Why is everybody shooting everybody lately?

[Coexist]

this is getting out of hand.

I'm pissed at you - so I shoot you?

I'm pissed at the world - so I shoot you?

I'm pissed I lost my job - so I shoot you?

I'm pissed I got bulled - so I shoot you?

What is going on?!

[xchrom]

1. hey -- it's THE amreican past time. nt

[Xenotime]

73. because it's our "right"

[zanne]

2. The gun lobby has officially won our hearts and minds.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Excellent. nt

[soleft]

3. We're free to be our own megalomaniacs

Once when hearing people talk about Saddam Hussein and the people he killed while he was in power, I remember thinking, I wonder how many people die from gun violence in Iraq under his rule.

It's like he consolidated the insanity to himself, and no one else had the freedom to kill and maim as he did.

In our country, we have the freedom to own weapons of - often mass destruction - and we use them.

[wtmusic]

8. Good point--no gun control makes sense in a dictatorship

and nowhere else.

[zanne]

10. In other words, only people with dictators have a right to be safe!

On the other hand, we have to worry about criminals AND our fellow citizens, because we never know when somebody is going to commit a crime in our presence and/or lose it completely and just start shooting in our presence.
My opinion is that I should have a right to be safe from gun toters. They're not part of the solution...they're part of the problem.

[OHdem10]

5. Crime goes way up in Recessions.

Constant financial strain at home affects behavior in other areas.

Not an exuse--just the observation of many.

[paparush]

6. Government Leads - People Follow

We mimic what we see.

[bdamomma]

23. .....................

exactly.

[warren pease]

7. Inflation...

The price of a decent steak is way up. At a certain point, cannibalism seems like a good option.

:evilgrin:


wp

[Tesha]

43. Nahhh. Consider Kuru...

> At a certain point, cannibalism seems like a good option.

Nahhh. Consider Kuru...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_%28disease%29

Tesha

[warren pease]

58. Yeah, that would keep me dining at La Maisson du Burger Roi, but...

...what about the millions of people who've never heard of Kuru? They think perforating a Floridian like a Swiss cheese, roasting the the carcass over glowing coals and feasting on it with a little salad, garlic bread and some sauteed vegetables is the epitome of a healthy diet.

And all this in a country with no functional health care system. Talk about an epidemic just waiting to happen.


wp

[Tesha]

61. No fava beans? No nice Chianti? Gee...

[warren pease]

62. Hell no...

What do you think, I'm an elitist prig? Just because Dr. Lecter is a gourmet cook doesn't mean we're all capable of turning out such epicurean triumphs. I'm just a simple, stick a spit in him and an apple in his mouth and roast over hot coals till the cows come home kind of guy.

Just be glad you're not having mustard greens, skunk cabbage and grits.


wp

[Echo In Light]

9. Diseased, brainwashed populace = good for prison growth and "security" measures

[Angela Shelley]

11. Because they have guns ... and ... because they can.

[LeftinOH]

12. Anyone can get a gun, anytime...but it requires an agonizing journey through a

gauntlet of red tape and negative social stigma to get decent mental health care. That first option (gun rampage) is the path of least resistance.

[Tesha]

18. Bingo. (NT)

[kineneb]

28. The Winner!

Most here should notice that the people doing the shooting are in dire need of mental health care. A sane person simply does not go around shooting people to make a point. Note that many then turn the weapon on themselves- the ultimate act of violence.

As to guns, last time I checked, the Unibomber never used one. In various African countries, they use machetes, which although they are a close range weapon, are quite deadly. The weapon is not the problem, it is the warped mind of the person wielding it.

[Tesha]

45. I'm pretty sure that under most circumstances, a sane person doesn't feel the need to own a gun.

> A sane person simply does not go around shooting people to make a point.

I'm pretty sure that under most circumstances,
a sane person doesn't feel the need to even own
a gun.

It's the paranoid schizophrenics who feel the
need to arm themselves so it's no surprise that
they some portion of them then end up using their
weapons.

