Somehow defining this recent act of violence in San Bernardino will tell us what level of fear to feel. If it was just Joe Blow gunning down some workplace bullies, well, no big deal. But if this is somehow an act of violence created by radicalized local Muslims, well, you better be more afraid. ......... Hmm
Homegrown mass killings happen about every 2 weeks in this country. No other tier one country even comes close. Almost all in recent years are disgruntled citizens with excuses not tied to Islam. We have become numb to them. We have accepted them as part of our American culture. I am sure if I asked anyone they would not agree with that statement. Collectively though, it seems we have. Now use the word "Terrorism" and suddenly the violence is worse. ............... Tell that to the families of the victims of any kind of senseless violence.
Senseless violence has escalated in the USA. I have been trying to get my mind around the why for many years now. I think it was the Oklahoma bombing that slapped me out of my complacent mindset. It was that heinous act that made me realize that no country harbors more wackos than our country does. And to be more concerned about imported violence from outside our borders than the violent acts planned and executed by our own citizens was foolish.
Instead of trying to find a comfortable definition for our violent ways, maybe we should try to figure out why our citizens are so prone to using violence to make a point.
Later .............................................
8 comments:
I've never used it to make a point.
BBC - No, neither have I. But it would appear that violence is being used more than ever before to express oneself in this country.
Well, I've been here for 72 years and it's always been one thing or another so I just more or less ignore most of it, it's just news is all.
Your depressing once a week reference is actually wrong. If a mass killing is defined as 4 or more people getting shot by someone they don't know, it's actually more than once a day. We've become a culture where way too many people think the solution to everything -- an annoying neighbor, a bad day at work, whatever -- is to go out and start shooting at anything and anyone who irritates you.
Nan, I was regurgitating information gleaned from a recent newscast. Regardless, my point about terror and what or who causes it remains. We are more likely to suffer the effects of homegrown apolitical violence here in the States than imported kind.
And actually the stat I had heard was at least one mass killing event every two weeks, not one. Something tells me you and I share a mutual disgust with our fellow citizens and their quick use of violence to resolve perceived wrongs.
There has been a cultural change sometimes in the last fifty years that has brought us to this level of violence. There are a lot of different conditions that add to the problem; but basically it has become the culture of this nation - this is who we are.
the Ol'Buzzard
Ol'Buzzard - I would agree that violence is part of our culture, but then I would say, violence is an integral part of the culture of our species. Humans are violent. The historical evidence is blaring.
Reading Westerns helped me to understand a bit of this. Why it has become even worse today than 150 years ago is beyond me but the attitude of the good man with a gun stopping a bad man with a gun is right out of Zane Grey and Ernest Haycox
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