this is unfortunately the sad reality of the world we live in today. My church has already had ALICE training (what to do in the event of a mass shooter) for several members of the congregation, and we’ve been trying to figure out how to hold a drill for the rest of the congregation. I only wish it wasn’t necessary.
New book out on mass shootings, defined as shootings of 4 people or more by one person.
Number of shootings by decade:
1950s: 1 1960s: 6 1970s: 13 1980s: 32 1990s: 42 And the FBI reports that the 2010s are on pace to blow away all previous records for mass shootings.
Get the idea? There were LOTS of handguns around in the 1950s. In fact, the percentage of homes that owned guns in the 1950s was higher than today. It ain’t guns, folks, something has broken down in society. Let’s see . . . fewer two parent families, fewer people who go to church, more people living alone, more people who hate America, more violence in the media by far, more glorification of gun violence in movies and in video games, more depression, more loneliness.
And the only solution from the left: take away guns. Good luck with that plan. You can kill people with a pressure cooker, fertilizer, construction explosives, knives, poisons . . .
craig, my church hires off duty policemen to guard our service every week. They are there from 8-12 each Sunday. I go up to them and shake their hand and tell them for their service.
By the way, liberals think they can create gun free zones to prevent shootings. From what I have observed, most shootings are in gun free zones since the Perps know people cannot protect themselves.
Why don’t you run for public office under the Republican Party? God knows you’d belong, with your seemingly one-track mind, bemoaning the state of the world due to ‘liberals’.
My guess is that taking away guns is not the left’s only position to prevent these shootings but removing guns is a tangible task that, in some peoples minds, is the low hanging fruit compared to some of the other things you stated. Craig, all the reasons you gave make so much sense and there’d be quite another debate on how to solve some of these problems. I doubt the mental condition of this last shooter was on anybody’s radar based on the early reports I’ve read. I don’t know why people are so angry when as a nation we all have so much to be thankful for. Yes, we have poor people in this country but nothing like what the poor in other countries might endure
Oh, contraire, Mr. Liberal. The vast majority of shooters were either non-political(Baltimore), or registered Democrats or some minority other than white (Aurora, Sandy Hook, Jared Loughner, Virginia Tech, Navy shipyard, DC snipers, Ft. Hood, etc. etc. etc.). In fact, it is hard to find a mass shooter who was an avowed white supremacist. (But truth is not a liberal value; I understand).
And the “more damaging guns” argument is so lame. People in the 1950s had plenty of handguns that held 6 or more rounds. Just like the shooter in Baltimore last week . . . Remember, the threshold for a “mass shooting” is four dead people, meaning you only need 4 bullets. Your argument is simply partisan dishonesty. Which shows how little you really care about the dead.
I never mentioned any political party reference. White nationalism has no political party, but it is telling that you felt the need to defend based on political alignment.
Right. Now you claim that the White Nationalists who are committing all the mass shootings might be Democrats, even though there is zero evidence of that either.
Stop while you are behind. You are embarrassing yourself.
What sentence were you reading from my post that state what you say? I fail to see any of it. Your filters seem askew.
June 4, 2019 at 5:34 pm
Captain Planet says:
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I hear you, Caldude. I agree that some of the symptoms Craig mentions certainly doesn’t help. But, those symptoms are not unique to our country. Japan has far more violent films than we allow here (as one example). Mental health issues do not cease at our borders. Single-parent families are found worldwide. I am not opposed to anyone owning a gun. Or, guns for that matter. But, the availability of weapons of war seems to be an issue. I imagine they are fun to shoot for sport. I personally like the idea of keeping them housed in those places where they can be used as they were intended (any gun range for that matter). It’s obvious we haven’t been able to initiate any solutions here, which leads to more tragedy. Inaction isn’t working and we aren’t going to be able to force people to discovering God or working out marital problems. It’s a real shame we cannot figure this out. These types of shootings will just continue to occur as well as increase as Craig pointed out above. So, being prepared seems to be the only option at the moment, since no one can agree on any real solves.
