Today's shooting in America thread

Slipper One said:
Such a naïve statement.

A lot are NOT stolen from legal owners.............they are smuggled across the border from the US. Of course there will always be thefts from legal owners and stores, but nothing anywhere near like you are stating.
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Now you've done it. There'll be some serious head scratching now.
 
ChicagoBlue said:
This is what all you smart (non-Americans) are up against when you hope that sentient Americans will rise up against the massively funded, well organized, politicians in their pockets, gun lobby, and hope it is going to give up the gravy…



Yes, they have the same number of votes as I do!
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Before I started that video I honestly thought the first one was a sex bot and was wondering what the hell I was watching.
 
Trevor Morley's Tache said:
I'm aware of the scale of the problem, but (and I hate using the word 'journey') every journey begins with a single step.

If nobody is willing to take that first step then you might as well just make it a free-for-all (which it pretty much is anyway), and take your chances that you, or any other member of your family won't catch a bullet today, or tomorrow, or next week, or the week after...
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Like you, hate to say it, but…

‘Twas always thus.

When I first arrived, and for many years thereafter (as I was living on a college campus is a small town in the country), I had a very similar view to almost every non-American on here.

Then, I got married and we moved to the Big Smoke that is Chicago for our jobs. Life changed. The daily news changed. But, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it is now.

I began to listen, read, and watch a lot more about American politics, because it was clear I was staying. I became a citizen and started voting.

America is not just a country, it is a mindset…an idea…some here would say an ideal. I’m sure many of you laugh at that notion.

However, Americans laugh at Brits, too! “A monarchy? Are you fucking kidding me? We escaped that shit centuries ago, yet you literally BOW to fucking King Charles?!”

They also look at the levels of petty crime, especially burglary, and simply say, “I am not going to be that victim! I will live free or die trying.” It’s no coincidence that “Live free or die” is a state motto!

7E6268D7-1317-4413-888A-29F09F0A3492.jpeg

This sentiment is a FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE of American life.

Some here talk of America’s youth and immaturity as a nation. It’s true. However, that means that people are still alive who knew people who fought in the Civil War, and they knew people who lived during the era of Independence. America is a country that was literally fought for by white settlers and built by immigrant labor, not all if it voluntarily.

It IS young, which means it is growing up with the sentiments of its youth, including Rights enshrined and fought over on the cusp of the Victorian era. When said like that, it doesn’t seem that long ago that these ideas became foundational, does it?

Yes, things change, but these are the foundational ideas of a young nation that still holds large swaths of land as wild, lawless, even. Get West of the Mississippi and gun ownership rises dramatically. Head South of the Mason-Dixon Line and the mentality on the need to protect oneself and one’s land from tyranny rises dramatically.

For many, this is still a frontier country. For others, the large urban areas are less “frontier” and more “Wild Wild West!”

As I’ve said before, and others have said far more eloquently and repeatedly, if shooting Presidents and children isn’t going to change 2A, nothing will…and that was even before we had a nation so deeply divided by race, ideology, and a partisan political divide aided and funded (for their own aims) by deep pockets.

Citizens are fed shit and kept in the dark about what really goes on, by whom, for whose benefit. When you set out to grow mushrooms, what can you expect from those people?!

Good luck to us all.
 
ChicagoBlue said:
Like you, hate to say it, but…

‘Twas always thus.

When I first arrived, and for many years thereafter (as I was living on a college campus is a small town in the country), I had a very similar view to almost every non-American on here.

Then, I got married and we moved to the Big Smoke that is Chicago for our jobs. Life changed. The daily news changed. But, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it is now.

I began to listen, read, and watch a lot more about American politics, because it was clear I was staying. I became a citizen and started voting.

America is not just a country, it is a mindset…an idea…some here would say an ideal. I’m sure many of you laugh at that notion.

However, Americans laugh at Brits, too! “A monarchy? Are you fucking kidding me? We escaped that shit centuries ago, yet you literally BOW to fucking King Charles?!”

They also look at the levels of petty crime, especially burglary, and simply say, “I am not going to be that victim! I will live free or die trying.” It’s no coincidence that “Live free or die” is a state motto!

View attachment 73465

This sentiment is a FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE of American life.

Some here talk of America’s youth and immaturity as a nation. It’s true. However, that means that people are still alive who knew people who fought in the Civil War, and they knew people who lived during the era of Independence. America is a country that was literally fought for by white settlers and built by immigrant labor, not all if it voluntarily.

It IS young, which means it is growing up with the sentiments of its youth, including Rights enshrined and fought over on the cusp of the Victorian era. When said like that, it doesn’t seem that long ago that these ideas became foundational, does it?

Yes, things change, but these are the foundational ideas of a young nation that still holds large swaths of land as wild, lawless, even. Get West of the Mississippi and gun ownership rises dramatically. Head South of the Mason-Dixon Line and the mentality on the need to protect oneself and one’s land from tyranny rises dramatically.

For many, this is still a frontier country. For others, the large urban areas are less “frontier” and more “Wild Wild West!”

