Do you limit yourself from going to public places because of mass shootings?

[milestogo]

I know the odds are low, but I do feel some anxiety going out.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. No.

[True Dough]

2. The terrorists are winning

and it's no Al-Qaeda. It's not the Taliban. It's not Boko Hara.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

3. No

[AllaN01Bear]

4. no.

[Ocelot II]

5. No.

I'm not avoiding gatherings for that reason (covid still concerns me somewhat); the odds of being shot or even witnessing a mass shooting at any particular time or place are still very small. The national concern, of course, is that the probability should be zero.

[Rebl2]

31. Am more concerned

with getting Covid because my immune system not great from medications I take. I still usually wear a mask.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

85. Correct. Much more likely to get creamed in traffic accident going to mall than a shooting. . . nt

[Chautauquas]

6. no

but I do think about it sometimes when I'm out in public. I take note of the exits and escape routes.

[KentuckyWoman]

7. No.

Crowds take more out of me these days but being with people that aren't grey is more important to me than ever. I have never once thought twice about being public.

[AndyS]

8. It hasn't changed my life but yes, I am more aware of what's around me.

It's not a good awareness. Not fear but something more than being carefree.

It's only a matter of time for those who have not yet been touched directly by gun violence.

[CrispyQ]

12. This is an excellent answer.

"I am more aware of what's around me...Not fear but something more than being carefree."

This. So much this.

[ariadne0614]

27. +1 n/t

[Hortensis]

46. I think by far most people will only hear about it on the news,

which typically does a good job of spreading fear among those who're safe. Social media of course targeting millions for special treatments.

Interestingly, I've read that WWI, which wiped out whole generations of their young men in involved nations was mostly fought in rural areas, with most cities comparatively untouched and people there living fairly safe and normal lives in the midst of a giant war. Most learned what was happening from the news and other reports, like we do today.

No to the OP. Large terrorist acts in major cities, rare though they've been in my lifetime, do always make me wonder about such things as seeing the new year in in Times Square, but in the end haven't changed our decisions. We expect to be at Atlanta's Pride parade with our kids this fall, as usual when we're in town.

[AndyS]

51. It's a common misconception that gun violence is an urban, event based thing. It's not.

https://www.thetrace.org/2023/05/gun-death-rate-america-urban-rural/

Between 2011 and 2021, the overall firearm death rate in rural counties was nearly 40 percent higher than in urban counterparts.

Let's say that out of 10,000 times you touch a light switch you got a nasty shock. Would that change the way you approach flipping that switch? Granted, 1 in 10k is pretty good odds but then how many times in your life do you flip a light switch?

One in 10k is ~ the odds of being killed by a gun in the US. The odds drop precipitously if you count "only" being wounded.

I post these two factoids to point out that we are all at much more risk than we think we are and nowhere is safer than anywhere else. It is only a matter of time before everyone is personally touched by gun violence.

*Deaths by gun in the US are ~10.8/100,000. Injuries outnumber deaths by 2X. Numbers vary by year from a high of ~17/100,00 and by states with 26/100,000 the highest and 3/100,000 the lowest.

[Hortensis]

68. I'm big on numbers for putting things in perspective. But some

need to be taken further. The prevalence for most people is much lower. And some, higher. Like most Americans, including our friends, we live our lives more as if we lived in a nation of low rates of gun violence. Our parts of it are. And of course, our chances are actually far less than 1 in 10,000.

By far most gun deaths occur at home, we know, the shooter a husband, relative, friend/neighbor. Our homes and close friends/neighbors are pretty peaceful; I'm 71, hubby 82, and I can't remember anyone we considered we knew from our "circles" who was murdered by someone close. Partner-on-partner violence, yes, but not murder.

And of course, some places and and groups have a lot more murders than others. We wonder at a little branch of our son's extended family by marriage whose members can relate a bunch of deaths of people they knew or knew of from shootings, suicides, violence-related car crashes, etc. Their "America" and other Americas of nightclubs and parties where people go armed and physical violence is not unusual are...different.

[AndyS]

69. I'm glad to hear YOU'RE okay at least. nt

[Hortensis]

70. So are you. A good thing, of course, just..extremely normal. :)

[AndyS]

72. That could change tomorrow on my next trip to the grocery store

or stooping for gas. I live in Texas, number one state for mass shootings.

Your profile says you live in the deep south.

