US culture of mass killings

[IamSam]

Okay, so it's closer to one hundred and twelve rather than just twelve Catholic Swiss Guards who are afraid of nuns hitting their palms with a ruler.

Still doesn't answer my question about all those non-Catholic Swiss back home with a sophisticated military weapon close to hand in almost every one of those cute little mountain chalets (BTW, not a doubt in my mind that the Swiss being Swiss, have the finest weapons available with all the latest military specifications).

As I recall, there actually has been ONE mass murder in Switzerland in recent times. Some nut case had an on-going dispute with the Swiss government and ended up shooting 70 people to make his point. Don't know if he used a weapon issued by the military or one of his own, but either way he certainly made sure everyone knew about his displeasure.

Still, given all that fire power laying around, if the Swiss were like the Americans, the population of Switzerland should be half of what it actually now is.

So what makes Americans a nation of mass murderers and the Swiss a nation of neutral eldelweiss pickers?

[sexobon]

The Swiss expend massive quantities of ammunition redirecting their anger into putting holes in their cheese.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Nirvana

I agree with you Rhianne its the old mentality of who can piss higher on the tree, my gun is bigger than yours> penis envy

Hmm, penis envy. You may be on to something, the Newtown shooter murderer, used guns that belonged to his mother who was an enthusiast. Maybe she was envious.

Originally Posted by ZenGum

The media's fascination with these events is another factor. For the mentally ill, the saturation coverage of events like these soaks in and makes it seem like a normal or reasonable act. I wish I had saved it to share here, but I recently saw an infographic of the shooters of the last dozen or so mass shootings. Each shooter had a little box with name, date, types and legality of weapons and number of victims. They looked like baseball cards. The shooters were listed, not by name or date, but by number of kills.
What better to motivate some insignificant-feeling psycho to try to top the list?

The press has a lot to do with it. It’s been proven mass shootings will get lots of coverage. And school shootings work especially well, remember the Beslan school siege? That was one of the few stories from Eastern Europe that made headlines around the world.
The media will make you a star, man, everybody will know your name, know your face, you’ll be remembered forever, like Jesse James and Black Bart. woot! woot!

And yes, culture. Think of all the wild west folklore, the western movies, where one or a few "good guys" with guns defy and defeat a bunch of crooked land barons/ rustlers / outlaws / corrupt officials etc. There are so many cases where this happens. After a few hundred such movies, the idea is unconsciously absorbed that, if you're repressed and downtrodden and the system won't help or is in fact the problem itself, armed defiance is the correct response.

That period in our history being depicted (inaccurately) in hundreds of movies, only lasted about 25 years, too. But it still makes money.

tw, using inaccurate terms to elicit an emotional response is shameful. tsk tsk
Not "assault rifle", large magazine rifle.

[DanaC]

I think these adverts says a lot:

[Spexxvet]

Why can Canadians be exposed to the same violent media and games, and have access to guns, manage to stop themselves from mass shootings?

[DanaC]

Things are changing in the UK, but mostly guns are a kind of exotic, American addition to some of the inner city gangs. There's always been a few sawnoff shotguns about used in armed robberies and the like, but the weapon of choice for your average criminal/gang member/psycho tends to be a blade of some sort.

Now that's partly because guns are much harder to get, and carry much harsher penalties. It's also a lot easier to quick ditch a blade than a gun, I would imagine. But there's also a different relationship with blades. I know people who fetishise swords and switchblades. And the amount of smalltime wannabe drug dealers with machetes or knock off samurai swords is pretty high.

They're much more embedded in our culture. Or they were. These days the proliferation of US tv shows where guns seem ubiquitous may be changing those relationships. As indeed the decades of conflict and 'terror'.



[eta] there's also the country/hunting set of course. But they're not the same as US country folk :p

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Why can Canadians be exposed to the same violent media and games, and have access to guns, manage to stop themselves from mass shootings?

Lower population numbers and density, slightly more homogenous politically, actual respect for political / lifestyle differences, decent education system, can't leave house due to snow drifts...?

[DanaC]

....can't leave house due to snowdrifts *snorts*

[xoxoxoBruce]

And a lot of french that throw their guns away.

[infinite monkey]

Does anyone think that the media coverage of Sandusky and Savile will cause more people to molest children?

[Griff]

.

[Spexxvet]

anus - LOL

[orthodoc]

Originally Posted by Griff

Lower population numbers and density, slightly more homogenous politically, actual respect for political / lifestyle differences, decent education system, can't leave house due to snow drifts...?

Access to handguns is more difficult. I had no trouble getting a firearms acquisition certificate twenty years ago but there was a five-day wait. Of course, there were no online databases; I don't know what the regs are now. But there have been mass shootings in Canada - especially the Montreal shooting. One-tenth the populations, one-tenth the number of shootings ... I suspect Canada isn't so very different. And believe me, respect for political differences doesn't exist. Elementary and high school education in Ontario, at least, sucks. University and professional schools are very good to excellent. That will change the longer the lower levels continue to fall below mediocrity.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

Does anyone think that the media coverage of Sandusky and Savile will cause more people to molest children?

Yes.

[IamSam]

Originally Posted by sexobon

The Swiss expend massive quantities of ammunition redirecting their anger into putting holes in their cheese.

*snort*