“No one can agree?” Say WHAT? Nearly everyone agrees that the breakdown of the family has done great societal harm.
If we honestly look at how THAT happened (liberal arguments against the institution of marriage and the importance of men for raising children, the sexual revolution that put personal gain over sacrificing for the family, etc.), then maybe we can reverse engineer marriage into the accepted norm again.
You know, instead of demonizing men as “toxic” and insisting stupidly that men and women are the same, hold up a societal standard that men who don’t take care of their children are shameful.
But liberals don’t believe in “judging” people (except conservatives, I mean). Which is how we got here in the first place.
Mentioning the symptoms doesn’t help?! But restricting gun ownership of LAW ABIDING citizens helps protect them from those who obtain guns illegally or who are mentally disturbed and will not obey laws will help?!
If gun ownership alone is the problem, everyone on Earth would be dead by now.
If mental health issues are not properly handled, or terrorists are not screened / monitored at our borders or inside the US, or criminals are not incarcerated for their crimes, some of those who are mentally ill, or who are criminals or terrorists, may harm others with guns, knives, bombs, pressure cookers, machetes, baseball bats, pipes, ….
For the love of Yogi, reading comprehension. I said they symptoms Craig mentions certainly do not help the situation we are dealing with, gun violence in America. Not sure if you’re trying to twist my words or just didn’t understand them. I am agreeing with Craig about those things. Though, they are not exclusively the issue. The availability to weapons of war cause more havoc than someone with a pipe, or pressure cooker, or bat. See Las Vegas, as one example. Australia just faced one of their most severe shootings in decades. Four people were killed by a pump action shotgun. Had that been a weapon of war, there would have been many more casualties, many more families and friends suffering. Why do nearly all these domestic terrorists choose the same or similar weapons? Easy – they can generate the most casualty, pain, and suffering this way, which in turn, instills the most fear. This is also why they are targeting churches, schools, theaters, and concerts. They want people to be afraid no matter where they go – nowhere is safe. Like The Joker in “The Dark Knight” – some men just want to see the world burn. They want to create a little chaos. And, with the easy access to weapons that can make that happen, they are finding it pretty simple to accomplish that goal.
The type and availability of weapons has declined since the 1950’s (you could still buy fully automatic weapons, didn’t need a waiting period or background check in the 1950’s, and a handgun cost about $20 then)
There is no support for “white nationalism”. There is support for nationalism, and that is good. But nationalism does not support “white nationalism” because our country is built on the belief that everyone is equal, therefore “white nationalism” is anti American, but Nationalism is simply putting the good of all Americans first. That is a good thing, and only bad people are against it.
Our rural church has an armed security team, all either retired LEO’s or CCW holders. We train every 6 months and periodically brief the congregation on what to do, and NOT to do, if a shooter enters. I head the team and conduct CCW classes at the church. We always have two people at the only unlocked door, one for contact with latecomers and one for cover. We also have team members strategically placed inside the sanctuary with assigned fields of fire and assignments. But this is Nevada, where you are still allowed to carry, at least for one more election.
Good for you Ted. Our schools should have a similar approach. We have seen what happens when you have unresponsive law enforcement like the Broward Coward.
Why do liberal cares? Liberals, can you explain it to me? I don’t get it. I certainly don’t care as an Independent. Why does his decision have to be a political one? Did he come out and say something about, “Well, because the way I choose to vote politically, I made a choice that day…”
I feel very safe at church. But that is because I have a CCW and am armed, and I know about 5 other people at church with me that are also armed. Between the 6 of us, I am confident we can stop any threat
What has happened to America? It’s heartbreaking to read people are scared to attend a church service. Regardless of our political differences, there is a serious issue here. Obviously guns will not be banned, and I don’t believe they are the issue anyway. In my mind, the issue is systemic. We have kids growing up with no friends. Sure, they “know” 10k people on Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, but they have no friends. I personally believe this leads to an isolated life where they simply do not care about others as much anymore as they grew up without learning to build/nurture a friendship. So, you have emotional isolationists getting older and not knowing what the world is. What they know of the world they’ve only seen online. God forbid their parents make them go outside for a day…. Social Media isn’t entirely to blame, but the lack of true interaction with people is part of the problem. Put 10 teenagers in a room together. They will sit there and text/email/snap one another all night, but a spoken word isn’t heard often.