Deaths/100,000 by state, southern states are notably 2X the national average.
LA = 21.7
AL = 22.9
MS = 21.5

Extremely normal? Until it isn't. Which is the point. As little as two years ago if I had a problem with loud music I'd go over and ask for lower volume. Not anymore.

[Hortensis]

89. Sure could. But the statistical STARTING point is ONE in ten thousand!

So these days you think your chances may be 1-1/4 in 10,000? Subtract the stats for dying in your own kitchen, check the new number, and go to the fair. Or at least the arboretum.

Lots of timid people, like most the conservatives who lap up Fox's "be afraid, be very afraid" messaging, also pull that average down by living their lives hiding in their own homes and neighborhoods among "people like us," instead of going out and enjoying life. Millions of Americans have literally never seen the activities and sites recommended in the newspapers and travel guides in their own towns and never will. Extremely common type. Terrorism meant to make a nice, safe police state look good, of course, works especially on them.

Btw, I agree with not going out of the way to irritate strangers at a motel, or these days broadcast in public that my husband's Jewish. But getting on chatting terms with neighbors makes people safer; if that seems dangerous, maybe it IS time to consider moving -- into the (less than) 1 in 10,000 average of most people. If you're not actually already there.

[Zeitghost]

77. That is almost entirely due to suicides

Which while tragic, is not something people need to fear when going out in public.


The reality is that if you avoid harming yourself, avoid living with a domestic abuser and avoid the drug trade and street gangs, your chances of being harmed by a firearm is incredibly low. That does not diminish those who die in those situations, but they are not random and can be avoided to a large degree.

[AndyS]

82. How could I have avoided the three active shooters that occured in my

Grand Children's school district?

No, really I'd like your input on that one.

[Zeitghost]

87. I'm not sure what you're getting at

I never said all shootings were avoidable. I quite clearly said that avoiding certain high risk situations greatly reduced the risk and that they were largely avoidable.

Certainly you know the difference between largely and entirely?

[AndyS]

90. Oh, okay. So going to high school is a high risk situation that can't be avoided.

Okay, gotcha'.

But you make my point. All shootings are not avoidable and the likelihood of being involved in one is increasing at a rapid rate. I don't intend to frighten but to make aware that we need to vote as if our lives depend on it because that's the case and it's getting worse. It's getting worse because there are more guns available and they are increasingly lethal. All the other variables have always been there and always will be.

The "I'm safe because (fill in the blank)" thoughts are counterproductive and putting us all at increasing risk.

It is the guns. They should be regulated. We are doing the opposite.

[Zeitghost]

91. I'm not sure I would classify it as high risk.

It certainly happens far too often, but the facts are that the vast majority of the millions of high schoolers in this country go to school and are never shot.

That's not to say we shouldn't attempt to make the number zero, it's just that being shot is not a statistically likely outcome and being shot at school is even less likely.

[AndyS]

92. The ability to rationalize an doubling of risk as a statistical anomoly

simply is beyond my comprehension.

[Zeitghost]

93. Doubling a low risk

doesn't make it a high risk.

Which also doesn't mean it should not be cause for concern or that actions to lower it should not be taken.

[Sky Jewels]

62. Same. I think about it.

It crosses my mind when I'm in, say, a store.

The GQP/NRA have turned this into a shithole country.

[CrispyQ]

9. No.

But I do still limit my exposure in public due to Covid. The possibility of being in a mass shooting doesn't even cross my mind. Not that I think it will never happen, just that I think there are so many other things that could happen that I can actually do something about. Other than vote for democrats, I don't know what else I can do about the gun problem.

[multigraincracker]

10. Odds of survival are better

than driving your car to the. store.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

11. Nope, not at all,

besides, my business requires me to be in public spaces frequently and I've never felt unsafe, I'm far more likely to be injured or killed because some dumbass 4 wheeler did something stupid and caused an accident.

[elocs]

13. No, because it's irrational with the odds being so low.

[link:https://www.crushthestreet.com/articles/breaking-news/mass-shootings-what-are-the-odds|

"But according to Wayne Bivens-Tatum’s blog post on Princeton.edu, mass shootings occur at such infrequent intervals relative to the population that it’s not worth fearing them. In Bivens-Tatum’s analysis, we stand a 0.00000143% chance of getting killed in a mass-shooting incident."

