Oh wow.

[luzribeiro]

If you think that mansplaining about "not assault weapons" and "assault weapons" in light of today's events in Las Vegas is going to be helpful in discussing the huge gun violence problem the USA has, you are the problem.

50+ dead, 400+ taken to hospitals.

Save us all the wisdom you need to share about the bullshit you believe.

This is how these guys handle everything - by dragging us out into the weeds of the mansplains rather than actually addressing the issues.

Don't be a dick.

Comments

[garote]

Like so?

https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-06-27/map-here-are-countries-worlds-highest-murder-rates

Personally, I don't think any amount of gun violence is an "acceptable" level. But it always helps to have an informed picture of things. Reducing the availability of the materials to cause a mass casualty is definitely good, but given that someone could cause mass casualties with a well-aimed truck in an outdoor mall, reducing availability is only ever going to be a small part of the solution.

[garote]

No futility here. But bollards along every sidewalk in every city across the US is what you’re going to need, as well as mobile ones for every block party, open-air concert, and farmers market.

Perhaps we could also phase in sophisticated car firmware that limits the top speed of the car when it detects the telemetry signals of many cellphones nearby.

Either way, my main point is the same: Preventative measures like this are only a small part of an effective effort to decrease violent attacks, and may even be a distraction. E.g. is the best response to 9-11 “make all buildings bombproof and all airplanes maximum security”, or is is “stop fucking around in the Middle East”?

[garote]

I'm intrigued how you are able to determine "attractive targets for terrorists" in your own head there.

The city I live in has a dozen street events each week, some of which are mobile, i.e. present as large moving crowds, like Bike Party. All it takes is some murderous loony with a vehicle to cause incredible damage. The fact that it generally never happens - even in a city with a very high relative homicide rate and plenty of guns floating around - is a testament to the behavioral conditioning (or perhaps some would say "quality") of our community. Not a testament to how thoroughly we've buffered the streets with cement blocks and bars.