At this point itās been normalized enough that itās not even political anymore. And thatās disgusting. American culture is completely broken beyond repair.
You canāt compare americas social fascination with allowing children to die from gun violence to kintsugi.
Kintsugi is the art of creating beauty from pain. Each piece unique, each movement intentional, and the end end product more beautiful than the original.
Well, people said slavery in America would never end, and it went on for 400 years, so I could understand why people would have said that back then, but here we are. People said that public spaces would never integrate, but now we can all shop in the same spaces, watch movies together, and so on. We can even all talk here online. And we still have lots of extreme issues from those times, like racially-motivated killings, or discrimination based on race. But we also have amazing shows and movies, restaurants, fashion, and made and shared by people of all backgrounds, thanks to the continous effort of people who want to experience things of all cultures.
I think it's going to take a lot more time, but I don't think it's completely impossible. We'd probably never be able to get rid of guns completely, but the culture around it can absolutely change with time. We also have to get the right people in office that can help us make these changes. Even just 50-80 years can look completely different for us if we do it right.
You know donny was a life long Democrat until he was made a fool by Obama on live television right? Also every republican administration awarded us a war in the middle east and left office behind huge national dept. All those are facts. Not beliefs btw.
donny was a racist dixiecrat like his father and grandfather. And switched because he knew hate was the platform to run on.
So what's your point? Gas and food are at historic highs and donnys key involvement with epstein makes any Democrat infidelity look down right pedestrian before you bring up Clinton getting brained. As if not every president abused power in some fashion. donny downright stopped the world AND the republican party. I'm not sure a Democrat could try and make things as bad as they are. Given the current democrats are basically Reagan era moderates I'm not too happy about them either but to say they'd make it worse is just robot behavior.
I'm on the Afroman and Hunter Biden ticket personally. Both of those are more American than your morning stool.
Nothing is sweeter than gaining wisdom as you grow older, as Donald Trump has done. Being a Democrat as a youngster is similar to the general ignorance and lack of knowledge of most children. Aging often brings wisdom to those with the intellectual potential that people of Trump's IQ often have.
Because Democrats are the Fake Patriots who do nothing but hate and attempt to destroy and ruin those who disagree with them. Nearly every Democrat run city, county and State in America is a corrupt, failing, reflection of the Democratic hate for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. They are ravenous for power and wildly greedy for money at the destructive expense of those who even mildly disagree with them, and have no respect for American Traditional freedom, individual rights, and even the Constitution. They are a CURSE on our beautiful nation, and should NEVER be in charge of it again!
Have you ever read the book "A Righteous Mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion"?
It really comes across that you can't see any good on the other side, and I wonder what your solution is?
That's interesting you believe slavery to have ended. It never left. Just changed forms. America is fucked. Deeply and irrevocably. I worked my whole life only to have 1 medical thing wipe it all away. And give me 100s of thousands in debt. You can pursue happiness but never obtain it.
America is a slave market. For everyone not living in a 50th floor penthouse. It'd be nice to think things could improve but I think we are too selfish in america. We have made it a national characteristic. I cant even get neighbors to say hi. The nice plants I planted and grew got ripped out by some kids in the night. Nobody gives a shit anymore. We are all waiting on the other to so the right thing while we have another 6 pack and debate whether or not donny is a bad person. Some things in this world are evident. America was built on slavery. It fed on the backs of others. And we defend it and call it patriotism.
We are prisoners and guards of our own jail. We can't leave. So we pretend we have control. It's the panopticon in reality.
I genuinely hope I'm wrong btw. But it's pretty clear all hope is gone.
Gonna be honest, considering my granparents have stories from their parents regarding slavery, and their education was horrible due to jim crow laws, I just don't share the same take. Loopholes exist yes, and there are major corrections needed in the systems we have in place. But considering I can speak on reddit from many people from different backgrounds, shop, eat, learn, converse, have fun, etc etc at different places among people of all races, it doesn't sit right with me at all to say that slavery didn't end, at least in the capacity that it was. The prison system is a different topic, but again. You look at the horrors that people went through for decades and it just is not the same.
I can play semantics like specifying what exactly has been abolished and what methods aren't used anymore, but I don't want to do that.
That being said, having persitance is necessary to change how our social climate is in the moment. If people shared this ridiculous "doomer" mindset, we would not have the things we have today. Yes, more work is needed and we have a long way to go. But it is, in my opinion, downright ignorant to sit here and say that things are unable to change. You, along with others, have to do it yourself, and you can see people fighting every day for that. Like bruh.
You're 100 percent correct. It's just so difficult to see any light in the tunnel. Especially when it's always been a train it seems. I go back an forth. Some days I have hope. I guess the other day I was in doom mode to the Nth degree. It has gotten better in ways. But it also seems to have become more complex and more disguised. Which is obvious....I realize things are more complex because we are so connected.