[Takket]

14. No. But I do think about where I would go if one happened.

Used to be “know where your fire exits are”. Now it’s “have a plan if bullets start flying”.

[agingdem]

15. no and yes..

I live in El Paso...the Walmart massacre changed us...there's a guard presence all in all shopping venues...a grocery run is quick...no lingering..

[Polly Hennessey]

16. No. Normal activity.

[Javaman]

17. I live in Texas. Hell yes. nt

[Horse with no Name]

88. Me too

We have had a string of freeway shootings so I try not to even get on the interstate if I can help it.

[The Blue Flower]

18. No

But as someone else has said, I think about what I'd do if I heard gun shots.

[Scrivener7]

19. I live in New York. So no.

[Groundhawg]

20. Of course not.

[Johnny2X2X]

21. No

And crime over all is very low in America currently. Mass shootings are traumatic, but rare, and there are a lot of other things more likely to kill you.

[orthoclad]

22. Covid more than shootings

It ain't over. I know recent infections.

[WmChris]

32. Same here

😷🙄 still mask up inside anywhere.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

43. Ditto! Shootings are just one more thing to worry about.

[RKP5637]

23. No, but it does cross my mind some. n/t

[we can do it]

24. No. Avoid crowds indoors because of covid.

[gulliver]

25. Nope

[Arthur_Frain]

26. No, but if I walk into an establishment where idiots insist on packing,

I will walk right out again without any purchases.

[WmChris]

34. You, becha!

[Iggo]

56. Absolutely.

[TexasDem69]

28. I live in Texas

And feel perfectly safe going out in public, so no. Was just down in the Fort Worth Stockyards last night for drinks and dinner.

[Rebl2]

29. Nope

[MuseRider]

30. No

but I live in Kansas. Not much of that has happened here and not around me. I do worry about the guns, I leave a store when I see an armed person. It is only a matter of time. Our murder rates have really picked up this year and I do not think that will be going down anytime soon because like anywhere there is strife and difficulties that are not being taken care of. Our new legislators are a pile of junk with no seriousness about anything but holding most of us down.

It will happen, of that I am sure. I think about it now and then.

[brooklynite]

33. This question keeps being asked here, and my answer is the same: no.

There s virtually NO likelihood that you will ever be in no over in a shooting.

And the chances are even lower if you don’t spend time with someone who OWNS a gun.

[stopdiggin]

42. the percentages are so vanishingly low ...

And that includes schools and campuses of any type. (my own emphasis added)

I have a much greater risk getting struck on my bicycle. (and I don't plan on quitting that either)

[Raine]

35. No i don't even think about it when I'm out. I'm more concerned with someone stealing my purse

or pickpocketing me.

[tavernier]

36. No.

I work in a high school and not bothered there either, but I am generally concerned if, where and when there will be another school shooting.

[GusBob]

37. Where I live everybody is armed

Including me. There really isn’t much going to public spaces on this frontier. More likely to get attacked by a rattlesnake or bear than experience gun violence

[Demsrule86]

41. That is complete nonsense...the reason we have this BS is too many guns period.

[Demsrule86]

38. No I do not.

[stopdiggin]

39. No. Full stop.

[EarthFirst]

40. No

I work as a horticulturist for a zoo; as busy a public place as any situation outside my home; I won’t allow it to consume me in fear.

I/we are vigilant and aware; however…

[Lulu KC]

44. Yes--crowds

I don't love crowds anyway, but now it crosses my mind that there could be a gun.

[EX500rider]

45. How many people out of 320 million die in mass shooting a year?

In the low hundreds?

Things you should actually be worried about:

Unintentional fall deaths
Number of deaths: 44,686
Deaths per 100,000 population: 13.5
Source: National Vital Statistics System – Mortality data (2021) via CDC WONDER

Motor vehicle traffic deaths
Number of deaths: 45,404
Deaths per 100,000 population: 13.7
Source: National Vital Statistics System – Mortality data (2021) via CDC WONDER

Unintentional poisoning deaths
Number of deaths: 102,001
Deaths per 100,000 population: 30.7

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/accidental-injury.htm

[Lettuce Be]

47. You can be shot at home, in your bed. At this point, I'd say go and enjoy your life

I'm not a big fan of huge gatherings anyway, so at 66 years old don't often find myself in crowds.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

48. No n/t

[ColinC]

49. No. But depending on how suicidal I'm feeling, I might go out a little more than usual

[beaglelover]

50. No.

[H2O Man]

52. Recommended.

Good question. A year ago today, my son and I were about to arrive at our hotel in Buffalo. We arrived maybe an hour after the horrible mass shooting at a nearby TOPS store. I will never forget it.

