WE: After school shooting in Connecticut, Piers Morgan blasts America’s ‘gun madness’

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Originally Posted by Koolblue13

You do know what the word "desensitize" means right?

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Yes, do you know what the word agree means?

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Originally Posted by Bacon

It’s Easier For Americans To Access Guns Than Mental Health Services

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This

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Originally Posted by TD_washingtonredskins

Yes, do you know what the word agree means?

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lol. Sorry. That's my bad. I'm not use to people agreeing with me on this.

I don't see how anybody can say that the amount of violence we can see everyday, can't have an impact on us. It's an intentionally ignorant view.

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Originally Posted by Koolblue13

lol. Sorry. That's my bad. I'm not use to people agreeing with me on this.

I don't see how anybody can say that the amount of violence we can see everyday, can't have an impact on us. It's an intentionally ignorant view.

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100% agree...the "point" of video games seems to have shifted dramatically since I played some pretty harmless games 20 years ago.

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Originally Posted by Koolblue13

lol. Sorry. That's my bad. I'm not use to people agreeing with me on this.

I don't see how anybody can say that the amount of violence we can see everyday, can't have an impact on us. It's an intentionally ignorant view.

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I agree that it's a very complex puzzle and I think that our entertainment plays some role (not sure how big), I also think this desire for fame and attention be it on the social media or elsewhere plays a role, but what frustrates me more than anything is how we are the worst nation in the world when it comes to this kind of mass killing. Why is that? Why is our gun violence worse than that in Japan, France, Germany, or every other first world country? Why is our gun violence higher than some countries that are actively at war?

It's not simple. It's not 2 +2 = 4, but it's also a calculus with some pretty obvious variables that we seem unwilling to even have an honest conversation about.

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Originally Posted by Koolblue13

lol. Sorry. That's my bad. I'm not use to people agreeing with me on this.

I don't see how anybody can say that the amount of violence we can see everyday, can't have an impact on us. It's an intentionally ignorant view.

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Those who would make that argument insist that here is no such thing as desensitization of the mind. I'm also reminded that the military uses advanced video games in order to do this very thing. Add to that a mental illness and ease of access to firearms, and it is a recipe for disaster.

---------- Post added December-15th-2012 at 08:32 AM ----------

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Originally Posted by Burgold

I agree that it's a very complex puzzle and I think that our entertainment plays some role (not sure how big), I also think this desire for fame and attention be it on the social media or elsewhere plays a role, but what frustrates me more than anything is how we are the worst nation in the world when it comes to this kind of mass killing. Why is that? Why is our gun violence worse than that in Japan, France, Germany, or every other first world country? Why is our gun violence higher than some countries that are actively at war?

It's not simple. It's not 2 +2 = 4, but it's also a calculus with some pretty obvious variables that we seem unwilling to even have an honest conversation about.

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Extreme ease of access is one of the main variables.

It is also incredibly ironic to me to see both sides of the aisle freak out when you mention taking away something they want to play with.

"We need to take a hard look at controls on assault rifles".
-nooooooooooooooo!!!!

"We need to take a hard look at controls on overstimulation and extremely violent video games"
-nooooooooooooooo!!!!
(Often Shouted by the same people who accuse gun advocates of being unreasonable)


Either side of the aisle. Same mindset. Now watch how many people quote this post and freak

---------- Post added December-15th-2012 at 08:35 AM ----------

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Originally Posted by Burgold

I agree that it's a very complex puzzle and I think that our entertainment plays some role (not sure how big), .

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There is increasing academic evidence that this is not complicated at all. On that we disagree

It's actually quite simple. Problem is finding people who want to listen.

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Originally Posted by Burgold

I agree that it's a very complex puzzle and I think that our entertainment plays some role (not sure how big), I also think this desire for fame and attention be it on the social media or elsewhere plays a role, but what frustrates me more than anything is how we are the worst nation in the world when it comes to this kind of mass killing. Why is that? Why is our gun violence worse than that in Japan, France, Germany, or every other first world country? Why is our gun violence higher than some countries that are actively at war?

It's not simple. It's not 2 +2 = 4, but it's also a calculus with some pretty obvious variables that we seem unwilling to even have an honest conversation about.

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Why do we lead the world in heart disease, in people in prison, etc. We are a fat, sick nation, obsessed with instant gratification. America leads the world with it's military, greed and unsustainable lifestyle. It creates an unhealthy and violent society and we will continue to see more things like this. There is no easy answer or solution and I don't think it will get better in my lifetime and just because a sick young man, has senselessly destroyed 20 young children, it won't be enough for people to admit that maybe something like the violent level of their beloved video games might have contributed. We are too selfish to stop eating each other.

