it’s curious how mental illness, lack of family values, fatherless families, and whatever, cause mass shootings in the United States alone.
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I don’t see those working as causes either.
The U.S. spends more per capita on mental health by far than any other country and it has been increasing steadily.
Lack of family values? Compared to other countries? I don’t think so.
The statistics for single parent homes is a bit high in the U.S. (though 14 countries have higher numbers even 41% in Lithuania to our 23%). But I don’t see how a couple percentage higher in single parent homes is going to produce such a massive increase in gun violence compared to other countries. And frankly as someone who grew up in a single parent home I find this unjustified accusation rather insulting.
Want to hear a better theory? Too much wealth. People in other countries are just working harder to make ends meet. We have more time to indulge in resentment and other unhealthy ways of thinking. Is this a good theory? No. Better than mental health, lack of family values, and single parent families however.
What I get from Mitchell’s comment is that must be related to creationism. Sarcasm, of course as correlation does not equal causality, However, the rugged individuality ideal and emphasis on personal freedom associated with some positions does tend to foster an attitude that devalues community and fosters aloneness and despair.
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Perhaps that is an even better theory…
Though perhaps many of these are somewhat interconnected.
But top of my list is an insane indulgence in a personal right to a high kill ratio. We got to make sure if someone wants to go out with mass murder, then they can kill high enough numbers of people as possible.
Not when you can buy ‘semi-automatic’ weapons on the high street. No other culture is that insane.
I think you may have missed Beaglelady’s point entirely, Mitchell. The short comment wasn’t meant as some sort of small treatise on the real causes of mass violence, but instead a pointed, and rightly aimed jab at why those things are so much worse here in the U.S. than anywhere else.
Whatever the cause of distraught and homicidally angry perpetrators may be, they do exist on every continent. But only in this country do we have powerful anti-life political lobbies - with political parties in full and worshipful prostration whose mission is to see to it that all such murderers or prospective murderers should have access to military grade weaponry. That way our body counts here can be in the dozens rather than a mere few individuals. Whatever the rest of the world does - we do it better.
We don’t have to care where the coal comes from. It’s always been there aplenty. All we need is the most efficient steam engine that can choo-choo toward the gates of perdition faster than anybody else’s.
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Oh what could the secret ingredient be since those problems are everywhere? Possibly access to and idolatry of military grade armaments and belief that we are constitutionally charged with deciding individually when our government needs to be renewed with the blood of tyrants (and/or children).[/sarcasm]
'Ya think?
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Apologies then. Missed the sarcasm… see it now.
Redirect to those who do point the finger that way.
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Glad you posted that to underline the irony of
The madness is in the travesty of the Second Amendment of the Constitution by the white supremacist NRA Republican Party.
I realize I’ve been very naughty myself on this front, and yet with my moderator hat on here (and preaching to myself even more than to you), let’s cool the temperature down a bit please on demonizing one particular political party. Blame may be well-deserved where it’s bestowed, don’t get me wrong. Nonetheless, when you’re (we’re) done flipping up the tables in the temple and driving all the animals out, please remember the public forum will go on here, and all are welcome - none of us completely innocent and righteous in the midst of all this stuff.
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How true, Mervin. We have to recognize the shades of gray, and give some grace. Perhaps it is harder to see those shades from across the ocean, so I offer you grace also, Klax. The truth is, neither of our parties has acted to achieve the goals they claim in their re-election rhetoric as they want to keep those issues active to keep their power base worked up.
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