‘America is killing itself’: world reacts with horror and incomprehension to Texas shooting

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

I'm from a broken home. I'm not a narcissist. Your opinion is not only ignorant but also offensive.

Sorry if you're offended but it's true. 2 parents are better than one.......usually.

[wangotango]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:10 AM, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

Whatever....... just the truth.

There are laws in place. The criminals are facing poverty or are homeless or on drugs (in and out of jail). They do not care if it is licensed or not.  Most are stolen weapons are altered to remove serial numbers. 

Without getting into detail they are in a safe place (the law requires this) and I have access in seconds.

 

 

Yes but as it being the #2 amendment from 231 years ago, I do not see it going away.  

 

It was created to protect the citizens against the government (not each other).

Times have changed in 231 years maybe ?

[coolcarer]

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

You seem to have an answer, and mostly wrong, about everything. You post other's opinions and we state facts. I listed ways that will definitely curtail the amount of killing and victims and you have to rebut. Broken homes in the number one reason we have such chaos on earth. Please educate yourself on what happens to children from broken homes, and what a narcissist is, and you will see,if not in denial or worse, that this is exactly why these things are happening. The US is a hugely populated country with maybe yes, more freedom than it should have but this is the reason it;s so popular a destination for people from every country to move to. Why you should list beating a child to his response is ludicrous. he said no such thing. Discipline doesn't mean beating,and I never but a couple of times spanked my children. Giving them limits, teaching them that all people, and animals, deserve respect, that things can be resolved by communication, whereas the breakdown of communication, or lack thereof, is the reason most relationships fail, whether it's child to parent, husband to wife, or country to country. We have a maniac, Putin, in charge of one of the largest countries on earth, and thousands are dying from his narcissistic thinking. Guns are NOT the problem. People are. People can, and have killed millions before guns were invented. High capacity guns are a problem, and I'm a gun owner and hunter. Again, I listed ways, from my experience for 48 years, and not by reading what others have made opinions on, but being in the business, owning guns, and knowing the proper usage of them,storage of them, and what they can do. This is something that has to be fixed immediately, as mass killings made by insane, mentally ill, unguided, neglected or abused people will continue unless they are stopped BEFORE it happens. First, having at least one parent who cares enough to listen to their children, and not buying them off to shut them up with media devices. Killers don't only come from single parent homes but homes where they are neglected but either the one or both. If the parents don't teach values, they learn it from peers, and most everyone knows what happens when this is the way. A justice system that is broken, where children are given a slap on the wrist or men aren't held accountable for the children they make, is another major issue. This can go on forever, with opinions doing nothing, as well as posting others opinions that are garnered from some studies which might work in one place. Gun control works, if it's used correctly. Background checks work, if they are done properly. Children should not be allowed to buy a gun, period. At 21, the brain is ALMOST fully developed, and before that, with hormones raging and peers giving bad advice or bullying, decisions to do things are irrational much of the time. All the other things I listed will work, IF politicians would actually think of more than themselves and their rich counterparts, stop fighting each other and do what's right for all people. I'm no expert when it comes to political ways by any means, but these are the people in charge that we voted for. Sadly, they promise much and deliver little, which is why one leader will never be right.

This is wrong on so many levels it’s difficult to know where to start but a post like this coming from someone who used to make money selling guns in the US is not at all surprising. The common dominator here is the availability of guns which causes the problem. The secondary problems of parenting are an issue worldwide and not unique to the US. Yet in the majority of developed countries worldwide they do not have this problem. 
 

What to do? learn from them and put in place similar sensible gun laws otherwise this problem will only get worse. It’s ok to admit failure which currently it most certainly is.

[KhaoYai]

34 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Society should be divided. That's what makes people individuals.

Please take this in the way its intended - you are clearly not in favour of mass gun ownership so we are basically on the same side.................however - society should not be divided. Of course there are differing views and that can be healthy but, there is usually a 'right and wrong'.

 

The gun problem in the USA is clearly 'wrong' - 19 children and 2 adults would still be alive today of the USA chose the 'right' way in this matter.  I can't speak for countries that I have no knowledge of but its quite clear that in countries such as the USA and the UK, never before has there been such division, often spilling over into hatred.  This division is quite often cooked up by people with radical, crazy or supremacist views that use 'populist' subjects to obtain support.

