Comments

1
The thing that really makes me fear the future is that even if this terrible event, or one like it, brought about some effective legislation it wouldn't mean a damn thing because very soon 3D printers that can produce working firearms will be widely available. Torrenting an AK will be a reality very soon and this is just the way things are going to be from now on.
2
We live in a psycho nation, where anti social pieces of shit continue to thrive and claim that they have a right to any type of weapon their scared little heart desires. Now our psycho nation wants to arm teachers because only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun. Perhaps more then any other issue this is a clear sign to me that our children's future is not a pretty one. So get used to gun violence and armed unstable people cos we live in America!
3
It's become increasingly clear to me that it's time for us to have a serious conversation about the culture of violence in our society. It's not about banning video games or censoring media -- it's about discussing WHY we turn to realistic depictions of violence as entertainment and what it might be doing to us to be so steeped in first-person shooters and 4chan and Tarantino movies and "Criminal Minds".

Look, banning violent media isn't going to do anything. Same with guns (as much as I support strict gun control laws). All we can is take an honest look in the mirror and say, "Why the fuck am I watching this tenth hour of the SVU marathon? What am I getting from making this headshot in CoD?"
4
"For a brief time following Sandy Hook, the horrific deaths of so many people—most of them kindergartners—spurred a debate on gun control as urgent and as heated as any we've ever had."

I don't mean to be all nit-picky, but it was a first grade class that bore the brunt of the attack.
5
Um, as expected. I have an actuarial table around here somewhere which shows the number of deaths to political leadership toward mental health reform; not a pretty picture, and it's only for the barely penetrable public sector. Lord knows what's not happening on the dark side.
6
There is one major thing that sets our country apart from other developed nations that rarely makes it into this conversation but seems like a glaring omission. Many other countries have an appetite for the same violent entertainment that our country does but do not have the same problems with out of control violence. Some European, Scandinavian, and various other countries have very high rates of gun ownership without the corresponding violence that accompanies it in America. What America has that they do not is an extreme cultural militarization with a very large standing military that is almost always active in some capacity or another.

I'm not trying to come down on the individual men and women that become military veterans for whatever reason but more the culture of the military-industrial complex and the psychology it engenders. Not only are a large amount of resources devoted to maintaining military superiority but the rah-rah theme of war as sport and the idea that America will use its military as a political tool to keep the world's villains in check permeates our culture. It seems to subconsciously seep out and act as a catalyst for the erosion of moral society. Combine that with the militarization of law enforcement and the oppression of a greedy ruling class that hordes the resources of a wealthy and productive economy and you have a volatile situation that leads to frequent episodes of senseless violence.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.