Violence in American Society

theseldomscene · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 7817

.....this conversation reminds me of the time a guy i knew shot himself in the leg in my car while we were riding down the highway...we were pretty buzzed and he had been playing with 22 target pistol, built according to the old luger design...anyway he kept pulling the hammer back and dry firing playing around which irritated me because of the constant snapping sound for one plus i told him you weren't supposed to play with guns and on top of that the unnecssary pulling of the hammer wears the spring ...he didn't listen...and we pulled up in another guys yard to buy some bootleg gin or something of that sort and my friend loaded a round in the chamber and place the pistol in the glove box...after we got all our goodies for the rest of the evening we got in the car and headed to the party spot...about a mile up the road he pulls the pistol out has it pointing down and pulls back the hammer and i remembered he had loaded it but before i could speak...BANG...the windows were up so it was momentarily deafening...and the next sound i heard was this high pitched squeel from the guy whose eyes were as big as saucers at this point...

we stopped and surveyed the damage for a second...the bullet didn't hit any bones and made a clean entrance and exit through the left calve and coming out the side of his cowboy boot...i wanted to take him to the hospital and the injury deserved it but he would not allow it...he poured peroxide through the hole and squelled again... Laughing

...i found the mashed bullet under the floor board carpet and padding...

later that day i found out from him the reason he could not go to the hospital was because he stole the gun and it was reported to the police that it was taken and the owners had copies of the serial number... Laughing

lone-traveler · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 5:41 pm Post subject:

the good ole days huh tss??... Laughing

theseldomscene · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 7817

...

"the good ol' days weren't all that good"...billy joel... Laughing

lone-traveler · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:14 pm Post subject:

well, that's because we were children then.. Wink

Pondering · Lion King Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Posts: 1273

Pondering · Lion King Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Posts: 1273

P1234567890 · Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:38 am Post subject:

Pondering · Lion King Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Posts: 1273

Pondering · Lion King Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Posts: 1273

Let's use the VT killer as an example...as an editorial comment, I won't use his name as that humanizes him and , as a monster, I choose not to do that. "Good Guys" like Professor Liviu Librescu deserve name recognition..."Bad Guys" like the shooter deserve demonizing tags. That's one way to provide positive models as "favorable" and negative models as "non-favorable"....end editorial.

Ok...so, the VT killer:
- had stalked two women,
- took cameras of girls legs under his desk in class
- set a fire in his room,
- wrote morbid and violent plays and poems,
- had been expelled from one class,
- had been declared by a judge to be "mentally ill"
- avoided as much direct human interaction, even when his suite mates "reached out" to him

finally acts upon his murderous ideations and reaks havoc against peaceable people he had more than a reasonable chance to believe would be unarmeed.

Afterwards, the school psychologists and other officials say:

- the murderer was "troubled";
- he clearly had "issues";
- it would have been good if someone had "reached out"; - it's too bad America doesn't have better "support services."

??? People did reach out...one professor even taking what is really an extreme step for academia and calling the cops on him...Can anyone describe was better "support services" we're talking about here? "support services" are voluntary centers...you come to them....Authority is what steps in and says "You come here"... Rolling Eyes

The officials decried "the lack of a government "safety net." ???? What in the wide wide world of sports does that mean ???? Does anyone think that orphanages are a better solution to child rearing? It's better than leaving a child in a dangerous home, but I don't think anyone would call it "good"....but that's an example of a government "safety net"....

... and inadequate "funding for mental health services in the United States." Unless that funding comes with the willingness and authority to lock up nutcases...more $$$ doesn't help!

AAAGGGHH!!!

P#s solution is that if we keep the guns out of the hands of 299 million Americans that AREN'T psychopaths..we can avoid this....but does nothing to address the MURDERERS!!!!! who...consistently fit the profile of the VT killer!

I know...lets ban being a psychopath! That'll fix 'em Wink

P1234567890 · Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject:

P1234567890 · Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:16 pm Post subject:

Pondering · Lion King Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Posts: 1273

P1234567890 · Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:25 pm Post subject:

Wow, I wouldn't want to live in Baltimore...

But to answer your question, single incidents where a shooter goes crazy and kills dozens is much more dramatic than a few gang bangers and drug dealers getting killed every few days at a steady pace.

It's more of a 'story', and the news media knows how to capitalize on it. I happen to agree with you that the gun crime rates in inner cities is a MUCH bigger story.