 

Take for example the Brexit debate in the UK - a matter that divided the country just as much as the USA is divided over gun laws.  I'm not going to get into a Brexit debate - that is not the point but its factual that those who wanted the UK out of the EU used populist issues to gain support. 

 

The EU had its problems but they were mostly beyond the comprehension of UK society as whole - and that's fully understandable, we pay politicians to deal with those issues.  So how do you get society on your side if you want to achieve Brexit?  Tell lies, exagerate problems that people do understand (often minor issues).  The promoters of Brexit began that campaign many years before the Brexit vote.  The UK had just gone through almost 8 years of recession - what better time to blame the EU for all the country's woes and get people on your side?

 

Just one example - tell people that EU membership is taking their jobs and keeping wages low through migration - they were experiencing the effects of that so it was quite easy to give them something to blame.  It was a fact that hundreds of thousands of Eastern European people had come to the UK and were prepared to take what UK citizens would regard as low paid jobs - thereby enabling employers to keep wages low - take it or leave it. The migrant workers were also exacerbating the UK's housing crisis - again used as a way of promoting right wing nationalist views.

 

What was never said was that it was actually employers that were taking advantage of the ability to utilise 'cheap labour' fron Eastern Europe.

 

In much the same way, there are both people with vested interests in the gun manufacturing industry and right wing nationalist views, promoting gun ownership in the US and attempting to justify it.  There is one man - some think of him as 'very clever' who identifies issues that concern potential 'right wing' supporters and then goes on to 'sympathise' with their views, whip them up into a frenzy over the chance they may lose their 'god given rights' as a way of gaining support for his own twisted ideology.  He is not alone though.

 

In general, and I accept that its a huge simplification, I believe that those who vehemently support gun ownership also have right wing nationalist views. And that, I believe is the root of the problem.  So entrenched are these people in their right wing, nationalist views, that they just cannot see - no matter how many children die, that they simply don't need guns. They seem to see the USA as unique and fail to examine why other countries don't have the same problems.

 

The problem also seems to exist within the USA's law enforcement agencies who appear to often seem to use 'shoot first' think later methodology.  I cannot understand why, in a society that purports to be so 'god fearing', life is regarded so cheaply.

 

Guns are endemic in US society and getting rid of them all would be a massive and impossible task but the removal of just one gun that saves just one life would be more than worth it.  If Americans feel so unsafe that they feel they need to arm themselves, then perhaps they should be looking to the government and law enforcenment agaencies to solve that problem - not the gun shops.

 

 

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, coolcarer said:

This is wrong on so many levels it’s difficult to know where to start but a post like this coming from someone who used to make money selling guns in the US is not at all surprising. The common dominator here is the availability of guns which causes the problem. The secondary problems of parenting are an issue worldwide and not unique to the US. Yet in the majority of developed countries worldwide they do not have this problem. 
 

What to do? learn from them and put in place similar sensible gun laws otherwise this problem will only get worse. It’s ok to admit failure which currently it most certainly is.

Actually, what I've said is right on. My selling guns only means I have more knowledge on the subject. Me being a gun owner and saying there is a problem means I recognize it as such, that something has to be done. There is crime in every country, every day, and it comes from broken homes, mental illness, abuse and neglect. If there wasn't mental illness, there would be no stabbing, beatings, shooting, rapes, or other violent crimes. Poverty and greed has created theft, and there is still always someone to blame for this, besides over population. But this is a violent crime, something totally unnecessary, and like all violent crimes worldwide, it won't stop until the parenting issues are stopped, which will be never happen because generations are learning what came before them, and passing it along.

[coolcarer]

7 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Actually, what I've said is right on. My selling guns only means I have more knowledge on the subject. Me being a gun owner and saying there is a problem means I recognize it as such, that something has to be done. There is crime in every country, every day, and it comes from broken homes, mental illness, abuse and neglect. If there wasn't mental illness, there would be no stabbing, beatings, shooting, rapes, or other violent crimes. Poverty and greed has created theft, and there is still always someone to blame for this, besides over population. But this is a violent crime, something totally unnecessary, and like all violent crimes worldwide, it won't stop until the parenting issues are stopped, which will be never happen because generations are learning what came before them, and passing it along.