Tesha

[kineneb]

47. guess that makes me a paranoid schizophrenic

I own several guns, inherited from my family. I would never shoot a human being- unless the person was trying to kill me first. I keep the weapons because I do not put full trust in any government; and if manure hits the ventilator, I want to be able to eat. I live in a rural area, where the deer population is likely equal to the human population; there are also lots of wild turkeys.

I also own a reproduction 15th c. flanged mace and 9' spear. That doesn't mean I use them.

[karlrschneider]

49. I'm pretty sure you aren't qualified to perform a psychiatric diagnosis

at all, much less over an internet connection. Rave on, neither you or the other Brady Bunch Republicans are getting
my guns.

[Tesha]

60. Actually, you pretty much prove my point with every reply you write -- carry on! (NT)

[karlrschneider]

64. In your wildest wet incestuous dreams, sweetie.

:silly:

[Tesha]

65. Don't you find it curious that you turn to sexual references in many of the replies you write to me?

Don't you find it curious that you turn to sexual
references in many of the replies you write to me?
And does that say anything about how your guns make
you feel? Or how the thought of losing your guns
makes you feel?

Tesha

[Edweird]

75. let's see.. 200 million (est.) privately owned firearms, 60 million citizens.

Odds are that people you know, love, and respect own firearms.
I can imagine anyone would keep that fact to themselves around certain people because there aren't enough Doan's back pills in the world to deal with the ensuing pain in the ass.
Unless, of course, you have no friends or job and are isolated from your family as well as the real world.
Then I can see how such a bizarre opinion could be formed.

[Tesha]

77. I've mostly formed my opinion based on actual encounters with "gun people".

Some in person, others here at DU. The "proud to own
a gun" people seem to be the ones with some definite
pathologies.

It's a shame that we, as a society, aren't permitted
to recognize that and start to deal with it. Maybe
after a few more hundreds of thousands have died
via guns?

Tesha

[apocalypsehow]

82. I've noticed in my short time here that the nastiest posters

are often members of the "pro-gun" crowd. Case in point, someone you were arguing with upthread launched a vicious ad hominem attack shortly after I started posting here (it wasn't about guns), even after I'd admitted that I needed to study the issue under debate in that thread a bit more, and was trying to be conciliatory. They really are a quite nasty crowd around here, aren't they? Not exactly the kind of folks who should probably be in possession of firearms to begin with, I'd think.

[Tesha]

83. Thaks for noticing that and for being willing to speak up about it! (NT)

[Edweird]

84. "I'm pretty sure that under most circumstances,a sane person doesn't feel the need to even owna gun"

Seeing as how that's how you talk to people on the same end of the political spectrum as you, but that happen to hold a different opinion about a particular subject, no wonder you're not well received.

No matter how right and just you THINK you are, calling someone's sanity into question merely because they disagree with you is bizarre and unjustifiable.

[Tesha]

86. I don't call people's sanity into question "merely because they disagree with (me)".

> No matter how right and just you THINK you are,
> calling someone's sanity into question merely
> because they disagree with you is bizarre and
> unjustifiable.

I don't call people's sanity into question "merely
because they disagree with (me)". Doubtless I know
lots of people who own guns who are reasonably sane.
But the people who seem to be very vocal about their
"gun rights" also seem to exhibit other pathologies
as well, and it's on the whole of their behavior that
I draw my conclusions.

And as I said, many of the posts right here on DU
seem to prove my point quite well.

Tesha

[Edweird]

89. Enlighten me. Let's see these "pathologies"

upon which you draw your conclusions.

[Tesha]

90. Learn to look for yourself.

One of the pathologies, BTW, is the demand to constantly
be shown facts which one then completely disregards.

Tesha

[alfredo]

13. The groundhog saw his shadow.

[KG]

14. because they have guns.

can't shoot somebody, unless you have a gun.

[cdsilv]

15. that's why I won't own a gun.....

I'd end up using it.

I've owned guns in the past, hunted and enjoyed them.

However, I know my limits. These days, if I owned one, the temptation would be too great.....

[Virginia Dare]

16. I know I just posted about this..

it sure seems like something very bad is happening in this country right now.

[Tesha]

17. Lots of nuts. Lots of guns. Lots of nuts with guns. (NT)

[flowomo]

19. sorts of mirrors the verbal assaults right here on DU.....

take a side and attack all those on the other side.

