US school shootings Shocking

[GangsterPanda]

I just turned on the news to find that a school had just been a victim of a mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in which at least 20 were killed. First of all my heart goes out to anybody that was effected and it's a extremely sad lost and I wish them the best from now. But really I hate to say this US but what are you doing? I actually love the US I have been to Florida twice and New York once and it was the best. But seriously your gun laws really need to be looked at, like seriously. What are your guys views on this?

[Nightmare]

I agree with you on a few points. This is shocking, my heart goes out to the victims' families, and the USA is an incredible place. The country has produced some of the world's most brilliant innovations, personalities, and minds. I'm not sure if it is just US gun laws that need to be looked at, though. What I wonder is how a society can consistently produce people who take it upon themselves to commit atrocities like these. The root of the problem is probably not just gun laws, although these do not seem to be helping, but is related to a much more fundamental element of American life and society.

[MissGnomers]

There are as many guns legally in circulation in the US as there are people....literally one for ever man, woman and child in this country. Yes, there are other problems with the society in general, but having basically no restrictions whatsoever on guns is definitely the biggest part of the problem, imo.

[Jeff777]

What's the world coming to where you can shoot your mother, shoot kids and then kill yourself? Certainly this kid gave off warning signs or were people just completely oblivious to the fact that he was a gun wielding psychopath?

[Woodstock]

having basically no restrictions whatsoever on guns is definitely the biggest part of the problem, imo. Because everyone knows that murderers follow laws...

[khh]

It's incredibly sad when stuff like this happens. Because everyone knows that murderers follow laws... The US' non-restrictive laws on firearms means there are more firearms in circulation, which in turn means they are easier to obtain: either legally, or stealing one you have access to, or getting though the underground.

[Xei]

I'm really not sure it's about guns so much. Almost nobody has guns here in the UK and we don't have these incidents, but I don't think that's why. If you could buy guns I don't see it happening. I think the Swiss all have guns, but they don't do this either. It's something about the culture of the US. From a foreign perspective, it really is a very weird thing to keep happening. Maybe because in the US culture it's an established thing to do, and so unstable people consider it as an option? What are the general qualities of the perpetrators of these incidents? And what do the ones who survive have to say? What's the world coming to where you can shoot your mother, shoot kids and then kill yourself? Certainly this kid gave off warning signs or were people just completely oblivious to the fact that he was a gun wielding psychopath? I don't think he usually went around wielding guns in public. Are there usually signs? Do these people usually have psychopathy? What could you reasonably do to stop this? You can't go round inspecting everybody in the country and arresting them if they're acting a bit weird.

[Original Poster]

Obviously the recent spike in shootings is a government conspiracy to shift public opinion against guns. They're probably giving these people scopalamine and ordering them to attack. How did James Holmes, a broke grad student, afford... what was it like over 20,000 dollars worth of guns and 12,000 dollars worth of ammo? More seriously, Xei is right this doesn't happen in the rest of the world and it's worth it to look at the differences between the United State and the rest of the world. Canadians have more guns per capita than Americans, but they don't go postal nearly as often. Besides, if one of those teachers were permitted to carry a weapon, or if one of those movie-goers had a concealed carry permit in Aurora, Co, the incident would have been over in seconds. Gun control is not the answer. There is something about American society that promotes terrorism. I believe the US holds like 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prison population. This is also the number one country for pharmaceutical consumption. In fact it's probably the single most doped up country in the world. It's a country run by addiction, its very economy powered by impulse consumption. But we won't get anywhere listing everything fucked up about this culture. We need to focus on terrorism. Why does this country incite people to commit terrorism against their fellow citizens? We know why it incites terrorism from other countries, since '82 it's been responsible for more global oppression than Mao and Stalin combined. But why within? Terrorism is the rhyme of the unheard, it is a means to convey a message for people who would not otherwise be listened to. Columbine, etc, made sense because kids were being bullied mercilessly, their pain virtually ignored. This incident doesn't really make any sense at all, and Aurora didn't make sense either. Meh... maybe it is scopalamine.