There you go, avoiding the real issues of gun ownership and lax laws in the US while at the same time the deaths pile up. So you blame it on parenting. Denial of the issues at hand is ingrained in your outlook.

[PoodThaiMaiDai]

33 minutes ago, wangotango said:

Times have changed in 231 years maybe ?

Not really. The government is still a threat.

[Lemsta69]

On 5/27/2022 at 11:03 AM, KanchanaburiGuy said:

Hmmm, interesting. 

 

It has been suggested that Australia does a much better job at controlling guns. They've bragged about "no mass shootings" for 25 years. But I wonder........... is that just a matter of presenting the best example, rather than telling the whole truth? 

 

And then I scrolled down only a few places in the "World News" forum at AseanNow, and found THIS............. 

 

Whaddya know! Even with their stern gun restrictions, "bad guys" are still killing people freely in Sydney! And from what it sounds like........... it sounds like they might be doing it with guns they're not supposed to have! 

 

Yes, America is still worse. It would be foolish to suggest otherwise. 

 

But it appears the presentation of Australia as this huge success............ was a sham! 

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

 

 

• World News

‘Everyday life now’: Sydney reels from organised crime turf war

By webfact,

Yesterday at 08:33 AM in World News

 

ADVERTISEMENT

webfact 131518

Posted yesterday at 08:33 AM

Sydney has been shocked by a series of assassinations and drive-by shootings amid a turf war between two organised crime gangs – the Alameddine Family and the Hamzy clan. Mejid Hamzy, brother of Bassam Hamzy – the leader of the Brothers 4 Life gang, was shot outside a house in the city’s west in October 2020 [File: AAP Australia via EPA]

 

Police swoop on drug gangs in Australia’s biggest city but lawyers fear controversial law changes will leave minorities vulnerable.

 

By Ian Lloyd Neubauer

 

Last week, a home in Sydney’s southwest was sprayed with bullets during a drive-by shooting.

 

No one was injured, although it was the second time in six months the house had been targeted and came after three assassinations over three weeks and a total of 13 in two years.

 

“What can you do? It’s everyday life now,” a neighbour who heard the shots told a local TV station.

 

Full story: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/26/sydney-reels-from-organised-crime-turf-war

I used to live in that crime-infested cesspit until I got lucky and was able to retire early to Thailand. I'm from the C*nterbury-Bankstown area so know this stuff only too well. one of the latest Alameddine on Hamzy executions happened a couple of streets away from where my dear old mum lives.

 

the only upside to that place is 1) the manoush and charcoal chicken is to die for and 2) the habibs seem to be fairly good at keeping civilians out of it unless you go poking your nose in. 

 

oh yeah, and we never worried about locking our doors at night because nobody is going to come to East Bankstown and <deleted> with the habibs. 

[fredwiggy]

6 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Please take this in the way its intended - you are clearly not in favour of mass gun ownership so we are basically on the same side.................however - society should not be divided. Of course there are differing views and that can be healthy but, there is usually a 'right and wrong'.

 

The gun problem in the USA is clearly 'wrong' - 19 children and 2 adults would still be alive today of the USA chose the 'right' way in this matter.  I can't speak for countries that I have no knowledge of but its quite clear that in countries such as the USA and the UK, never before has there been such division, often spilling over into hatred.  This division is quite often cooked up by people with radical, crazy or supremacist views that use 'populist' subjects to obtain support.

 

Take for example the Brexit debate in the UK - a matter that divided the country just as much as the USA is divided over gun laws.  I'm not going to get into a Brexit debate - that is not the point but its factual that those who wanted the UK out of the EU used populist issues to gain support. 

