Current Events > Is the problem the guns or something else?

(+) Yeah! (+)

In many cases it's something else, and then easy access to guns designed to take out large numbers of humans quickly.

It's them demonic cow hybrids from another dimension

The guns are only 1 factor among many, they're all problems.

Mental health

Mental health is generally a scapegoat because it's either:

1. Tautological (this person is clearly mentally ill because why would a sane person shoot a bunch of people)
2. There are legitimate signs of mental illness but not anything that anyone is comfortable with the state doing anything about (see for example the guy who attacked an abortion clinic in Colorado who clearly seemed not sane, but if you look at the "warning signs" it was just being a conservative)

Obviously the reasoning behind it is mental illness but the continued cyclical nature of the issue is due entirely to the media creating heroes out of these people and continuing to tell frustrated, mentally ill people exactly how they can get their "message" across and how to take out their feelings. The news is writing the playbook on mass shootings in order to make a buck off of popular stories. But no one even wants to pretend like that's an issue.

It's not just the guns, it's the whole culture around guns. Their status as magical freedom totems.

Guns, mental health, right wing propaganda riling people up into a frenzy...

Mostly the guns.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


electricbugs2 posted...

Mental health

Japan has issues with mental health, but doesnt have mass shootings. Its the guns.

Every country has mentally ill people, but only the US has so many mass shootings. It is 100% a gun problem. Period.

Anteaterking posted...

Mental health is generally a scapegoat because it's either:
1. Tautological (this person is clearly mentally ill because why would a sane person shoot a bunch of people)
2. There are legitimate signs of mental illness but not anything that anyone is comfortable with the state doing anything about (see for example the guy who attacked an abortion clinic in Colorado who clearly seemed not sane, but if you look at the "warning signs" it was just being a conservative)

Agreed, and then even if you can make a legitimate case for "mental health" we have to ask why a person with dire enough mental health issues had unimpeded access to firearms designed to kill large numbers of humans quickly.

I voted guns as the biggest issue but really it's not just one thing. Access to mental health resources is a huge issue as well.

Skankhair posted...

It is 100% a gun problem. Period.

Nah, Czech Republic nixes your argument.

electricbugs2 posted...

Nah, Czech Republic nixes your argument.

No it doesnt. Gun laws in the Czech Republic are orders of magnitude more sane than the U.S.

It's 100% guns. You Americans are fucking insane with your gun worship.

Skankhair posted...

No it doesnt. Gun laws in the Czech Republic are orders of magnitude more sane than the U.S.

Sure, but it's the only country that has gun laws that are even close to similar, and yet they don't have the same issues.

electricbugs2 posted...

Nah, Czech Republic nixes your argument.

The Czech Republic does not have US levels of gun ownership. Health and background checks are mandatory, as is a tough written examination.

More importantly, they do not have gun worship baked into the culture.

So no, it nixes nothing.

electricbugs2 posted...

Sure, but it's the only country that has gun laws that are even close to similar, and yet they don't have the same issues.

But their gun laws arent close or similar. They are orders of magnitude better and more reasonable. That is part of the reason gun they have a fraction of the guns per capita compared to the US. If anything the Czech Republic example proves you wrong and me right.

https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/czech-republic

https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/gun-ownership-by-country/

Guns are the common denominator in all cases, so it's that.

Skankhair posted...

But their gun laws arent close or similar.

K champ.

The guns and the untreated mental health. Honestly we need to solve both those problems.

electricbugs2 posted...

K champ.

The facts dont care about your feelings, sorry. Have fun being wrong

Skankhair posted...

Have fun being wrong

Same to you lil man.

electricbugs2 posted...

Same to you lil man.

Ah, the I know you are but what am I? defense. Such a weird way to lose.

there are all sorts of cultural causes to the problems with violence in america and guns being everywhere exacerbate every single one of them to make it worse, so while they might not be "the" problem they are a very big one that prevent you from addressing any of the others

Every other developed nation doesn't have this problem, and there's a common thread between them that isn't present in the US.

IceCreamOnStero posted...

Every other developed nation doesn't have this problem, and there's a common thread between them that isn't present in the US.

The metric system?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Republicans don't want to solve the mental health crisis as it makes for a good scapegoat every time a shooting happens.

Friends,

the problems is ALL these things. But what is the Easiest to solve. GUNS.

No guns, and no gun deaths. pretty simple math.

Write your congress people, tell them to get serious on gun control.

Read the 2A, it says " well regulated Militia " Back when it was written, we had
muzzle loader guns. Hard to have a mass school shooting with a muzzle loader.

Im for the complete abolishment of guns except for like muskets and shit.

The thing about gun ownership is not the amount, but who and where. There are more guns than people, but less than half the population owns said guns. There are over 20 million AR-15's that we know of in circulation, but a fraction of a fraction of a percent of them are actually used in murders. 2/3 of all gun deaths in the US are suicides, and in some states it's nearly 3/4 of all gun deaths.

There's clearly more to it, and I'm all for exploring venues like enhanced background checks, lawful/fair red flag laws, and safe storage laws, because as depressing as the news feeds get, and as frustrating as the suicide rates are, the overwhelmingly vast majority of guns here are in peaceful hands. And taking them away from the law abiding is only taking them away from the law abiding.

And not to put all the blame in one place but mental health care is a goddamn joke in this country. Depression does not a killer make, but we're suffering.

Guns alone objectively can't be the problem, just like video games aren't the problem. Millions of people own them and somehow manage not to go on shooting sprees. So seemingly, the issue is mental health, but what we really have to ask is what is causing that decline. I think part of it is the wealth disparity and how it's greater than ever. The rich are getting richer at the expense of the lower and middle classes. The financial struggles of the average person create a domino effect that spills into all other areas of their lives. If you're constantly fighting to survive, you have no time for leisure, which in turn, creates an irritable mental state. And these are people who look to politics to find a scapegoat they can blame for all their problems. It all runs a lot deeper than that, but that's pretty much the gist of it.

Glorification of violence in all forms of media that shapes culture. Even as I type this theres an ongoing genocide being cheered on, led by the potus. What does one expect from psycopathy broadcast on such a scale.

ai123 posted...

It's not just the guns, it's the whole culture around guns. Their status as magical freedom totems.

This.

Guns, but moreso accessibility

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Ha ha ha! Look how mad you are!

Extremism in the media is the fueler of a lot of fear, anger, and hate.

Constantly making people feel like they're under attack and have to do something about 'the enemy' that nobody else is seemingly willing to do.

Feed that diet to people who already don't have the best mental health and give them easy access to weaponry and it isn't a surprise that they turn to said weapons to 'correct the problem' they see. Even if their actions won't actually fix anything, they're taking the only course of action they feel they can.

Mix the above with a culture that places more of an importance on ensuring the availability of weapons over the lives of any and everyone and you get modern America.

And it is fueled even harder when following these senseless acts, any attempts to introduce the minimum of regulations results in the same media networks, that are in part or chiefly responsible for these acts, freak out and double down saying 'the enemy is coming for your guns!'

Its a perfect storm that feeds itself.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


not to mention if youre shot by an assault rifle youre much more likely to die vs handgun. Fuck guns. All of them.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

https://youtu.be/xzpndHtdl9A?si=oQPuOSYRLYYcDTOp