So graphs are pretty, and here's a few via the Washington Post (if someone would like to see the article, let me know, I'll post it).
1. In regards to what sp4cetiger was asking about, the US is most definitely an outlier as far as violence goes:
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To break it down a little more, specifically, it's the south
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2. In most mass shootings in the US, the guns are acquired legally:
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3. It appears that, in general, states with stricter gun control laws have fewer gun-related deaths (the states with blue stripes have stricter laws):
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However, this one is not necessarily definitive, it's just an interesting correlation, which does not necessarily equal a causation. _________________ 2023 Chart
For something to be reported in the news it has to be remarkable. So yeah, kids getting killed in ghettos is appalling but it happens all the time, just because it doesn't get massive news coverage doesn't mean people don't care. It's the same bullshit argument idiots use when terrorist attacks happen on western soil, like people must not care about people dying in Iraq because they're making a bigger deal of the Boston marathon bombing, it's shit.
To quote Mark Corrigan: Yes, I suppose the news should just be a dispassionate list of all the events that have occurred the world over during the day. That would be good. Except of course, it would take forever!
Besides, I don't think media coverage of these things really encourages them to happen more often and it's not something that can really be controlled by policy anyway; rightly or wrongly people are interested in it, I'll shamelessly admit I spent several hours digging into this kid's character yesterday.
I'm not qualified to say exactly why he did it, but I wouldn't have thought his anticipation of how the media would respond was significant in his decision. Watch his videos he's a fucked up kid, so are the other kids who do things like this.
He used firearms he legally owned to kill these people; that people like him can own guns is the problem. If he lived in a country with strict gun control laws, he wouldn't have had guns, these people wouldn't have died, there is no way getting round that. Nutcases are everywhere but in America they have guns, to argue it as a non factor is absurd/stupid/appalling. _________________ Shut up mate you're boring!
For something to be reported in the news it has to be remarkable. So yeah, kids getting killed in ghettos is appalling but it happens all the time, just because it doesn't get massive news coverage doesn't mean people don't care. It's the same bullshit argument idiots use when terrorist attacks happen on western soil, like people must not care about people dying in Iraq because they're making a bigger deal of the Boston marathon bombing, it's shit.
This is the only part of your post I really disagree with. Maybe you care as much about the people dying in Iraq or in ghettos as at the Boston marathon, but I guarantee you that most Americans don't. I've spoken to more than a few Americans who even think of the people dying in Iraq as little better than terrorists.
Free press means that the media are going to focus on sensational events -- it makes for better entertainment. But that doesn't mean that we have to focus on those things here.
To quote Mark Corrigan: Yes, I suppose the news should just be a dispassionate list of all the events that have occurred the world over during the day. That would be good. Except of course, it would take forever!
God I love Peep Show.
And just imagine how much more paranoid our society would become if every shooting was reported in the same way as mass shootings.
I've had shootings on the same block where I've lived before. Someone was murdered a block from my current apartment a couple years ago, and I was once robbed at gunpoint on my way home at night a few years ago. Guns are a source of power for the weak and fragile. You put a gun in the hand of a kid whose been beaten down for years and suddenly he's confident and feels invincible, and he desires to exercise his newfound power. _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
Not sure if this was in response to me, so let me clarify:
1 Media plays a role in a lot of these things, not necessarily this one, I think it's unfair to write it off entirely though.
2 Gun ownership is a huge issue though I think proper mental health treatment is a bigger problem.
3 I think gun laws are HUGELY important and things NEED to change in America.
4 I'm not saying "News should show everything awful in the world", but quite the opposite, frankly - news should focus on whatever's news, good or bad. If you ever have the chance, it's worth watching Bowling for Columbine, or at least the bit where the news media is discussed and compared with that of Canada. Canada's media is more what I'd be hoping for. _________________
This is the only part of your post I really disagree with. Maybe you care as much about the people dying in Iraq or in ghettos as at the Boston marathon, but I guarantee you that most Americans don't. I've spoken to more than a few Americans who even think of the people dying in Iraq as little better than terrorists.
Free press means that the media are going to focus on sensational events -- it makes for better entertainment. But that doesn't mean that we have to focus on those things here.
I was more commenting on how we can't expect things which happen frequently to dominate the news, since they're not exceptional events. I didn't mean to touch on how people seem to care more about people they share more in common with, but that was my fault with choice of analogy. You're right though, lots of people do.
And yeah you're right in that these type of shootings make a minority of gun deaths in the US and that the debate should give more weight to people getting killed by gun violence every day, than to events like this. On bea we have had several discussions on gun control since I've been here, normally triggered by an event similar to this one but always with discussion about the statistics you're talking about not just these sensational events. They quickly turned into Naples asking why we're not also talking about banning cars and baseball bats though, unfortunately. _________________ Shut up mate you're boring!
Not sure if this was in response to me, so let me clarify:
1 Media plays a role in a lot of these things, not necessarily this one, I think it's unfair to write it off entirely though.
2 Gun ownership is a huge issue though I think proper mental health treatment is a bigger problem.
3 I think gun laws are HUGELY important and things NEED to change in America.
4 I'm not saying "News should show everything awful in the world", but quite the opposite, frankly - news should focus on whatever's news, good or bad. If you ever have the chance, it's worth watching Bowling for Columbine, or at least the bit where the news media is discussed and compared with that of Canada. Canada's media is more what I'd be hoping for.
No I wouldn't want to write off entirely the role the media's reaction to events like these might help to increase their likelihood, just that it's relatively unimportant compared to other factors, and quite futile to argue about anyway because these sorts of events will be covered as they are now regardless.
On mental health treatment, I don't think the people close to the kids who do these things actually ever expect them to do it. Diagnosing someone as a future serial killer is very hard, so arguing mental health treatments is a bit of a red herring I think.
I think good news is covered, but it does have to be remarkable. I don't think there's an agenda to only show bad news but I will try to watch the documentary if I find the time. _________________ Shut up mate you're boring!
No I wouldn't want to write off entirely the role the media's reaction to events like these might help to increase their likelihood, just that it's relatively unimportant compared to other factors, and quite futile to argue about anyway because these sorts of events will be covered as they are now regardless.
On mental health treatment, I don't think the people close to the kids who do these things actually ever expect them to do it. Diagnosing someone as a future serial killer is very hard, so arguing mental health treatments is a bit of a red herring I think.
I think good news is covered, but it does have to be remarkable. I don't think there's an agenda to only show bad news but I will try to watch the documentary if I find the time.
Oh yeah, no, I'm with you, don't mean to argue with you at all. I think Rocky's video makes an important point but you may've made the more unfortunate and more important one: it's unlikely anything will change.
And it depends on the circumstances. I mean, let's look at Newtown: Lanza's dad thought he had undiagnosed schizophrenia. The family ignored signs of schizophrenia and wrote it off as autism as that had been the original diagnosis, but had the diagnosis been more comprehensive, or had there been better check-in services along the way, its possible any schizophrenia he had could've been treated. There's many other examples to be found, and as someone whose aunt was a misdiagnosed schizophrenic, and as a result, developed violent tendencies, I can tell you that mental health services really aren't up to par in America. They take a basic look, diagnose you, send you off with pills, and don't check in until something goes wrong.
Don't think there's any sort of conspiracy against good news, you're totally right there. Tried to find the specific bit of the documentary for you, unfortunately I can't find that clip, but it's a film worth watching, very interesting and able to make serious points with some amount of humor without being too lighthearted for the subject. _________________
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