 

The EU had its problems but they were mostly beyond the comprehension of UK society as whole - and that's fully understandable, we pay politicians to deal with those issues.  So how do you get society on your side if you want to achieve Brexit?  Tell lies, exagerate problems that people do understand (often minor issues).  The promoters of Brexit began that campaign many years before the Brexit vote.  The UK had just gone through almost 8 years of recession - what better time to blame the EU for all the country's woes and get people on your side?

 

Just one example - tell people that EU membership is taking their jobs and keeping wages low through migration - they were experiencing the effects of that so it was quite easy to give them something to blame.  It was a fact that hundreds of thousands of Eastern European people had come to the UK and were prepared to take what UK citizens would regard as low paid jobs - thereby enabling employers to keep wages low - take it or leave it. The migrant workers were also exacerbating the UK's housing crisis - again used as a way of promoting right wing nationalist views.

 

What was never said was that it was actually employers that were taking advantage of the ability to utilise 'cheap labour' fron Eastern Europe.

 

In much the same way, there are both people with vested interests in the gun manufacturing industry and right wing nationalist views, promoting gun ownership in the US and attempting to justify it.  There is one man - some think of him as 'very clever' who identifies issues that concern potential 'right wing' supporters and then goes on to 'sympathise' with their views, whip them up into a frenzy over the chance they may lose their 'god given rights' as a way of gaining support for his own twisted ideology.  He is not alone though.

 

In general, and I accept that its a huge simplification, I believe that those who vehemently support gun ownership also have right wing nationalist views. And that, I believe is the root of the problem.  So entrenched are these people in their right wing, nationalist views, that they just cannot see - no matter how many children die, that they simply don't need guns. They seem to see the USA as unique and fail to examine why other countries don't have the same problems.

 

The problem also seems to exist within the USA's law enforcement agencies who appear to often seem to use 'shoot first' think later methodology.  I cannot understand why, in a society that purports to be so 'god fearing', life is regarded so cheaply.

 

Guns are endemic in US society and getting rid of them all would be a massive and impossible task but the removal of just one gun that saves just one life would be more than worth it.  If Americans feel so unsafe that they feel they need to arm themselves, then perhaps they should be looking to the government and law enforcenment agaencies to solve that problem - not the gun shops.

 

 

By divided I meant individuals, but doing things the right way. People can be amazing, as has been proven a million times, and generally, even though most are for themselves, they will help others in need. We will never know what could have happened if this boy wasn't able to purchase the gun until he was say, 21. He could have gotten past the bullying he seems to have been subjected to, as I and millions of others have, after we were subjected to it as kids. I wanted to beat the <deleted> out of the kid who picked on me in high school, but after school ended and I began weight training, and years had passed, I saw the same bully and we just said hi. He probably had matured past that, saw what I had become, and it didn't matter anymore. A lot of people use guns in violence because they can't fight, and think it's the solution. Why someone would kill this many young, innocent children is way past comprehension. If you were bullied, it would make sense to go after the bullies, and not kill others not involved in any way. Yes, guns mean money, a lot of it, and that's what runs this world, leaving sense behind. Guns like the AR-15 aren't necessary, but like all other guns, are still used for hunting and targets, which isn't a bad thing. People can abuse anything, and they do it here. About leaving things up to the government, that doesn't work because many don't trust politicians, and others go along because they can't do otherwise. The police are there many times to help protect others, but they can't be everywhere, which is why I think it's okay to arm yourself. Many times others have been saved by citizens that were carrying, and those are lives that were saved for that reason. If no one had guns, no one would get shot, but people kill in many other ways, and commit suicide in many ways also. There isn't an easy way to fix this, and it will take time, money, and politicians doing the right things, which isn't easy in itself. The one thing I mentioned, having it mandatory that gun safes were used, would save lives, especially children in the same household, but people like to have their guns handy, just in case a robber came along. How do you stop that? Someone breaks in your house, you need to be ready. If you live alone, without small children, this would be okay, but with kids getting into everything, they have to be protected from themselves. Locked triggers also works, but still aren't to access quickly if the need arises. As far as police shooting innocent civilians because of a fear of threat, that's where the power trip comes in, hatred towards minorities, or lack of training. Cops pass mental evaluations and go out and stand on people's necks, and shoot them while they are unarmed. How do you stop that? That happens here in Thailand also. There is no excuse for why America has so many mass shootings. Gun violence is more in other countries, but mass shooting aren't. I'm an American, love and miss it, and will most likely return someday,but  I am ashamed of how it has become also.