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Originally Posted by RansomthePasserby

I know it's the chic to blame video games for school shootings and desensitization. I'd like to point out though, before we go on any crusades, that Asberger's itself may have done more to desensitize him than any video games ever can.

"The only study to date that attempts to correlate pervasive developmental disorders in forensic settings implied that 15 percent of juveniles evaluated in a forensic setting in Sweden had autistic spectrum disorders. The prevalence of this disorder in a forensic setting is startling, given that the general prevalence of Asperger’s disorder is 2.5 per 10,000. This same review of epidemiologic studies in 2003 cited rates of aggression in autism as high as 38 percent."

http://www.jaapl.org/content/33/3/390.full.pdf+html

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There is a kid one neighborhood over from me who has asbergers

He is a raging psychopath. His parents cannot (and more importantly dont have the will) to control him. He is 10 years old and constantly has meltdowns and fits of rate. He hurts other kids and is a danger to everyone around him.

It is obvious his parents are COMPLETELY out of their league. I've often wondered how long it is until he really hurts someone or worse. From many of the comments I've seen already from people who knew this Lanze kid, looks like they felt the same about him

This obviously is not an indictment of children with Asbergers. But, I do think there just aren't enough resources in this country to deal with this illness. Not by a long shot. We can't afford it, we've got middle easterners to bomb.

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Originally Posted by zoony

I'm not saying all of these academics are correct and this is where the discussion ends... I'm just saying anyone who says "Texas shooting happened in 1966 bro so therefore desensitization has nothing to do with it" is willfully ignorant.

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Luckily nobody has argued that it has no effect.

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Originally Posted by zoony

There is a kid one neighborhood over from me who has asbergers

He is a raging psychopath. His parents cannot (and more importantly dont have the will) to control him. He is 10 years old and constantly has meltdowns and fits of rate. He hurts other kids and is a danger to everyone around him.

It is obvious his parents are COMPLETELY out of their league. I've often wondered how long it is until he really hurts someone or worse. From many of the comments I've seen already from people who knew this Lanze kid, looks like they felt the same about him

This obviously is not an indictment of children with Asbergers. But, I do think there just aren't enough resources in this country to deal with this illness. Not by a long shot. We can't afford it, we've got middle easterners to bomb.

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We have a kid who lives directly across the street who is completely out of control, at this point I believe it is is part mental illness and part parental denial/defensiveness. He has zero empathy for any of the kids on the street and as a result none of the eight kids who live near us are allowed to play with him. The kid is eight years old and in the five months that I've lived here I've seen him shove my daughter because she tagged him in a game of tag, he knocked another girl down and kicked her in the stomach. I watched him in a basketball game and the was thrown out of the game before half time for shoving and knocking kids over. At one point he was called for travelling, he then threw the ball and started shouting at the ref. it was embarrassing to watch. And when he was sat on the bench he began to destroy a $200 pair of athletic glasses.

His father is the coach...

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Originally Posted by Sticksboi05

Luckily nobody has argued that it has no effect.

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No, just passive aggressive drive by posts, so far

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Originally Posted by stevemcqueen1

When has it done so?

In the 62 mass killings Mother Jones identified in the last 30 years none were prevented or halted by a civilian bystander carrying a gun.

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Here is one example.. When the shooting started the Assistant Principal ran to his car and got his gun. He was able to stop the shooter as he was leaving to go to the Junior High and kill more kids.

There was also this one. This was in Colorado. A member of the church, a former Minneapolis police officer, used her personal CCW to return fire hitting the shooter multiple times. The shooter then killed himself.

Interestingly, neither of these shootings were on the Mother Jones list.

Grew up watching Yosemite Sam,Elmer Fudd etc., blow up and shoot each other in what seemed like every other scene.

John Wayne, Clint Eastwood etc shot the bad guy, took bullets themselves and rarely died.

But you know what? I never grew up to believe I could put my fingers in the barrels of a shotgun and stop bullets or hit live ammo with a hammer to test it. Nor did I grow up believeing I could strap on a six gun or take a Winchester .30-.30 with me downtown to do what the law couldn't.

Why is that? Because I had parents that taught me right from wrong and cared enough about me not to sit me in front of a tv or game console for hours on end because they didn't want to be bothered with me.

IMO, this basic breakdown is the root cause of all of this.

But it's also because as a kid you probably played outside with other kids which means you had to learn to resolve conflicts and probably got hurt sword fighting with sticks. The problem with video games is that they are realistic looking, but it's a one way street... Kids get to kill a destroy, but when they are killed there is no pain or difficulty because its virtual. Threats to them are fake.

Again, a small part of the puzzle, but a part nonetheless