[Marvo]

Pro-tip:

[123north123]

Washington Post Of the 12 deadliest shootings in U.S. history, six have taken place since 2007....For much of the 20th century there were, on average, a handful of mass killings per decade. But that number spiked in 1980, and kept rising thereafter. In the United States, there have now been at least 62 mass shootings in the past three decades, with 24 in the last seven years alone. This has happened even as the nation’s overall violent crime and homicide rates have been dropping.... One theory is that mass murders (usually defined as murders with four or more victims over a short time period) are somehow contagious. Back in 1999, four public health researchers published a famous study titled “Media and Mass Homicides” in the Archives of Suicide Research. They studied a series of mass homicides in Australia, New Zealand, and Britain in the 1980s and 1990s and found that different incidents appeared to be influenced by each other in a number of ways, often spanning many years and across continents.

[Supernova]

but having basically no restrictions whatsoever on guns is definitely the biggest part of the problem, imo. Canadians have got guns out their asses, and their instances of gun violence are practically negligible compared to ours. Also, the mainstream media doesn't help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pezl...ayer_embedded#! And I'm not even going to bring up what Mike Huckabee on Fucked News Network

[ThePreserver]

We even had gun laws 'protecting' the school. It was a gun-free zone. But we'd rather solve symptoms, not diseases. We have a serious problem with virtually glorifying and celebritizing our mass-murderers. We also have a serious problem with shunning mental illness, trying to ignore it and saying "you're weird, go away" instead of trying to help people who need help. If we can help change the MINDSET of murderers, we can prevent them from murdering in the first place. Timothy McVeigh didn't use guns. Many serial killers don't use guns. They still kill lots of people. It's a problem of our society, not a problem of the availability of weapons.

[Woodstock]

They're probably giving these people scopalamine and ordering them to attack This is also the number one country for pharmaceutical consumption. In fact it's probably the single most doped up country in the world. It's a country run by addiction, its very economy powered by impulse consumption. This is what I was going to say. Doctors are prescribing speed to kids to "help" them be calmer... And I know how anti-depressants feel, and they definitely don't do what their name suggests, they made me feel worse. I hate to sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist, but what about vaccines? Mercury poisoning can cause emotional lability, which fits with the "insane murderer" thing. I think it's possible that mercury poisoning from vaccines could be contributing to all the violence. As far as I know, no other countries vaccinated as much as America.

[ZeraCook]

The movie Natural Born Killers pretty much describes America, in my eyes for the most part, and why this is happening repeatedly in America. My friends and I speculate it will only get worse the closer we get to "THE END OF THE WORLD" and is only being boosted by the non-stop broadcast of the shooting, and of course any others that happen. NBK basically tells in a twisted way what ThePreserver already has said above.

[Supernova]

You guys should watch Bowling For Columbine.

[Xei]

As far as I know, no other countries vaccinated as much as America. What do you mean, as far as you know? America is hardly renowned for its health service.

[GangsterPanda]

What do you mean, as far as you know? America is hardly renowned for its health service. Agreed, don't get me wrong the US is good in many ways I love it there but you are only ranked the 37th country for the best health care system, the UK is 18th plus it's free (well you pay for some of it through taxes) (P.S. I went on a American base in the UK today to get some American food and well let me just say you Soda/ Soft drinks are dirt cheap as is your meats. I love it! Not bad Cake mixture either better that the crappy cake mixture you can buy here )

[CRAZY BONE]

uhh yeah, my heart goes out to the families, or whatever...

