Reply #56: Bowling for Columbine

[IntravenousDemilo]

Michael Moore mentions us prominently, though not completely accurately. He makes note of the fact that though we have at least as many guns here per capita, we have a far lower murder rate in our major cities than in American cities (for instance). He erred when he said that we keep our doors unlocked in our cities, though. That would be stupid of us, because Canadian criminals still steal stuff, even if they don't kill people as often. I'll bet he went to a hundred different Toronto houses before he found the two or three that were unlocked.

That being said, there has been an alarming rise lately in gun violence in Toronto, where I live, especially within the Jamaican community, bringing our homicide rate all the way up to a proportionately larger, but still small, fraction of what it is in, say, Detroit. Why, just the other day, a Toronto bus driver was shot in the face by a gang member, and he's lost the sight in his left eye. The TTC has told him that while he can't drive a bus anymore, he'll always have a job with them.

I think the difference is that absolutely EVERYONE in Canada considers it a personal failing of all of us when someone gets shot, that society is to blame. We're pretty communitarian, as people go. I get the impression that there are certain elements in the US who don't share that philosophy. At any rate, it could be a reason why we're not as violent (even though, ironically, we have one of the most violent national sports in the world). Violence makes us feel mortified and ashamed.

I hope that makes sense...?