America in a State of Shock : Can Latest Massacre Lead to Change?

[sysop]

Twenty-seven people died in the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Most of the victims were young children. For years the weapons lobby in America has prevented the passage of effective gun control legislation. Will Friday's tragic killings lead to a sea change?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-873302.html

[fcjman12]

No it will not. But don't point the finger at us. We are proud Americans and love our freedoms including the right to own arms. Yes it was a tragedy, but it happens everywhere even in countries who banned gun ownership. feel terrible specially for the kids. I wish that the coward didn't took his own life to face punishment. Look at yourselves first. Nazism is growing in your country. Solve your problem first before you criticize us

[mischa.mark]

Empty forum! How come? A similar article in the German section of Spiegel online provoked a massive flood of contributions. I read most of the entries and should I be asked: what was the gist of it? it would be difficult to give a clear answer, so divergent were the single entries. What was clearly visible though, is the abyssal divide between mainstream American opinion and its German counterpart. Many persons in the German forum voiced the somewhat blue eyed opinion that a total ban of weapons for the ordinary citizen would be a panacea against this kind of outrage. Others (among them Germans living in the U.S.) said that wouldn’t make much difference anyway and the proposition was unrealistic and stupid. Some rather ineptly described cars and even things like bed-pillows as potential weapons. It's kind of weird to see that for the average American all evil seems to stem from too much state control, whereas especially for left-wing Germans it's exactly the opposite.
There were some, including myself, who pointed their finger at aggressive computer gaming and the effect on people who could be described as "loners". That provoked some fairly straightforward comments from gaming enthusiasts, who snapped back that they played those games all the time, but didn't go on the rampage every other day killing innocent people. Then there was speculation about the effects of the autistic condition the perpetrator appeared to suffer from, with some attacking the American healthcare system, arguing people with similar conditions were just being fed drugs and weren’t properly attended to. Promptly some sufferers
of autism came forward and said that condition doesn't automatically make you a killer. Somebody cleverly asked, why it appears only males are doing this kind of thing.

In my opinion even a total ban on fire arms would not have stopped people like the Unibomber in the U.S. or Breivik in Norway. People who carefully plan a massacre and have the resources, guts and wits to carry it through cannot be stopped. On the other hand, a youngster who just blew his lid completely, and is just stark raving mad at anybody cannot easily perform a mass killing like the one here without the proper tools. That said, does a ban solve the problem that person has in it's psyche? Certainly not.

It’s also appears those acts are typically not carried out by the average bully terrorising all the kids in the neighbourhood, but by youngsters who don't make much kind of an impact. So what's going on in the heads of those persons? Shooting your mother and other kids in the face, that is monstrous! Even battle-hardened fighters avoid that kind of thing. There definitely is an influence of "killer" gaming to be seen here, in my opinion. Norwegian mass-murderer Breivik stated he had to "harden" himself with endless gaming sessions in order to be able to kill routinely without emotion for his "purpose".

I believe only a careful analysis of the perpetrators psyche can bring out parallels in their respective cases and those insights should tell politicians to change things in modern society that facilitate this kind of monstrous doings.

[dhawpe]

Many people are encouraging the country not to politicize this tragedy. But why shouldn't we? It needs to be politicized. Not to point at fingers at anyone, but to force change. Especially a change of mindset within the stubborn gun lobby, cowardly Congress, the greedy entertainment industry and in our homes and schools.

Most of us cannot imagine getting in a car without buckling up these days, although seat belts were once ridiculed as an assault on our freedom.

Drinking and driving used to be cool until we understood the carnage it leads to. The horrible school bus tragedy in Carrolton KY not only raised the issue of drunk driving , it also led to improved school bus safety.

For centuries African-Americans were spit on, harassed, jailed, thrown out of restaurants, tortured and killed until Lyndon Johnson politicized the Alabama State Police's bloody assault on civil rights marchers in Selma in March of 1965. The Civil Rights Act of 1965 began to change the country's attitude.

Like it or not, in a country where there is no homogenous culture and no national social conscious, oftentimes the only way to address issues is through the political process. Politicians possess the tools to shift attitudes towards gun violence. Let's pray they can muster the courage and the will...

[vokietukai]

"Will Friday's tragic killings lead to a sea change?" If the Gramscians have their way, yes (in the form of more gun control). Not to mention that "change" has already been underway: the U.S. didn't start having this sort of killings until AFTER the Gramscians (aka Red Diaper Doper Babies and their minions) took over all the organs of influence: educational system, TV, radio, publishing houses, newspapers, mainline churches, professional associations (AMA, APA, MLA, etc.), judiciary. EVERY venue they get their hands on becomes a pulpit for their stealth religion...which cleverly disguises its own agenda by constantly accusing non-Gramscians of trying to foist a "theocracy" on the U.S. Don't make me laugh: their projections on their opponents reveal your ***OWN*** actions/attitudes. A major case of collective Borderline Personality Disorder transference.

[nevermind]

Originally Posted by fcjman12

No it will not. But don't point the finger at us. We are proud Americans and love our freedoms including the right to own arms. Yes it was a tragedy, but it happens everywhere even in countries who banned gun ownership. feel terrible specially for the kids. I wish that the coward didn't took his own life to face punishment. Look at yourselves first. Nazism is growing in your country. Solve your problem first before you criticize us

The only reaction from the NRA was that gun sales are up and that their solution is to place more guns into schools.
Fighting the devil with a little Beelzebub,eh,

Automatic weapon sales have emptied the shelves of gun shops everywhere and the NRA buoyed by this, has decided to big it up some more and oppose international arms trade restrictions to dubious rogue states in a clear and flagrant breach of their responsibilities.

The NRA has is not a supra national organisation and their big mouth tactics and arm twisting which might work on 50 US senators has no relevance in the wider world. Arming guards and militarising soft targets and talking all tough, when you can't discount for people's anger, sense of injustices, economic frustration and much more emotive reasons, is not intelligent.
And, you, proud fcjman12, can stop trying to justify your barbaric excesses with extolling your rights, berating us as to whether we can discuss your current drive towards defending your stupid priorities. We talk about it, because we do not want such proliferation here, you are not an example, but the pits.