[lonestarnot]

20. I was just saying to coworker, world gone nuts this a.m.

[Javaman]

21. bullets went on sale. nt

[slackmaster]

30. Acutally, ammunition prices are higher now than they have ever been

:argh:

[bdamomma]

22. it's the bush mindset

kill your enemies, or anyone you disagree with. sick.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2834893820070828

just a snip of the article

U.S. most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people

[Beausoleil]

24. Violence is now a first-resort option

Bush taught us that, although for a long time we as a society have been trying to get folks to understand that the death penalty teaches people not to kill. It hasn't worked, obviously, but we keep trying.

[EFerrari]

25. I was thinking yesterday that we need to consult an astrologer

or stay indoors or something. What the hell is going on? :hide:

[stanwyck]

26. Tom Delay told us just last night

that he believes in absolutely NO controls on guns. It's just one of his many complaints against McCain. "McCain wants to shut down gun shows." Actually, McCain wants to stop people from buying guns at gun shows without I.D. Chris Matthews interviewed DeLay on Hardball. It's difficult to believe that DeLay was ever elected to Congress. Another gem, on global warming: "Man is arrogant if he believes he can affect climate change. There is no science linking man to global warming."
I really have a tough time believing that educated people would cast their vote for this man. It defies understanding.

[leftofthedial]

27. personally, I blame republicans

a generation of greed is good, happiness is consumption, ends justify means, might makes right, laws are for suckers, guns are good, caring for others is bad, kill your enemies or you are a wimp, "they" are the cause of all the problems that plague "us" . . .

people have become as soulless and amoral as the repukes who have stolen the leadership of our country

[slackmaster]

29. Everybody is not shooting everybody lately

What is going on?!

Whatever it is, I blame Bush.

[AngryAmish]

31. 'cause they are not

Violence is down in the US.

[Fire Walk With Me]

32. BushCo have us tense and frustrated.

It comes out of people in different ways.

Ever read "Stand on Zanzibar"?

[Beausoleil]

41. One of my favorites

Brunner is great. Time for a re-read.

[spin]

70. Stand on Zanzibar is a great book.

It was first published in 1968. John Brunner was one of my favorite science fiction writers.

It has been years since I read the book but I still remember his descriptions of people "running amok". In the future society he writes about overpopulation drives some people mad with rage and they acquire a weapon and attempt to kill or injure anyone they run into. People fearing these "muckers" arm themselves which only exacerbates the problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_on_Zanzibar

[moirae]

33. They want attention

and it will get them more media attention that way.

[IntravenousDemilo]

34. Because they have guns.

People, being people, simply cannot be trusted with the damned things.

[slackmaster]

36. But if pressed for details you'd probably concede that it's OK for police to have them

:eyes:

[IntravenousDemilo]

38. It's possible that if the police didn't carry them, then criminals wouldn't need them.

Didn't the Bobbies in England just carry billy sticks and whistles with them at one point, and wasn't their murder and other violent crime rate nevertheless lower than in the US, where the cops have always carried guns?

No, people are just naturally bad, and until we can change the way they think, we have to prevent them from being able to wield deadly force against multiple persons before being stopped. A few guys together can overpower someone with a knife, but since Superman doesn't exist, nobody can move faster than a speeding bullet.

[slackmaster]

42. Now I know you are dreaming

England never had anywhere near the number of privately owned handguns as the USA does. Or the rate of violent crime, gun control notwithstanding.

And like all other gun control dreamers, you don't have anything remotely resembling an implementation plan.

[IntravenousDemilo]

46. Oh, I have an implementation plan all right, but you probably wouldn't like it.

Besides, I'm a Canadian, so any plan I've come up with couldn't be used in the States anyway.

I do think you put your finger on the problem, though, in saying that England never had anywhere near the number of privately owned handguns as the USA does. This implies that the problem indeed stems from too many privately owned handguns. Either that, or your society is just too violent in the first place even without adding handguns to the mix, and giving people guns is throwing gasoline on the fire.

