If you outlaw guns, then only....

[Pangloss62]

anything that disses someone.

Indeed. I think it's this notion of having felt "dissed" that fuels much of the violence, particularly within urban AA culture. And responding to being "dissed" is elevated to an extreme level. That is why I see so many young Black men here in the ATL wearing Scarface T-shirts. The Scarface character takes on hero status for the way he responded to being dissed ("Say hello to my little friend!!!" ).

Of course, having such a character as a "hero" is very disturbing. In fact, I see so many disturbing things in much of urban AA culture that it makes me feel awkwardly racist. But I can't help noticing.