As I’ve said before, and others have said far more eloquently and repeatedly, if shooting Presidents and children isn’t going to change 2A, nothing will…and that was even before we had a nation so deeply divided by race, ideology, and a partisan political divide aided and funded (for their own aims) by deep pockets.

Citizens are fed shit and kept in the dark about what really goes on, by whom, for whose benefit. When you set out to grow mushrooms, what can you expect from those people?!

Good luck to us all.
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When I lived there too I went through the same adjustment but I was lucky being near Boston so guns weren't a big deal. But drive even 50 miles west past route 146 and you might as well have gone back 50 years.

I'm glad I left. And mostly it was because there was no way I was going to raise a child there (as much as I love my family in Mass - growing up in Ireland is miles safer, richer, healthier, better.)
 
ChicagoBlue said:
Like you, hate to say it, but…

‘Twas always thus.

When I first arrived, and for many years thereafter (as I was living on a college campus is a small town in the country), I had a very similar view to almost every non-American on here.

Then, I got married and we moved to the Big Smoke that is Chicago for our jobs. Life changed. The daily news changed. But, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it is now.

I began to listen, read, and watch a lot more about American politics, because it was clear I was staying. I became a citizen and started voting.

America is not just a country, it is a mindset…an idea…some here would say an ideal. I’m sure many of you laugh at that notion.

However, Americans laugh at Brits, too! “A monarchy? Are you fucking kidding me? We escaped that shit centuries ago, yet you literally BOW to fucking King Charles?!”

They also look at the levels of petty crime, especially burglary, and simply say, “I am not going to be that victim! I will live free or die trying.” It’s no coincidence that “Live free or die” is a state motto!

View attachment 73465

This sentiment is a FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE of American life.

Some here talk of America’s youth and immaturity as a nation. It’s true. However, that means that people are still alive who knew people who fought in the Civil War, and they knew people who lived during the era of Independence. America is a country that was literally fought for by white settlers and built by immigrant labor, not all if it voluntarily.

It IS young, which means it is growing up with the sentiments of its youth, including Rights enshrined and fought over on the cusp of the Victorian era. When said like that, it doesn’t seem that long ago that these ideas became foundational, does it?

Yes, things change, but these are the foundational ideas of a young nation that still holds large swaths of land as wild, lawless, even. Get West of the Mississippi and gun ownership rises dramatically. Head South of the Mason-Dixon Line and the mentality on the need to protect oneself and one’s land from tyranny rises dramatically.

For many, this is still a frontier country. For others, the large urban areas are less “frontier” and more “Wild Wild West!”

As I’ve said before, and others have said far more eloquently and repeatedly, if shooting Presidents and children isn’t going to change 2A, nothing will…and that was even before we had a nation so deeply divided by race, ideology, and a partisan political divide aided and funded (for their own aims) by deep pockets.

Citizens are fed shit and kept in the dark about what really goes on, by whom, for whose benefit. When you set out to grow mushrooms, what can you expect from those people?!

Good luck to us all.
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America is not just a country, it is a mindset

This is the way.
 
Username Required said:
America is not just a country, it is a mindset

This is the way.
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I guess Sting was right. We're all spirits in the material world.

Of course, Sting is a Brit, and not the sharpest tool in the shed, and also periodically an ass(arse)hole.

As my favo(u)rite music critic once wrote about that line, "We're also MATTER in the material world, which is why things get sticky."
 
I guess what it comes down to that this is really a useful history lesson. I imagine, for example, some of the arguments I read here are the same that reasonable, kind, rational slaveholders made.

I don't mistreat my slaves in the least, they want for nothing. And I am appalled and angered by those that do. They should be prosecuted and punished.

After all, while the Constitution is a bit fuzzy on the topic, given the 3/5ths compromise, the prohibition on outlawing the slave trade, and the fugitive slave clause, slavery is certainly protected. And with 60% of the nation's GDP dependent on it, there's really nothing we can do to change anything without incredible risk and national disruption.

Plus I enjoy the costless labo(u)r they provide which allow me to supply Manchester's mills with incredibly cheap cotton to maintain my market share. This allows me to live my best life in comfort and security. That's the American ideal, after all.

Of course if the abolitionists have it right and the laws change, I'll give up my slaves, because I'm no criminal. But until they do, I will live my life as I'm allowed, and since they won't, given the huge national division on the issue, I am free to offer my views about how to make the situation better while there are no negative repercussions for me. Nor will I admit that my demand for the product in question is part of the problem -- and the only truly controllable part of the problem.

After all, my slaves are just a drop in the ocean of slaves. If I set them free, my lifestyle is harmed but the situation remains unsolved. My action would mean nothing.

So I'll stand pat with the staus quo, thank you.

Oh well.

No, I'm not equating gun ownership with slavery. No, I'm not suggesting gun owners are racist. I am drawing connections between parallel threads of logic. That's all. Yes, I'm aware the comparison isn't perfect. No, I'm not suggesting ipso facto.
 
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Genuinely not sure if this guy is a parody account but his name and comments have reached UK Twitter and 'Keith Arsewank' is currently the top trending topic here. Well worth a read through some of the comments if you're on there.