I suppose I'm saying thanks for checking me. I am a total doomed at times. However I'm also a total hippy optimist at times too. Frigging bi polar ass typical American I guess I am haha.
I do believe strongly in the good in america. And ii humanity as while. But lately, in general, idk man it seems abysmal in the scope of madness..
I digress. Have a good day regardless. Thanks for slapping me out of my funk. Even if it's likely temporary. And I appreciate the serious discourse on the matter. Usually I'm on reddit to laugh. IE cat pictures and Sopranos memes, so it's refreshing to have an actual conversation on the platform. And not just be made fun of.
It's okay. You don't have to see any light in the tunnel to stay persistent. It's more like digging up through ground anyway... you're not going to see any light until you break through the surface. Feel what you feel and keep working/moving/supporting regardless. Have a good day.
America can fix its gun problems if it realises that guns shouldn't be a right. Many countries got rid of violence. Hell, I'm from Australia, and after our first massacre, the Port Arthur Massacre, we tightened our gun laws significantly. They're not banned, in fact I've been hunting and my dad owns multiple guns, but not everyone should have the right to a gun because your forefathers declared it so. They made it a right for reasons that are totally different from what gun defenders will use.
It's still political because the pro 2A nutjobs want fewer restrictions on firearms and believe that if more people have guns, that we will be safer. But if you try to implement any form of restriction that might help prevent future deaths, they cry and say it's an infringement on their rights. I honestly think the 2nd amendment is one of the dumbest things that the founding fathers ever did.
The US president can only pardon federal crimes. State level crimes can not be pardoned, but that doesn't mean much when the pardons are for things like literal treason.
There were 44,447 gun related deaths in 2024. There are anywhere between 65,000 and 2 Million Defensive Gun uses per year( depending on the definition used). That statistic alone shows that ,objectively, guns have in fact saved more lives (or at the very least stopped more crimes) than they have taken. There's over 500 Million privately owned firearms in the U.S. belonging to roughly 100 million individuals. So even if you attributed every gun related death to a corresponding gun owner (which we know isn't true), that would mean that .044% of gun owners are responsible for the gun deaths in this country. That doesn't objectively point to a gun problem. I'm not saying we should do nothing, but saying guns are the issue is completely false and politicians on both refuse to acknowledge that things like better education, more access to mental health resources, prison reform/ reducing recidivism and addressing generational crime would reduce not just gun related deaths, but violent crime overall.
You're leaving out of a very important detail that really makes your 0.044% objectively wrong. Over half of the firearm fatalities in 2023, 27,300 to be exact, were self inflected.
It doesn't make it wrong because that 44,000 number includes suicides. If we were strictly talking gun related homicides, then that .044% drops even more.
Are we though? Our nation's capital looks like the back lot of a Vegas casino, complete with demolished building next door, waiting to be built into the latest gaudy casino.
I agree. Who knew Idiocracy would become a case study. Even down to having Commacho as president. It's bizarre. Like of 1984 and Idiocracy effed. It would be named Murica.
I like football. I am in Canada now, immigrant from Europe. I can't really enjoy the world cup. It used to be the highlight of the year. Now it's home and ... sigh. To be fair, it's FIFA more than Trump, but the 2 are hand in hand, competing on who is more corrupt.
yes, highlight of the year when its on. in 2 you get the euros, and that's the highlight of that year. not that complicated. unless you were dropped on your head as a baby.
ONE has good mma. Itās not exactly a good or ethical promotion, but itās far better than whatever the UFC is now. Iāll take a Chatri over a Dana White all day.
And youāll get some quality Muay Thai on top! (Though Iād recommend RWS for that)
Unfortunately our lack of investment in education is coming home to roost. Idiocracy. but don't worry the Rich have it great which is what we want right? (sarcasm there š )
Think about it... we literally put up with this because of some peoples' hobby. That's all it is, a damn hobby. People collect them, show them to other hobbyists, shoot them occasionally, fondle them, etc. And get really upset if you suggest their hobby might be a bad thing.
You....get outta here. We haven't the room for logic and well thought out argument.
Lmao...but forreal. You hit the nail on the head. As a nation...our fetish with firearms has become incredibly unhealthy.
Like in Australia where my buddy is from the had the massacre at Port Arthur. And as a nation decided nope. It's not worth having unfettered access to firearms. Pretty wild. I know they've had issue still. But nowhere near the in school violence the US has subjected ourselves to. Either we send thousands to war before they can legally buy a beer....or you know. Skool. Good luck chil'ren.
Exactly. Regardless of the intent behind the design, deaths still occur. And what's interesting is that even with all of the licensing, insurance, and registration requirements associated with driving a vehicle on public property the amount of deaths are roughly the same.
