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Six dead in mall shooting

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by mannheimadler, Feb 13, 2007.

  1. andyouare?

    andyouare? Guest

    I know this is getting a bit off topic (What? That never happens!), but I read an essay by this guy that wondered the same thing. He wrote a book called "Overblown". Here's a link to Amazon for the book:
    http://www.amazon.com/Overblown-Politicians-Terrorism-Industry-National/dp/1416541713

    Here's the summary:
    Why have there been no terrorist attacks in the United States since 9/11? It is ridiculously easy for a single person with a bomb-filled backpack, or a single explosives-laden automobile, to launch an attack. So why hasn't it happened? The answer is surely not the Department of Homeland Security, which cannot stop terrorists from entering the country, legally or otherwise. It is surely not the Iraq war, which has stoked the hatred of Muslim extremists around the world and wasted many thousands of lives. Terrorist attacks have been regular events for many years -- usually killing handfuls of people, occasionally more than that.

    Is it possible that there is a simple explanation for the peaceful American homefront? Is it possible that there are no al-Qaeda terrorists here? Is it possible that the war on terror has been a radical overreaction to a rare event? Consider: 80,000 Arab and Muslim immigrants have been subjected to fingerprinting and registration, and more than 5,000 foreign nationals have been imprisoned -- yet there has not been a single conviction for a terrorist crime in America. A handful of plots -- some deadly, some intercepted -- have plagued Europe and elsewhere, and even so, the death toll has been modest...

    ...It is time to consider the hypothesis that dare not speak its name: we have wildly overreacted. Terrorism has been used by murderous groups for many decades, yet even including 9/11, the odds of an American being killed by international terrorism are microscopic. In general, international terrorism doesn't do much damage when considered in almost any reasonable context.
     
  2. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    That's Ammurica... and we don't lahk us no Dixie Chicks, either
     
  3. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Interesting point, Ace. It's odd, maybe because I haven't been involved in gun debates before, but I've never heard that point mentioned. And while some of these nations are most certainly different from us in terms of social issues, culture, etc., you're right...they have stricter gun control laws but they're not totalitarian regimes.
     
  4. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    A. Remind to stay as far away from your state as possible if any luncaic (and I don't mean you, Crimson) can own a gun.
    B. Why the hell does anyone need to carry a concealed weapon in public? Resigtered or not, carrying a weapon in public other than to go hunting (and even then, I'd enact some very strict laws) should be a criminal offense.
     
  5. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    But the topic was a total ban on guns. If you don't have an extremely strong governmental influence, then how does the ban get enforced? By arresting people who brandish guns in public? Who use them in a crime? The former is already illegal, and as far as the latter goes, if someone's of a mind to commit a gun-related crime, they're already committed to breaking the law. The fact that the weapon they're using is illegal probably won't dissuade them.

    The other thing is most countries have long since had those types of laws. What we're talking about is implementing those laws in a country that has had relatively free access to guns forever. Which means to effectively "ban" them, you need to have an extremely significant governmental presense, or you enforce it in such a way that it doesn't really make that much of an impact (the drunk driving example isn't a perfect analogy, because people generally don't set out to get drunk and drive, but at some point you make a decision to use a gun in a crime).

    The only thing you might accomplish with a total ban is a reduction in heat-of-the-moment shootings. Except that you'd probably have a rise in heat-of-the-moment stabbings and bludgeonings that's close to commiserate.
     
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Sorry. You ain't going into a school or a mall with a knife and take out a half-dozen people in this day and age.
     
  7. jboy

    jboy Guest

    Not to pile on, but I think it's a lot harder to kill somebody with a knife and/or bludgeoning, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.

    Get pissed. Get a gun. Pull the trigger. Dead. It can happen in a few seconds. God knows I'd be tempted to let a few rounds off if I had a gun during my daily commute.

    And I'll say this: I've never heard of a drive-by stabbing.
     
  8. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    A shooting rampage is premeditated, even if shortly before the act. Do you believe the person who held that gun would willingly give it up if it were banned? If someone's going into a school or mall with a gun, you're not going to keep them from doing it by banning guns -- unless you go the totalitarian route and go into every nook and cranny of every noun in America to get them.
     
  9. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    How many drive-by shooters do you think will stop having guns if they're banned?
     
  10. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Gun store salesman: "There's a five-day waiting period on the handgun."
    Homer: "FIVE DAYS? But I'm angry NOW!" ;D
     
  11. Montezuma's Revenge

    Montezuma's Revenge Active Member

    Because it's full of ... fucking Americans? :)
     
  12. wickedwritah

    wickedwritah Guest

    I've heard bouncers say they'd rather see a dude pull out lead and not a knife.

    With a gun, you can try to duck when it's fired, maybe it jams, maybe it misfires. If a dude comes after you with a knife, obviously something that's also easier to conceal, you've got little chance.
     
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