 
Bluemoon dan said:
Genuinely not sure if this guy is a parody account but his name and comments have reached UK Twitter and 'Keith Arsewank' is currently the top trending topic here. Well worth a read through some of the comments if you're on there.

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Not a parody, he's ran for Congress a couple of times.
 
Blue and true said:
There are around 120 guns per 100 households in the US. There are around 4 per 100 households in the UK. There are more mass shootings in the US than anywhere else. Go figure. It's a blindingly obvious correlation.

That's the difference. More guns. More children murdered. What is it you're not seeing?
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I can see fine........I'm just not blind.

"More guns. More children murdered."...........Emotional hogwash!!


OK, if we are to use your 'blindingly obvious correlation'.

The US has 120 guns per 100 people.
Canada has 34 guns per 100 people.

Therefore Canada should have 71% less mass shootings than the US.

France and Germany, two countries with less guns in the community than Canada, both have more mass shootings against their names than the Great White North.


The number of guns clearly do not correlate with the number of mass shootings as shown above.


The one thing all of these countries with low mass shootings have in common, which the US doesn't, is gun control and regulation.

I think it was Domalino that pointed out that all of the school shootings were conducted using an AR-15, so that would be a start. There is no real reason for somebody to own a military weapon. They can be used for hunting, but there are better guns more suited to the job, so I can't see any other reason.

If you have a system where any Tom, Dick or Harry can walk into Walmart and buy a gun, then that doesn't appear to be a very responsible thing to allow. That would be another step.

Storage. These weapons shouldn't be stood in the corner of a room or in the kitchen drawer, accessible to anybody, so having them stored in a safe and secure location would be an improvement.

None of these regulations would stop any ordinary person, just like those that live in Canada, UK or Germany from buying firearms for use in hunting, vermin control or target shooting etc, but it would bring in some sort of control, something lacking at present.

It works in many, many countries throughout the world, so why not (not accounting for politicians, rednecks and paranoia) the US?
 
Slipper One said:
I can see fine........I'm just not blind.

"More guns. More children murdered."...........Emotional hogwash!!


OK, if we are to use your 'blindingly obvious correlation'.

The US has 120 guns per 100 people.
Canada has 34 guns per 100 people.

Therefore Canada should have 71% less mass shootings than the US.

France and Germany, two countries with less guns in the community than Canada, both have more mass shootings against their names than the Great White North.


The number of guns clearly do not correlate with the number of mass shootings as shown above.


The one thing all of these countries with low mass shootings have in common, which the US doesn't, is gun control and regulation.

I think it was Domalino that pointed out that all of the school shootings were conducted using an AR-15, so that would be a start. There is no real reason for somebody to own a military weapon. They can be used for hunting, but there are better guns more suited to the job, so I can't see any other reason.

If you have a system where any Tom, Dick or Harry can walk into Walmart and buy a gun, then that doesn't appear to be a very responsible thing to allow. That would be another step.

Storage. These weapons shouldn't be stood in the corner of a room or in the kitchen drawer, accessible to anybody, so having them stored in a safe and secure location would be an improvement.

None of these regulations would stop any ordinary person, just like those that live in Canada, UK or Germany from buying firearms for use in hunting, vermin control or target shooting etc, but it would bring in some sort of control, something lacking at present.

It works in many, many countries throughout the world, so why not (not accounting for politicians, rednecks and paranoia) the US?
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But people "enjoy" owning military weapons, as you do your guns -- and you said so. I think you called one "beautiful." So why do you get to own the weapon you "enjoy" but they don't?

My ex-Marine buddy mows down agriculture-destroying wild pigs in Texas with an AR-15 from a helicopter, just as you mow down pest animals with your weapons. At least he's protecting the food supply that will serve me and my family via commercialism instead of protecting just his own vegetable patch.

And the problem with your last sentence is that in order for change to happen we MUST account for politicans, rednecks and paranoia. We can't ignore them.

Again -- all of what you suggest makes sense in theory. And I agree. And where politics doesn't object, it works in some states. It just doesn't in practice nationally.

Let's go from theory to practice.

In practice, responsible gunowners can get rid of existing guns and stop buying new ones. No new laws. Just a simple act of self-denial. If such action catches fire, demand for firearms drops like a stone. The gun lobby weakens in power dramatically. Then the objections to regulation weaken, just as what happened with tobacco. Then product usage drops. And so on.

If the ones who can act, who are the most rational and calm and loigical, DO act, this problem can begin to solve itself. If THEY won't, IT won't.

The parable of Jesus and the rich man goes through my head a lot.
 
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TonyM said:
When I lived there too I went through the same adjustment but I was lucky being near Boston so guns weren't a big deal. But drive even 50 miles west past route 146 and you might as well have gone back 50 years.

I'm glad I left. And mostly it was because there was no way I was going to raise a child there (as much as I love my family in Mass - growing up in Ireland is miles safer, richer, healthier, better.)
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Well done! I wish it was that easy for me.
 
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