General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe’re now averaging more than one mass shooting per day in 2015
Aug. 26 is the 238th day of the year. And with the fatal shooting in Virginia today in which a gunman shot himself after killing two reporters and wounding one more person plus the shooting of four during a Minneapolis home invasion, the number of mass shooting incidents has risen to 247 for the year.
These numbers are compiled by the moderators of the GunsAreCool subreddit, a sarcastically named community that tracks gun violence in America. They define "mass shooting" as any single incident in which at least four people are shot, including the gunman. The tracker comes in for some criticism because its definition is broader than the FBI's definition, which requires three or more people to be killed by gunfire. But the broader definition is nonetheless a useful one, because it captures many high-profile instances of violence like the recent Lafayette theater shootings that don't meet the FBI's criteria.
Some gun rights advocates like John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center object that the broader definition includes a lot of gang killings and domestic disputes that the average person wouldn't necessarily consider a "mass shooting." But there's an uncomfortable assumption here that some crime victims' lives should be valued differently or are less worthy of attention than others.
A more expansive definition of "mass shooting" underscores the extent to which firearms make it relatively easy to hurt large numbers of people in a very short time. With a gun, you're able to inflict bodily harm on a person once they're in your line of sight. With something like a knife or your hands, you need to get right up close to a person.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/26/were-now-averaging-more-than-one-mass-shooting-per-day-in-2015/
Don Lemon
(21 posts)Don't you know that my rights to have guns trump your rights to walk the street in safety? Go Murica!
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)if the NRA decides to do a Shooting Per Day in the U.S.A. calendar how do they choose? So many variables: white vs. black shooter; white vs. black victims; a few victims vs. multiple; sane vs. insane ([sic] of course they're all insane); handguns vs. semiautomatics....
seveneyes
(4,631 posts)Just try and undefend the defended, see where that leads ...
Don Lemon
(21 posts)It's not like other nations have a microscopic violent crime rate AND sane gun laws...no only your delusional fantasy of guns as the only solution is the way. Yay America, the only so called civilized nation on earth that can't figure this one out.
Response to Don Lemon (Reply #4)
Post removed
Don Lemon
(21 posts)What do you think, you live in a bad TV movie? Do people need guns in Japan? Do people need guns in Denmark? Only America has this problem, and you live in your deluded fantasy macho man bubble. This is why nothing will ever get done, because of people like you.
Response to Don Lemon (Reply #6)
Post removed
Don Lemon
(21 posts)You're OK with the fact that you killed people?
Seek counseling.
seveneyes
(4,631 posts)I'd suggest nobody defend the sick mother fucker.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)Why keep that light under a bushel? (biblical reference)
seveneyes
(4,631 posts)You wanna come and defend the dumb mother fucker?
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)Don Lemon
(21 posts)Got it. You don't want to do anything to actually address the problem. All you give a fuck about is revenge. All you give a fuck about is your guns. All you give a fuck about is that he's dead and won't be able to kill anybody ELSE, after the fact. Fuck preventative measures, this is America, goddamnit. Bloodlust and violence all the way, baby.
seveneyes
(4,631 posts)Meet me here ...
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)An issue with expanding the definition of "mass shooting" is that it lumps together crimes that have very, very different motivations, are committed (in the main) by very different groups, etc. Why does that matter? Because categories of crime with such different characteristics will usually call for different approaches to reducing their frequency. The article points out that some crimes not counted by the FBI's long-standing criteria really should be...but this number will be dwarfed by the number of crimes mistakenly lumped together.
Of course, this re-definition of "mass shooting" does make it look like mass shootings are increasing...which under the previous definition, they are actually not. Fear sells...
moondust
(19,990 posts)You know everybody wants to adopt the American way of life so what gives? Shouldn't Americans be teaching everybody how to lock and load? Especially those sissy countries that have stupid anti-gun laws? What's wrong with them?
Old Crow
(2,212 posts)... that the U.S. needs a new cable channel: THE MASS SHOOTING CHANNEL (or TMSC).
TMSC would feature the following regular segments:
1. "The Scope: A Focus on Today's Mass Shooting"
2. "Behind the Trigger: Shooter Profiles"
3. "Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Victim Profiles"
4. "Tactical Talk: A Look at Guns and Ammo"
5. "Duck and Cover: How to Avoid Getting Shot"
These five segments would rotate throughout the hour, interspersed with messages from Wayne LaPierre reminding viewers that "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun" and for advertisements from gun manufacturers, gun ranges, gun shows, and gun shops. Since we're averaging one mass shooting a day, you'd never run out of material.
I'm sure there'd be a lot of money in it.
moondust
(19,990 posts)Emmy material! Got my DVR ready!
olddots
(10,237 posts)in the Barnes & Noble magazine racks and as you know they ate the only game in town so people are accepting this shit as if it was normal or correct or not insane .