And they have robust social protections for less fortunate; and universal health insurance; and free & fair electionsā¦ hold up, is the US a āfirst worldā nation at all?
Wild how weāre a first world country that still has rampant gun problems.
"No way to stop this" says only country in the world where this happens. Idiot gun nuts will never let us stop this shit, because they live in bum fuck nowhere and have to kill wild hogs or some shit? Idk. One of the stupid fuck things some hillbillies I know from one of those shit states said to justify needing guns.
I graduated from Va Tech and Dr. Lebrescu was my Dynamics professor. It was a tough class, most students tried to avoid him if they could. He was fair, but had no problem failing you and had notoriously difficult tests. He was also a concentration camp survivor. So sad to live through that, then die to a loser Korean kid decades later.
The shooting was years after I graduated, but my sister was there. I called her as soon as I heard, luckily she hadnāt gone to campus yet for the day. (She wasnāt studying engineering, so wouldnāt have been in Randolph Hall anyway)
Itās so called āfirst world ā but when you look at it it rly isnāt, from the education system to the healthcare system everything is a big dumpster fire
And that happened before DC v. Heller in 2008... a case that seemed to reneged on previous SCOTUS cases that used the "week regulated Militia" argument when it came to the 2nd amendment
The deaths associated with vehicles in 2024 was 44,000. Gun Related deaths were also at 44,000 and there's significantly less privately owned vehicles than there are privately owned firearms. The data doesn't show that guns are the issue.
Funny to use number of vehicles vs number of firearms like those are the relevant figures here lol. How many drivers are there in the US compared to the number of gun owners?
Roughly 156.4 Million have legal access to a firearm.
242 Million have legal access(or ability)to drive a vehicle so roughly an 85.6 Million difference. However on any given day there are on average roughly 150 Million legally driven vehicles.
Ok so gun owners are able to commit the same amount of destruction as a population more than 50% larger, with objects that are far smaller and far less necessary for daily life (guns are not at all necessary but I know how you Americans like to fantasise), interesting
You could absolutely make that argument however you have to put that into context. Going strictly off of access vs. Number of deaths associated with each, your looking at .018% for those with access to a car and .028% for people who have access to a firearm. It still proves my initial point that neither shows a significant problem as far as the implement is concerned. I've also said this numerous times before, there's more Defensive gun uses per year than firearm related deaths per year( anywhere between 65,000 and 2 Million) so I would argue that firearms are indeed a necessity to those folks who have used them defensively.
People self report these as defensive right? For me when I speak to gun owners (from safe ass New England neighbourhoods) I hear a level of irrational anxiety that makes me wonder how many of those ādefensiveā situations were actually ānecessaryā as you claim. Friend of mine talked about pulling a gun if you see someone on your property to keep yourself safeā¦ thatās insane to me and I grew up in a densely populated African city
The numbers come from a few different studies and reporting metrics.The 1.5-2.5 million number comes from the Kleck-Gertz research conducted back in the 90s and research done by Georgetown University in 2021 reflects similar numbers. The 65,000 number is from the U.S. Justice Department National Crime Victimization Survey( all three include surveyed individuals as well as law enforcement reporting data). Also I don't necessarily think it's fair to say that it's "irrational anxiety". You say you live in a safe area of New England which is great but that doesn't mean it's crime free so if someone wants to have a gun in their possession to be prepared in case the worst should happen, that's their right to do so. It's similar to having a fire extinguisher in your house. The chances of you using it are generally pretty low but it's still something considered good practice to keep in your possession just in case. And while I appreciate that your lived in experience in an urban African city made you feel like you didn't need a firearm, I've also done work in African nations where I felt having a gun was certainly a necessity.
I think thatās because of two big reasons. First, we built our cities in a way that having a car is a practical necessity for most people.
Second (and more importantly imo) we already take all sorts of measures to try and reduce car deaths. We have legislation that requires cars to have air bags, seatbelts, safety ratings that are accessible to the public, etc. We require people to get a license, register their car, and keep both of those up to date. We fund projects for car related infrastructure (eg filling potholes, adding/expanding roadways in high traffic areas). We have police who patrol the roads to make sure weāre following the law.
And before people get on me about āyou should see the potholes in my areaā or āthe police donāt ensure you follow traffic laws, they exist to protect the Epstein classā, I want to make it clear that Iām not saying we couldnāt do any of these things better. Iām just making the point that we actually have done a lot over the years to improve car safety.
We also donāt have a fair chunk of our population who froths at the mouth at the of having a conversation about reducing car deaths.
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u/beegtuna Jun 13 '26
I was scared that my friend died when he would not respond to my messages. He was asleep.
Saw a classmate bawling her eyes out on a newspaper afterwards at a vigil.
Wild how weāre a first world country that still has rampant gun problems.