[fascisthunter]

52. Bingoooooo! (nt)

[slackmaster]

53. Given that crime rates in the UK have always been about 1/3 of those in the USA

I'd say its pretty much all a function of society, not guns per se. The USA has always had about triple the rate of knife violence and bare-fist violence as the UK. And most of ours is concentrated in a few dangerous urban areas. Most of the geographical area of the USA is free of crime.

...Either that, or your society is just too violent in the first place even without adding handguns to the mix, and giving people guns is throwing gasoline on the fire.

Not a bad analogy, because once that gasoline has been thrown there is really no way to un-throw it.

[IntravenousDemilo]

54. And that's sort of what Bowling for Columbine was all about.

We have lots of guns here in Canada, too, but when some nut goes crazy with one, it's news, since we also have a lower violent crime rate.

I'll stretch the analogy further by saying there are such things as fire extinguishers, and it's time these useful tools stopped gathering dust on the wall.

[slackmaster]

56. A gun can serve the same kind of function as a fire extinguisher

I do keep both in my home. But the main reason I own guns has nothing to do with self-defense. It's just a hobby.

[question everything]

35. I know. This is crazy! (nt)

[zonmoy]

37. our civilization is beginning to self destruct.

[Cleita]

39. Mercury retrograde?

Just a thought. :shrug:

[moondust]

40. Rising intolerance and desperation.

With easy access to guns.

Too many years of Republicanism.

[coalition_unwilling]

44. Violence is as American as cherry pie (with apologies to H. Rap Brown) -n/t

[Dawggie]

48. It's really hard to kill another when you only have a banana in your hand.

[fascisthunter]

51. Can You Imagine.....

having to live another day?

[jmg257]

63. Really easy to be a victim though... Ha - maybe unless you get attacked by a gorilla!

[WhollyHeretic]

67. How to defend yourself against a banana!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bCyIAsSid8

[Edweird]

72. No it's not. Humans are quite fragile and easily killed.

Guns are merely a lazy means to an end.

[fascisthunter]

50. It's Because Everyone Doesn't Have a Gun

:sarcasm: :crazy:

[leftofthedial]

55. Why?

because they can.

[Junkdrawer]

57. Always looking at the dark side of all this...think of the $$$Profits$$$...

the gun manufacturers and dealers are making feeding the paranoia and insanity of our culture.

[bluestdogest]

59. The new morality. Nothing is wrong, nothing is right; nothing is black, nothing is white.

EVERYTHING is gray.

[-..__...]

76. The new morality.

By the standard of some here... the "new morality" would be to blame it all (or make excuses for), on everyone and everything... "the system" rather than on the person(s), that actually pulled the trigger.

There is no sense of personal responsibility and/or accountability anymore.

When was the last time anyone heard someone say "hey, it was my fault"?

[Old_Growth]

66. I don't think I've ever felt as tense and irritable

as I have recently. Could be because I started working night shift. I'm not about to go and hurt anybody over it though. Something in the air? Something collectively going on here?

[JVS]

68. It's the only lasting solution

;-)

[kurth]

69. Random occurrences

There are 301 MILLION people in this country.

[alarimer]

71. These things seem to be cyclical.

There will be a rash of mass shootings every now and then. Then, you don't hear about any for a while.

But I think a lot of it has to do with media coverage. People are shooting each other all the time; it just doesn't make the news.

[Blue_In_AK]

74. I haven't shot anyone in the past 24 hours.

Everybody??

[mitchum]

78. Because there are a lot of crazy motherfuckers out there

[Greyhound]

79. We've always been shooting each other, it's just in the news now

to keep us from noticing what is really going on.

[butterfly77]

80. Because America is the most wonderful country in the world...

and everyone wants to be like us:sarcasm: or so the republicons tell us.

[varkam]

81. Oh it isn't just lately.

People have been solving minor disputes with gunplay for a long time now.

[Kurovski]

85. Not enough donuts are served here on DU.

I thought that was obvious.

[The Straight Story]

87. I dunno - I ask that about our government all the time

Why are they shooting and bombing so many people?

[RadiationTherapy]

88. Incredible stress on already unstable individuals. Stress affects all systems. nt