Comment by spicyusername
9 months ago
As a U.S. citizen my fear of being involved in gun violence on a day-to-day basis is zero.
Basically all gun violence in America is either confined to very specific economically depressed areas, that are well-known and easy to avoid, or is between two private parties.
Yes the big news headlines are scary, yes I wish the number was zero, but the reality is that the risk is still extremely, extremely, extremely low and is not something the average person needs to even think about unless you live in one of the violence prone neighborhoods.
> Basically all gun violence in America is either confined to very specific economically depressed areas, that are well-known and easy to avoid, or is between two private parties.
Like schools?
These are shameful, and shouldn't happen.
But, if you run the numbers, they're also rare enough that they're not worth worrying about at the individual level. The kind people usually mean by "school shooting" are especially rare.
> they're not worth worrying about at the individual level
Just as an anecdote: My company tried to recruit an executive from Britain many years ago. He had young children and was concerned about the high rates of child mortality due to firearms and motor-vehicles deaths (the top two causes of death for children in the US) compared to the negligible risk in the UK.
While his underlying concern wasn't specific to "school shootings", he did point out that our blasé acceptance of them was another example of our comparatively higher risk tolerance.
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Well to put it into perspective, run the numbers to see how likely it is per-capita for a Ukrainian civilian to die in the war, compared to how likely it is for a US American to die by being shot.
Just to add, statistically speaking kids are more likely to experience violence, including gun violence, in other settings than at school. That include general public places and even their home.
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Maybe, but then you still have the secondary effects. Terrifying lockdown drills and shooter training. Transparent/kevlar backpacks. Armed teachers and/or security everywhere. What a fucked up environment to grow up in.
> As a U.S. citizen my fear of being involved in gun violence on a day-to-day basis is zero.
As an Australian, my fear of being killed by the local fauna, flora or the country is near 0. Yes, the "common brown" is the worlds 3rd most venomous snake, and they are the snake I mostly see around my house, but I know where they live and their habits. Yes, the funnel web is a relatively common and very aggressive spider found in our backyards. It's also the world's deadliest spider (it killed one girl in 12 minutes). But everyone is hyper aware of them, and almost no one gets bitten. The surf on our magnificent beaches is deadly, but we are all taught to recognise rips and swim only in supervised areas.
So the reality is Australia is a very safe place, for Australians. Please visit. It's a blast.
Don't forget the two-thirds of gun violence that only involves a single private party, and doesn't pose any risk to an unrelated tourist visiting the country.
Sandy hook? Harvest Festival? Not exactly low income.
Your point is somewhat valid. I live in Los Angeles and never think about gun violence. But it’s a stretch to say gun violence is isolated to low income areas. The risk is non-zero for all of us.
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> Yes, if you're a well-meaning tourist, nothing will happen to you.
Perhaps this is what you meant, but I'd rephrase that as: if you are a well-meaning tourist with all the proper paperwork then it is very unlikely that anything will happen to you.
I've had a few "well-meaning" friends and colleagues who experienced significant life impacts due to paperwork problems with US Customs and Border Patrol. One example was a student who didn't realize they needed additional authorization to work part-time, another overstayed their visa on a prior trip and is barred from re-entry. Being "well-meaning" is entirely insufficient bordering on irrelevant compared to having the proper paperwork and following the proper processes, especially if you are young and/or from a non-European country.
For decades this has been a topic of discussion amongst international attendees at US conferences and events, and for every person who is denied entry there are several who are reluctant to visit the US due to experiences at the border. Given the particular zeal with which the current administration enforces entry rules it has become the dominant conversation amongst international participants.
> Yes, the US is having some political instability.
Fascists have taken over. It's really all down hill from here. Americans are sometimes good at coming together when we really need to, so maybe there's hope because most of us aren't far left or right. But even with the weapons we have access to and the 2A we have the right to, we would still have to go against Trump's eventual red army. So there's that. Yeah, we're fucked.
Whenever there is an administration change someone is going to be throwing out “the sky is falling” and “we are going to horribly die” by (fill in the blank) scenarios. It never happens and it won’t happen this time either.
I truly think everything will be fine in the long run. Just focus on what you can control. Just remember that an escalating nuclear war is a much worse existential threat than who is president for 4 years (although they are slightly related).
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