Same for the political divide we have in this nation. While I am a Conservative, I have MANY very Liberal friends. You know what? When you sit down and talk, the two sides are not all that different and not on that many issues either. The internet makes it easy to turn a conversation or disagreement into an argument. We are all people and we are all much more similar than we think. The generation growing up now doesn’t have the same interaction with other kids, or adults, that we had. That’s a problem. It seems to me that putting our differences aside and working to solve an issue that is an issue with all of us should be the main goal.
Amen, Smoov! I’ve never seen the country as divided as it’s been in the past 20 years or so…I guarantee that some of the most ardent “enemies” on this board have a lot more in common than they don’t.
Personally, I’m one of those dreaded “moderates” or “independents” that both sides tend to abhor. I’m conservative on some issues, somewhat liberal on others, and libertarian on others. I hang out with people across the political spectrum. I hate politics lately.
absolute best of luck to you! may you continue to succeed in life and be richly blessed in all that you do.
jsmooth,
I can only speak for myself, but all 3 of my daughters have tons of actual friends. They are at our house practically everyday. I realize not all parents are this way, but certainly those in my neighborhood are. All is not lost on that front, keep the faith!
And, yes, most on my block are conservative and we all get along, have beers on the drive, and generally enjoy one another’s company. There are no enemies here. We may have different ways of getting to a solution, but I think most want to solve for the issues we are having. What ever happened to compromise?
this is unfortunately the sad reality of the world we live in today. My church has already had ALICE training (what to do in the event of a mass shooter) for several members of the congregation, and we’ve been trying to figure out how to hold a drill for the rest of the congregation. I only wish it wasn’t necessary.
New book out on mass shootings, defined as shootings of 4 people or more by one person.
Number of shootings by decade:
1950s: 1 1960s: 6 1970s: 13 1980s: 32 1990s: 42 And the FBI reports that the 2010s are on pace to blow away all previous records for mass shootings.
Get the idea? There were LOTS of handguns around in the 1950s. In fact, the percentage of homes that owned guns in the 1950s was higher than today. It ain’t guns, folks, something has broken down in society. Let’s see . . . fewer two parent families, fewer people who go to church, more people living alone, more people who hate America, more violence in the media by far, more glorification of gun violence in movies and in video games, more depression, more loneliness.
And the only solution from the left: take away guns. Good luck with that plan. You can kill people with a pressure cooker, fertilizer, construction explosives, knives, poisons . . .
craig, my church hires off duty policemen to guard our service every week. They are there from 8-12 each Sunday. I go up to them and shake their hand and tell them for their service.
By the way, liberals think they can create gun free zones to prevent shootings. From what I have observed, most shootings are in gun free zones since the Perps know people cannot protect themselves.
“thank them for their service”.
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My guess is that taking away guns is not the left’s only position to prevent these shootings but removing guns is a tangible task that, in some peoples minds, is the low hanging fruit compared to some of the other things you stated. Craig, all the reasons you gave make so much sense and there’d be quite another debate on how to solve some of these problems. I doubt the mental condition of this last shooter was on anybody’s radar based on the early reports I’ve read. I don’t know why people are so angry when as a nation we all have so much to be thankful for. Yes, we have poor people in this country but nothing like what the poor in other countries might endure
What has changed? The type and availability of weapons has changed since the 1950’s and the support of white nationalism is back.
