This shit with the latest school shooting is pissing me off.
After everything spree shooting there's talk about gun control.
This time however the right is taking the moral high ground and claiming that's it's just wrong to bring it up so soon. While I can understand where they're coming from, I call bullshit.
If the perpetrator was brown these same people would be up in arms over border control.
So no. You don't get to play the moral high ground card here.
It's always a good time to have a genuine discussion.
So, I find myself somewhere between you and @Owlchemy. I agree with Owl that guns are a symptom, not the problem. They greatly aggravate the problem, but don't cause it. I believe if all guns disappeared, the killings would still happen, they'd just be less effective.
The US has been a gun culture for as long as it has existed, but only became a mass-killing culture in that last couple decades. So I don't think being raised with guns is a factor.
I think the snowflake mentality is a bigger contributor. When people start to think that they are more important than others, and are not taught empathy, then this type of lashing out can be expected when they come to terms with their lack of value.
I fully believe that guns have nothing to do with these types of killings, except that they make the killer more effective.
Gun control will never stop, or prevent these attacks, at best it can reduce the impact. The solution lies in mental and social health.
As far as gun restrictions go, I favour a Canadian style. Almost anyone here can get a rifle. But, you need to get a licence first. In order to get a licence, you must not be a violent criminal, not have been involuntarily locked in a mental asylum within the past year, and have knowledge of basic gun safety. That will allow the possession of hunting rifles and shotguns.
Assault rifles and pistols are generally not allowed. Anything that has no purpose other than killing humans is not allowed. Sport shooters can get pistols and some other rifles, but they are not allowed to carry them, only to be used at a range.
Now that does destroy the protection from the government angle, but we lost that once air superiority became the deciding factor. And the Arabs have shown that twigs and rocks are enough for an effective guerrilla force.
Now, I don't think that would have stopped the most recent attack. No gun laws will stop the attacks. But it will help.
I think the most effective thing we could do it introduce a new subject at elementary schools called 'Suck it up Buttercup'.
In that class children will be taught their true value, none. And that society owes them nothing, but they owe society everything.
Lol, we're all just a bunch of dirty centrists arguing.
I am completely for minimizing the impact of these spree shootings. If anything else, can we stop these casualties that now regularly reach double digits? I do feel like the normalization of killing through all sorts of media has an impact. More kids are being brought up playing FPS games like COD, the generation of the 90's playing DooM isn't even comparable in numbers. We've normalized and even embraced the destruction and deaths of "our enemies of freedom" for almost 2/3 of my life. Sure the actual enemies, fuck em. But we're already seeing the bigotry that that mentality breeds. Fuck, I'm getting way off topic.
I think the 24/7 news cycle media frenzy on these plays a major roll. If you look at the up tick of serial killers who came out after the Manson family fiasco. Hundreds of individuals sought their fame in copy cat killings and trying to out number others. Not saying some of them weren't going to do it any way or that there weren't other less publicized killers previously.
Actually, it's probably the same sort of snowflakes back in 70's that realized their insignificance and try to gain infamy like the guy on TV.
I don't mind Canada's approach. I know they allow .22 cal versions of other fire arms. And really, a .22 teaches you the basics of shooting. If you really have the aptitude to continue than you can pursue that.
Finally, as someone who shoots for fun, I know how much of an inconvenience it is to have to stop and reload after only 5-10 shots. But FUCK THAT inconvenience. I'd much rather have high capacity magazines banned than have to deal with this bullshit every other month.
I am completely for minimizing the impact of these spree shootings.
So am I, as long as we understand that it is only a treatment of the symptoms, and not a cure for the disease.
We still need to work on a cure. Unfortunately I think that sometimes too much focus is placed on symptoms, which allows the cause to be ignored. Or might allow people to implement some gun law, then do nothing about the cause because they think they solved it.
More kids are being brought up playing FPS games like COD
I'm not sure how much influence that has. No doubt there is some effect or relation, but I don't think it's too significant. Playing war may have a new format in video games, but it is nothing new. When I was a child I ran around shooting friends with BBs from a replica assault rifle.
We used to get in fist-fights for fun. Playing war was encouraged and glorified by adults. I hospitalized two friends, had my arm snapped in a fight, and was given a concussion by my older sister. And all of it was shrugged of to 'Kids eh?'.
We were savages, but we grew out of it, and despite all that, placed more value in human life then kids today.
It's a strange contradiction that minor violence is no longer acceptable, but human life seems to have become disposable.
I think the 24/7 news cycle media frenzy on these plays a major roll.
I very much agree with that statement. They trigger the edge cases, accelerate the normalization of the extreme, and inflame the causes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers_(Americas)
So when is an appropriate time to have this conversation?
Columbine was a turning point because of how devastating it was. Now a days it's just another one on a list.