[KhaoYai]

49 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

You had to understand why I said that. Besides that, weapons are and always will be necessary in society, unless by society you mean just the police and military having them, which leaves out legitimate hunting (necessary to control species over population, and for meat) and target shooting for fun. You think taking them out of "legitimate" owners hands, and by that the ones that aren't criminals, mentally ill or gang members, it will stop crime? It will stop mass shootings, but create many more problems. What, again, has to be done, is to let these legitimate owners own them, and keep them out of the hands of crazies. That's the crux of this problem, not radical banning but control, which again, I am for. Banning AR-15's would stop some mass killings, but people are inventive, as Oklahoma showed us awhile back.

I could pick that entire post apart bit by bit. However, commenting on it as a whole - serves to illustrate what I see as a typical American point of view.  You were most likley born in the USA, your parents, their parents etc. etc. so the 'American Way. is ingrained within your DNA.  Just about everything you mention above is at odds with mainstream European thinking.  Which way is the right way?  Well in the UK and Europe we don't have dailly mass shootings.

 

Just picking on one item to focus in on those differences - 'hunting'.  Its not really hunting is it? Hunting is going out and finding wild animals to feed your family.  What you regard as 'hunting', is grown men and women going out and taking pleasure out of the death of a wild animal. Be honest, you do it for fun, you do not do it for the good of the species at all. 

 

In the UK, whilst we have some way to go, a lot of 'hunting' has been banned. On the few occasions where its become necessary to cull a particular species, we employ specialist contractors to do the job.  We don't have hordes of gun toting testoterone addicts driving around with dead wild animals strapped to their bonnets (hoods).

 

Its about attitude and understanding and nothing will change in the USA unless and until those attitudes change.  There will be more mass shootings, more school shootings and more deaths.

[KhaoYai]

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

We will never know what could have happened if this boy wasn't able to purchase the gun until he was say, 21.

How about never able to purchase the gun - ever?  You don't need them!

[fredwiggy]

13 minutes ago, coolcarer said:

There you go, avoiding the real issues of gun ownership and lax laws in the US while at the same time the deaths pile up. So you blame it on parenting. Denial of the issues at hand is ingrained in your outlook.

I'm in denial over nothing. I know and see, and have seen for many years, what has been going on. I put the blame where it belongs. The breakdown of families is the breakdown of the world. These aren't opinions but what really is. If you read all of my posts, you will see that I agree that there is a problem, there has to be something done, and have made suggestions that would definitely work, at least to curb it some.

[KhaoYai]

7 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

How do you stop that? Someone breaks in your house, you need to be ready.

A difficult one but again - a different attitude.  The rest of the world tends to put its burglars in prison, not shoot them dead.

[jvs]

22 minutes ago, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

Not really. The government is still a threat.

So get your buddies (the militia ones) and do what the constitution allows you to do!

 

[KhaoYai]

13 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

The one thing I mentioned, having it mandatory that gun safes were used, would save lives

Mandatory for a shotgun licence in the UK - the only type of firearms licence available to the general public.  Even then, applicants are vetted and interviewed by local police before a licence is issued.

[fredwiggy]

6 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

I could pick that entire post apart bit by bit. However, commenting on it as a whole - serves to illustrate what I see as a typical American point of view.  You were most likley born in the USA, your parents, their parents etc. etc. so the 'American Way. is ingrained within your DNA.  Just about everything you mention above is at odds with mainstream European thinking.  Which way is the right way?  Well in the UK and Europe we don't have dailly mass shootings.

 

Just picking on one item to focus in on those differences - 'hunting'.  Its not really hunting is it? Hunting is going out and finding wild animals to feed your family.  What you regard as 'hunting', is grown men and women going out and taking pleasure out of the death of a wild animal. Be honest, you do it for fun, you do not do it for the good of the species at all. 