I am a hermit, and thus rarely go anywhere beyond my own property. I am aware of mass shootings when I do go out ..... as well as that non-mass shootings (four or more) are more common. But that is a factor in my sense of awareness, and it causes me no anxiety.

[BlackSkimmer]

53. No. nt

[Paladin]

54. Not yet---but I think it's only a matter of time before I start. (nt)

[Iggo]

55. No.

Covid.

[Maru Kitteh]

57. no

I've always been one who noted the exits every since childhood when my best friend was in a terrible fire. Burns over 60% of her body.

That's my risk mitigation. I don't make changes to anything I want to do or where I want to go.

[GenThePerservering]

58. No

Fear is mostly in the mind and giving into it makes us weak.

[highplainsdem]

59. No.

[sarisataka]

60. Do you limit yourself from

Using stairs or ladders? You are approximately 60 times most likely to die in an accidental fall than a mass shooting.

To answer the question, no I do not limit myself for fear of mass shootings.

However I will take situations in account. If I have to go to a gas station at night, I will choose the big well lit one over the one that gets robbed weekly.

[Prairie_Seagull]

61. No. But I have adjusted how much risk I am willing to accept as part of life.

Odds are we are all going to be fine, I bet however if you had asked...

I watch others more than I used to. I try to use a minimum amount of bandwidth in taking rational steps. Then I feel like c'est la vie.

[kimbutgar]

63. I was in a mall yesterday and for a moment felt uneasy but it passed

I live in SF and it was in the suburb next to the city and was grateful we have more strict gun laws

[Xavier Breath]

65. I don't ordinarily think about it

but I did the other day when I visited the mall for the first time in a few months. I mean, in 2023 how can you not at least think about it, if not actually alter your behavior?

[ProfessorGAC]

64. No

Everyone needs to go somewhere, sometime.
The shootings happen seemingly everywhere, hence every place we go carries a risk. So the choices appear to be; go with the low odds and don't fret, or never leave the house. I'm not doing the latter.

[MichMan]

66. First I have to get past my fear of being struck by lightning

[BadGimp]

67. Nope

[Scottie Mom]

71. Yes.

The mall is off limits.

[mvd]

73. I give it some thought

My part of the Philly suburbs is quiet. But still, you never know where a mass shooting will be. I still go places when needed, but am aware.

[ForgedCrank]

74. No.

The odds are probably higher for me getting struck by lightning than to be caught in a public shooting of some sort.
Avoid places with high crime and the odds shrink even further by multiple factors.

[DET]

75. No

I don’t generally think about it when I go out, but I would be very worried if I still had kids in school. The only time I’ve been concerned about violence was when the DC area was terrorized by the Beltway sniper(s). The shootings encompassed a wide geographical area and appeared to be completely random. It really hit home when the snipers killed a woman at a local mall that my sister-in-law had been at several hours earlier that same day.

[Bluesaph]

76. I think twice and avoid it if not worth it.

[usedtobedemgurl]

78. No.

It is from my accident and Covid. Both keep me at home. I admit if they did not hang over my head, I may look for exits when I enter a public area. Never hurts to be safe.

[electric_blue68]

79. No. But yes for Covid concern. Will increase my going out to more places that I've gone to pre-2020

I will continue to mask, distance, and avoid big crowds.

[DemocraticPatriot]

80. I'm still avoiding crowded places because of COVID,

so I guess that may also help to avoid mass shootings...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

83. No. I live in Canada. . . . nt

[BlueTsunami2018]

84. No. I don't think about it at all.

I have too much other shit to worry about.

[ruet]

86. Nope. -NT-

[liberal_mama]

94. I don't go out because of Covid, but not getting shot is a good bonus n/t

[allegorical oracle]

95. Yes

[sarisataka]

97. Welcome to DU

I look forward to your long stay here

[LuckyCharms]

98. Well over a decade ago, a mass shooting occurred 4 miles from me.

I believe 15-20 people were murdered.

I drive by the building several times a month, and walk by it a few times a year.

I think about that incident often.

It hasn't stopped me from going to public places.

However, I do have a habit of making sure I know where the exits are when inside a public building.