liberals care. Liberals care about these issues because they are issues of human suffering that can be mitigated with stricter gun laws and enforcement and in the case of heart disease with education and resources devoted to alleviating the massive loss of life.

The other thing I find interesting is that people will claim they need a gun for protection. They will make this claim while scarfing down fries, highly processed frankenfood stuffs, and large quantities of alcohol with a cigarette dangling from their lips. I play to the stereo type of course, but in many cases I am probably not that far off. If you point out to a person like this (and I have) that they are much more likely to die of a preventable disease, they will say "well I have to die from something and I am going to have what I want."

Don't take this as blaming people who suffer from preventative diseases. I don't blame them. I understand a whole lot about what stress, culture, and lack of resources does to individuals. It is a lot to fight and there isn't a lot of real help. But, we still need to find a way to help people take control of their lives and focus on those things they can prevent and to lose their fear of some other coming after them with a gun. So they can live healthier lives and perhaps turn away from the desire to possess firearms.

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Heart Disease, gun violence, and apathy. (Original Post) Kalidurga Jan 2013 OP
And then there is the gun-death stat that cannot be mentioned DollarBillHines Jan 2013 #1
Yes it is true the gun death map is much more population driven. Kalidurga Jan 2013 #2
I like your theory. DollarBillHines Jan 2013 #3
Yep I have been torn into by a few gun nuts... Kalidurga Jan 2013 #4

DollarBillHines

(1,922 posts)
1. And then there is the gun-death stat that cannot be mentioned
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 08:31 PM
Jan 2013

Two thirds of all gun-death victims pull the trigger themselves.

That heart map is downright scary (OK, AL, etc.), but the gun-death map was pretty much population-driven.

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)
2. Yes it is true the gun death map is much more population driven.
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 09:25 PM
Jan 2013

However, even in highly populated progressive areas with a few notable exceptions, there are far less than in heavily populated conservative areas, such as Houston, that really jumped at me like wow. But, I think there is possibly a link here. People who are fearful are more stressed in general and probably more likely to own a gun. The fact that they are stressed makes them more likely to die of heart disease as well.

I wish there was some way to open up a line of communication on these issues without people becoming defensive. I don't see how that can happen. But, I do wish people were healthier and happier, happiness can lead to other good things. Like, wanting to help other people.

DollarBillHines

(1,922 posts)
3. I like your theory.
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 09:52 PM
Jan 2013

I think it definitely has legs.

FYI, Houston (Harris County) went Obama, Harris County was a dead heat.

"I wish there was some way to open up a line of communication on these issues without people becoming defensive. I don't see how that can happen. But, I do wish people were healthier and happier, happiness can lead to other good things. Like, wanting to help other people."

No kidding. The level of exposed synapses and knee-jerk reaction on this site is slightly unnerving and unsettling. Mention obesity - your head gets torn off. Mention guns - same reactions.

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)
4. Yep I have been torn into by a few gun nuts...
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 10:00 PM
Jan 2013

never just someone who has a gun. But, some that think that people should be able to carry anywhere at anytime they wish to. Or that people really do need to have drum capacity on their guns. Really you need a hundred rounds for hunting? I have been hunting, you don't usually get more than one shot. If you are very lucky you might get two, but that is pretty rare.

I think part the answer might be to push a plant based diet. It's working for me. I am getting healthier and with that my mood is improving a great deal, plus it's a really simple way to lose weight without feeling deprived. But, don't tell that to the gun toting, burger eating, Marlboro smoking, franken food lovers. They will cry, don't take away my doughnuts and burgers. Well, I don't want to take that stuff away, I just want people to have those as sometimes foods, but mostly eat fresh foods and a mostly plant based diet. It will go a long way to helping the environment and making everyone healthier.

But I really don't know if this is true or not. I just have a hunch vegans are less prone to violence and paranoia. I do know from what I have studied they are healthier. Someday I will get to that point of being a full vegan, but for now I will have the occasional salad dressing with milk and eggs in it.

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