 

In the UK, whilst we have some way to go, a lot of 'hunting' has been banned. On the few occasions where its become necessary to cull a particular species, we employ specialist contractors to do the job.  We don't have hordes of gun toting testoterone addicts driving around with dead wild animals strapped to their bonnets (hoods).

 

Its about attitude and understanding and nothing will change in the USA unless and until those attitudes change.  There will be more mass shootings, more school shootings and more deaths.

I hope this post is okay, because it is a tad off topic, but it is a legitimate reason to own a gun. I hunt to be out there, in the woods. I can look back and remember countless times I spent in a tree or sitting on the ground and saw nature as you can only see on national geographic and the like. When I hunt, I only shoot a buck, one that has been passing on his genes for years, and is getting to the age where his teeth will soon fail him in the wild. Yes, in the beginning I hunted to kill a deer, any deer, but after awhile the real love of hunting comes out, to be part of nature, and killing isn't necessary. I bring home the meat for my and others tables, and respect the animal that has given it's life. If you aren't a vegetarian, and understand where meat comes from, you would know it's not totally humane how cows,and other animals are treated before slaughter. The UK has, and always has had, hunting, and it's regulated well. People kill trophies just like in the US, there and in most other countries. Thailand doesn't have hunting because people here don't understand conservation, and would kill at will. I mentioned this before, and it got off topic, so I won't get into it more. I hunt for many reasons, and killing isn't a pleasure to me. People in the US don't carry their deer on hoods anymore, like the Deer Hunter movie. They have heard complaints, so we keep the deer hidden. If this has to be removed, I understand. By the way, my grandparents came from Ireland and Poland. My dad hunted, and I started when he stopped.

[fredwiggy]

8 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

A difficult one but again - a different attitude.  The rest of the world tends to put its burglars in prison, not shoot them dead.

Burglars are rarely caught in the act. I would not shoot a burglar unless he was armed and threatening me or my family.  People who come in to rape or kill need to be stopped. It happens everyday somewhere, and the only way to stop it is arming yourself. People have shot others in the back when they tried to get away, and that's not self defense.

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I'm in denial over nothing. I know and see, and have seen for many years, what has been going on. I put the blame where it belongs. The breakdown of families is the breakdown of the world. These aren't opinions but what really is. If you read all of my posts, you will see that I agree that there is a problem, there has to be something done, and have made suggestions that would definitely work, at least to curb it some.

The blame belongs squarely with a culture that feeds on paranoia and fear. Families break down all over the world. That's a classic look over there argument.

If America wants to do something, it must eliminate the semi-automatic weapons available. Australia has done it, the UK has done it, and when was the last mass school shooting in either country?

 

I once was talking to a guy as we drove through Philadelphia. His household contained 19 firearms. When I asked why he needed so many, it was to protect his family from criminals, and fight the Communists when they invaded. They are taking their time coming.

 

Face facts, most gun owners have guns because they like guns. It gives them a sense of power. The statistics are households that have guns are much more likely to have suicides, accidental gun-related deaths, or be killed in a robbery. Burglars don't want to kill you, they just want to steal your stuff and get the hell out. That's what home insurance policies are for.

 

The pitiful excuses I see posted on this thread makes me think there are many Americans who just refuse to grow up.

[KanchanaburiGuy]

3 hours ago, LarrySR said:

God gave you gun rights?

By the way, there is no god. 

Not to be picky, but your certainty that there is no God.............. is even more misguided than someone else's certainty that there is one. 

 

The only correct answer is....... We don't know. The more a person expresses certainly away from "We don't know" ......... in either direction.......... the more intellectually bankrupt their position is. 

 

----------------

 

As far a "gun rights" go.......... there is no such thing. People have been fooled into thinking that because it is frequently CALLED a "Right," it actually is one. But it isn't.

 

The ACTUAL Right is........... The Right to Defend Yourself. THAT is a so-called God-given or "natural" Right. 

 

But even that Right does not guarantee you, in a civilized society---a society governed by laws---a "Right" to own a gun!

 

Some countries GRANT that privilege.......... and some don't. But in none of them is it a "Right." 

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

[fredwiggy]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The blame belongs squarely with a culture that feeds on paranoia and fear. Families break down all over the world. That's a classic look over there argument.