Oh, contraire, Mr. Liberal. The vast majority of shooters were either non-political(Baltimore), or registered Democrats or some minority other than white (Aurora, Sandy Hook, Jared Loughner, Virginia Tech, Navy shipyard, DC snipers, Ft. Hood, etc. etc. etc.). In fact, it is hard to find a mass shooter who was an avowed white supremacist. (But truth is not a liberal value; I understand).
And the “more damaging guns” argument is so lame. People in the 1950s had plenty of handguns that held 6 or more rounds. Just like the shooter in Baltimore last week . . . Remember, the threshold for a “mass shooting” is four dead people, meaning you only need 4 bullets. Your argument is simply partisan dishonesty. Which shows how little you really care about the dead.
CC,
I never mentioned any political party reference. White nationalism has no political party, but it is telling that you felt the need to defend based on political alignment.
Right. Now you claim that the White Nationalists who are committing all the mass shootings might be Democrats, even though there is zero evidence of that either.
Stop while you are behind. You are embarrassing yourself.
CC,
What sentence were you reading from my post that state what you say? I fail to see any of it. Your filters seem askew.
I hear you, Caldude. I agree that some of the symptoms Craig mentions certainly doesn’t help. But, those symptoms are not unique to our country. Japan has far more violent films than we allow here (as one example). Mental health issues do not cease at our borders. Single-parent families are found worldwide. I am not opposed to anyone owning a gun. Or, guns for that matter. But, the availability of weapons of war seems to be an issue. I imagine they are fun to shoot for sport. I personally like the idea of keeping them housed in those places where they can be used as they were intended (any gun range for that matter). It’s obvious we haven’t been able to initiate any solutions here, which leads to more tragedy. Inaction isn’t working and we aren’t going to be able to force people to discovering God or working out marital problems. It’s a real shame we cannot figure this out. These types of shootings will just continue to occur as well as increase as Craig pointed out above. So, being prepared seems to be the only option at the moment, since no one can agree on any real solves.
“No one can agree?” Say WHAT? Nearly everyone agrees that the breakdown of the family has done great societal harm.
If we honestly look at how THAT happened (liberal arguments against the institution of marriage and the importance of men for raising children, the sexual revolution that put personal gain over sacrificing for the family, etc.), then maybe we can reverse engineer marriage into the accepted norm again.
You know, instead of demonizing men as “toxic” and insisting stupidly that men and women are the same, hold up a societal standard that men who don’t take care of their children are shameful.
But liberals don’t believe in “judging” people (except conservatives, I mean). Which is how we got here in the first place.
Mentioning the symptoms doesn’t help?! But restricting gun ownership of LAW ABIDING citizens helps protect them from those who obtain guns illegally or who are mentally disturbed and will not obey laws will help?!
If gun ownership alone is the problem, everyone on Earth would be dead by now.
If mental health issues are not properly handled, or terrorists are not screened / monitored at our borders or inside the US, or criminals are not incarcerated for their crimes, some of those who are mentally ill, or who are criminals or terrorists, may harm others with guns, knives, bombs, pressure cookers, machetes, baseball bats, pipes, ….
For the love of Yogi, reading comprehension. I said they symptoms Craig mentions certainly do not help the situation we are dealing with, gun violence in America. Not sure if you’re trying to twist my words or just didn’t understand them. I am agreeing with Craig about those things. Though, they are not exclusively the issue. The availability to weapons of war cause more havoc than someone with a pipe, or pressure cooker, or bat. See Las Vegas, as one example. Australia just faced one of their most severe shootings in decades. Four people were killed by a pump action shotgun. Had that been a weapon of war, there would have been many more casualties, many more families and friends suffering. Why do nearly all these domestic terrorists choose the same or similar weapons? Easy – they can generate the most casualty, pain, and suffering this way, which in turn, instills the most fear. This is also why they are targeting churches, schools, theaters, and concerts. They want people to be afraid no matter where they go – nowhere is safe. Like The Joker in “The Dark Knight” – some men just want to see the world burn. They want to create a little chaos. And, with the easy access to weapons that can make that happen, they are finding it pretty simple to accomplish that goal.