[dutchraptor]

I'd say the root of all the USA's problems comes down to extreme economic inequality. The american culture is constantly fueled by the huge contrast between rich and poor. The poor wish to be like the rich, the rich don't want this and stop the poor. America has developed in a way so that if you are rich you can have the best life you want, if you are poor you will have shit. The poor will always want what the rich have but are too uneducated to do anything because only the rich can afford good schools and so the cycle continues. Beyond the landmarks and incredible nature, the USA is probably one of the biggest s**tholes of the first world, they say that it is the most powerful and great country in the world yet it seems to be lacking in almost every aspect.

[♥Mark]

Have you noticed it's almost always men or boys that commit these crimes? Clearly there ought to be some legislation to restrict their manufacture and distribution. Canadians have got guns out their asses, and their instances of gun violence are practically negligible compared to ours. That's true, except Canada is also a free, civilized nation so it's not really a fair comparison.

[blackbirdrising]

I'm one of the poor. I can tell you its very hard to break the mold into "something better" when you've lived your entire life barely getting by. There is no American dream. I gotta also say this - and no offense if there's anyone who is well off that reads this - but 99% of the rich people I've come across in this life, American or not, are bullies. I'm talking about CEO's, doctors, lawyers, business owners, and their wives and children. They are greedy, selfish, and judgmental control freaks. The 1% I've met who are nonjudgmental, open minded, and have integrity are shunned by their peers, but they are mature enough not to care. I'm one of those Americans who believe America isn't a great place to live, but I also think no where else is. Where ever you go, money (or the lackof it) controls every life choice. If your rich, you feel secure in life. You smile all the time, you want to help others (but you also make sure people know about it because your reputation is great which furthers you along). If your poor and you have a job, your afraid of being jobless. If your jobless you are afraid of being homeless and not eating, and you'll move mountains to make sure you can survive, and then people who are secure and healthy and well fed will look down on you for doing it. That's where maturity comes in and you just have to say to yourself "It doesn't matter what they think." What happened yesterday was unspeakable in my opinion. I can't bring myself to even want to know why he did it. Because there's simply no excuse. Gun control won't stop it from happening again. That being said - I own a rifle. I dare someone to take it from me. It provides me dinner sometimes! And, prayers being available in schools won't prevent crazy people from committing crimes, so there's no reason to go back to the closed minded "Christian only" classroom. I grew up when class began with prayer every day, and I was bullied from grade 3rd and on until graduation, beat up from grade 6 and on, stabbed in 9th grade, raped in 9th grade, and so were others, I was not singled out. Except once in 3rd grade, I was cornered by the entire class when the teacher stepped out, just because I was developing years ahead of my peers, and then, my shirt was yanked off of me and everyone was pointing and laughing. And the next day school began with prayer, like always, and I cried because I wanted God to come save me because I had to be in the same class with the same jerks. Guess what. God didn't. I grew up though, I survived it all of that, and thankfully was still able to function in the real world. If you want to honor the victims of yesterday, don't even mention gun control or prayers in school because it will become a political SNAFU beyond measure, and America is in bad enough shape as it is. We're just trying to get by. Us poor folks I mean, not the richies that can travel, get health care, and go out to eat.

[Xei]

I'd say the root of all the USA's problems comes down to extreme economic inequality. Does the background of this shooter really bear this out? At the moment it sounds like his outstanding quality was being a quiet, lonely social outcast, not poverty.

[sanctispiritus]

Blackbirdrising I agree 200% with you. I refuse to hear all the speeches and hear all pleas for the lives of these poor children. All these things only serve to make the living feel better. The dead are dead and nothing will change so that things like that do not happen with the regularity that are happening.

[sanctispiritus]

Xei is something interesting about that, all of those horrendous crimes are commited mostly by whites. No precisely by poor whites, but by middle upper or well to do people.

[dutchraptor]

Does the background of this shooter really bear this out? At the moment it sounds like his outstanding quality was being a quiet, lonely social outcast, not poverty. Why was the shooter a lonely social outcast? why did he choose to shoot all those children? all over the world there are social outcasts who deal with it in other ways. If it happened once or twice then no link could be established but if it has happened tens of times surely there must be something wrong with the american culture.