If America wants to do something, it must eliminate the semi-automatic weapons available. Australia has done it, the UK has done it, and when was the last mass school shooting in either country?

 

I once was talking to a guy as we drove through Philadelphia. His household contained 19 firearms. When I asked why he needed so many, it was to protect his family from criminals, and fight the Communists when they invaded. They are taking their time coming.

 

Face facts, most gun owners have guns because they like guns. It gives them a sense of power. The statistics are households that have guns are much more likely to have suicides, accidental gun-related deaths, or be killed in a robbery. Burglars don't want to kill you, they just want to steal your stuff and get the hell out. That's what home insurance policies are for.

 

The pitiful excuses I see posted on this thread makes me think there are many Americans who just refuse to grow up.

I know, because of my history, that many are "gun nuts". I am not. I only have 5, and they are for hunting only. I usually use my crossbow anyway. Some burglars are there for other reasons, like rape, or not leaving any witnesses. Yes, this isn't always the case, and like I said, I would not shoot a burglar unless he tried to hurt my family, and I wouldn't want that to happen . Guns don't give me any sense of power. They are a tool. I can handle most anyone myself not armed. You are correct in thinking many are what you said. It gives others a bad name.If guns are locked away, this would stop much of the problem. Suicides won't stop because many won't get help for depression.

[coolcarer]

29 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I'm in denial over nothing. I know and see, and have seen for many years, what has been going on. I put the blame where it belongs. The breakdown of families is the breakdown of the world. These aren't opinions but what really is. If you read all of my posts, you will see that I agree that there is a problem, there has to be something done, and have made suggestions that would definitely work, at least to curb it some.

Parenting is a problem all over the world, but the cause of high gun deaths in the US are the laws and lack of them. I’m now a teacher but for over 10 years I was a qualified social worker intervening directly with children and young people who were at risk, disturbed or suffered abuse. Along with other professionals I also guided parents and carers on parenting skills. I can tell you clearly  that unless you have an extreme nanny state, by the time these children come to to attention of appropriate authorities the damage is already done. If there were as many guns available in the UK the problem would be horrendous and probably as bad as the US. Fortunately the UK has decent controls and laws.
 

It appears you need this explaining in depth but that would be totally off topic so I will refrain from that. I will say however that all professionals know this and even the NRA in the US don’t stoop so low to try and blame the parents. Shame on you, it is down to the laws, they need changing and those assault weapons need banning.

 

[LarrySR]

7 minutes ago, KanchanaburiGuy said:

Not to be picky, but your certainty that there is no God.............. is even more misguided than someone else's certainty that there is one. 

 

 

 

 

OK. I should have said zero evidence there are gods.

All 18,000 of them are fairy tales as far as the evidence goes.

[Yellowtail]

5 hours ago, heybruce said:

More children and teens are killed by firearms in the US than by any other cause:

Not by assault riles.

 

5 hours ago, heybruce said:

We care about all people, especially young people, who are killed by guns.  Unfortunately it is so common that it only generates a brief period of national rage and discussion after an exceptionally murderous mass shooting, such as this one.

Yes, not much "national rage" ginned up by the leftist press over all the blacks shot every week, not enough political hay in it, huh? 

 

5 hours ago, heybruce said:

What existing laws would have prevented this tragedy?  What existing laws do you think are not being sufficiently enforced?

Is not shooting people against the law? 

 

I think most every law is not being sufficiently enforced.

[Yellowtail]

5 hours ago, Phoenix Rising said:

"So why is Chuck Schumer refusing to bring it to the floor?"

 

So when the Dems don't bring it to the floor because obviously it would be dead on arrival it's "doing nothing" and when they bring a doomed proposal to the floor it's "grandstanding". OK, gotcha!

4 hours ago, James105 said:

Not sure if you are aware, but your government has access to fighter jets, tanks, warships and tactical nuclear missiles.    You are going to need bigger guns if that "really" is the reason you think you need them.   

"Still, the legislation does nothing to address the tens of thousands of black men killed every year, does it?"