**the symptoms Craig mentions…
The type and availability of weapons has declined since the 1950’s (you could still buy fully automatic weapons, didn’t need a waiting period or background check in the 1950’s, and a handgun cost about $20 then)
There is no support for “white nationalism”. There is support for nationalism, and that is good. But nationalism does not support “white nationalism” because our country is built on the belief that everyone is equal, therefore “white nationalism” is anti American, but Nationalism is simply putting the good of all Americans first. That is a good thing, and only bad people are against it.
Our rural church has an armed security team, all either retired LEO’s or CCW holders. We train every 6 months and periodically brief the congregation on what to do, and NOT to do, if a shooter enters. I head the team and conduct CCW classes at the church. We always have two people at the only unlocked door, one for contact with latecomers and one for cover. We also have team members strategically placed inside the sanctuary with assigned fields of fire and assignments. But this is Nevada, where you are still allowed to carry, at least for one more election.
Good for you Ted. Our schools should have a similar approach. We have seen what happens when you have unresponsive law enforcement like the Broward Coward.
By the way liberals, the Broward Coward just got indicted on 11 counts. He will be seeing some time.
Why do liberal cares? Liberals, can you explain it to me? I don’t get it. I certainly don’t care as an Independent. Why does his decision have to be a political one? Did he come out and say something about, “Well, because the way I choose to vote politically, I made a choice that day…”
I feel very safe at church. But that is because I have a CCW and am armed, and I know about 5 other people at church with me that are also armed. Between the 6 of us, I am confident we can stop any threat
What has happened to America? It’s heartbreaking to read people are scared to attend a church service. Regardless of our political differences, there is a serious issue here. Obviously guns will not be banned, and I don’t believe they are the issue anyway. In my mind, the issue is systemic. We have kids growing up with no friends. Sure, they “know” 10k people on Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, but they have no friends. I personally believe this leads to an isolated life where they simply do not care about others as much anymore as they grew up without learning to build/nurture a friendship. So, you have emotional isolationists getting older and not knowing what the world is. What they know of the world they’ve only seen online. God forbid their parents make them go outside for a day…. Social Media isn’t entirely to blame, but the lack of true interaction with people is part of the problem. Put 10 teenagers in a room together. They will sit there and text/email/snap one another all night, but a spoken word isn’t heard often.
Same for the political divide we have in this nation. While I am a Conservative, I have MANY very Liberal friends. You know what? When you sit down and talk, the two sides are not all that different and not on that many issues either. The internet makes it easy to turn a conversation or disagreement into an argument. We are all people and we are all much more similar than we think. The generation growing up now doesn’t have the same interaction with other kids, or adults, that we had. That’s a problem. It seems to me that putting our differences aside and working to solve an issue that is an issue with all of us should be the main goal.
Amen, Smoov! I’ve never seen the country as divided as it’s been in the past 20 years or so…I guarantee that some of the most ardent “enemies” on this board have a lot more in common than they don’t.
Personally, I’m one of those dreaded “moderates” or “independents” that both sides tend to abhor. I’m conservative on some issues, somewhat liberal on others, and libertarian on others. I hang out with people across the political spectrum. I hate politics lately.
absolute best of luck to you! may you continue to succeed in life and be richly blessed in all that you do.
jsmooth,
I can only speak for myself, but all 3 of my daughters have tons of actual friends. They are at our house practically everyday. I realize not all parents are this way, but certainly those in my neighborhood are. All is not lost on that front, keep the faith!
And, yes, most on my block are conservative and we all get along, have beers on the drive, and generally enjoy one another’s company. There are no enemies here. We may have different ways of getting to a solution, but I think most want to solve for the issues we are having. What ever happened to compromise?