 

Would love to debate that but this thread is about the scores of children murdered every year because America has a sick gun fetish. But why don't you go ahead and open up another thread on that subject.

 

I would like to add that I just love the way these threads let the MAGA crowd discover that they do have a social conscience. Who knew that they felt such profound sadness for all the black lives needlessly lost every year. Dear I say they've discovered that black lives matter?

 

Why did the not use them to shut down the insurrection ? 

[fredwiggy]

13 minutes ago, coolcarer said:

Parenting is a problem all over the world, but the cause of high gun deaths in the US are the laws and lack of them. I’m now a teacher but for over 10 years I was a qualified social worker intervening directly with children and young people who were at risk, disturbed or suffered abuse. Along with other professionals I also guided parents and carers on parenting skills. I can tell you clearly  that unless you have an extreme nanny state, by the time these children come to to attention of appropriate authorities the damage is already done. If there were as many guns available in the UK the problem would be horrendous and probably as bad as the US. Fortunately the UK has decent controls and laws.
 

It appears you need this explaining in depth but that would be totally off topic so I will refrain from that. I will say however that all professionals know this and even the NRA in the US don’t stoop so low to try and blame the parents. Shame on you, it is down to the laws, they need changing and those assault weapons need banning.

 

It appears you know nothing of who I am and what I know about psychology. I still have not denied there is a problem, and that something has to be done. I offered solutions that would work, as have others all over the world. Nothing you could try to explain to me is anything I already don't have an understanding of. What you mentioned about the problem is right, as I know. What you said about not blaming the parents isn't correct. The most important time in a child's life is age 0-5. This is where they learn everything about trust, love and care, and if that isn't there, their futures are in trouble, unless they recognize the issues they have been subjected to, and get help for them. Nanny states are damaging, as the government is still people, and people make mistakes. If parents teach their children not to hurt others, to respect human and animal life, and are loved and cared for, most of this would not happen because, like you said, the damage has already been done by the time the children come to the attention of authorities.

Edited May 30, 2022 by fredwiggy

[coolcarer]

7 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

It appears you know nothing of who I am and what I know about psychology. I still have not denied there is a problem, and that something has to be done. I offered solutions that would work, as have others all over the world. Nothing you could try to explain to me is anything I already don't have an understanding of. What you mentioned about the problem is right, as I know. What you said about not blaming the parents isn't correct. The most important time in a child's life is age 0-5. This is where they learn everything about trust, love and care, and if that isn't there, their futures are in trouble, unless they recognize the issues they have been subjected to, and get help for them. Nanny states are damaging, as the government is still people, and people make mistakes. If parents teach their children not to hurt others, to respect human and animal life, and are loved and cared for, most of this would not happen because, like you said, the damage has already been done by the time the children come to the attention of authorities.

No I know all I need to know about you which is ignoring all the evidence about how to deal with the problem and instead blame the parents. Perhaps those parents grieving at their murdered children also have something to say on that.

 

Like I said I will not be going further off topic as you seem intent on doing so blaming parents and the evidence that this is not the root of the problem

Edited May 30, 2022 by coolcarer

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

 The most important time in a child's like is age 0-5. This is where they learn everything about trust, love and care, and if that isn't there, their futures are in trouble, unless they recognize the issues they have been subjected to, and get help for them.

Please tell me how training children in shooter drills in schools helps them understand trust, love and care.

[Yellowtail]

5 hours ago, Phoenix Rising said:

1. I can see reading comprehension is not your strong suit.

Why, because you an unable to formulate a response? 

 

5 hours ago, Phoenix Rising said:

2. Again, it warms my heart how you've turned into a champion for Black Lives Matter. Well done, Sir!

That's why it surprises me that you clearly don't care about all the deaths. BLM clearly does not. If they don't give a whit how many blacks kill other blacks, protesting that will not buy them many mansions....

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, ozimoron said:

it's totally off topic and you know it.

 

Narcissism isn't about being right or wrong. It's about not caring for the feelings, emotions and physical and mental well being of others.

Yes, everything that does not support banning assault rifles is off-topic, and we all know it 

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Ok, I'll rephrase. Guns have made countries livable.

Do police not have guns?