I know, I know, another gun thread....

[Gumbo4x4]

Curious how you guys grew up and the gun violence you experienced as kids? Did students shoot anyone in your school system? Were your "normal" neighbors who went to work everyday and raised their family without any issues suddenly shooting other neighbors because their grass was too long? Did you go to the toy store with your parents and witness a shooting in the parking lot? Did people get pissed at other drivers on the road and end up killing them? Did your dad have a former employee come in and shoot up the place because he was fired a few weeks earlier? Were kids your age grabbing dad's gun and shooting themselves or others? Certainly these things happened, but did they happen daily? Is that honestly the type of gun violence those statistics are pointing to?

What I am trying to say is that there is a DIFFERENCE in the type of gun violence today than there was when I was growing up. The people committing these shootings are very different than the vast majority of shootings years ago. I grew up right outside a very rough neighborhood; plenty of gangs, drugs, and violence. But those people stuck to their own turf wars. While it was possible to get caught in the crossfire, they didn't go to the movie theater and kill random people.

I take back what I said earlier. The gun culture hasn't changed, but the mindset of the Average Joe has changed with regard to settling their problems in life.

I'm out for the day. DD should be home in just a few minutes. She survived another semester without getting shot and only one lockdown in 16 weeks. Such Progress! Of course, that doesn't count the guy who shot into the crowd in the downtown area at a public festival just blocks from the college. But hey, only one died so that's cool.

Where I grew up, these things were indeed few & far between. Thing is, they still are today.


I do think to an extent the gang mentality has spilled over into what had been "normal" people - there have definitely been some incidents that spun out of control that maybe wouldn't have years back.

The lone wacko shooting up random innocents seems to be more common as well, but I think that's an entirely different type of person than a hothead who loses it spontaneously.

 

[rajak73]

Curious how you guys grew up and the gun violence you experienced as kids? Did students shoot anyone in your school system? Were your "normal" neighbors who went to work everyday and raised their family without any issues suddenly shooting other neighbors because their grass was too long? Did you go to the toy store with your parents and witness a shooting in the parking lot? Did people get pissed at other drivers on the road and end up killing them? Did your dad have a former employee come in and shoot up the place because he was fired a few weeks earlier? Were kids your age grabbing dad's gun and shooting themselves or others? Certainly these things happened, but did they happen daily? Is that honestly the type of gun violence those statistics are pointing to?

What I am trying to say is that there is a DIFFERENCE in the type of gun violence today than there was when I was growing up. The people committing these shootings are very different than the vast majority of shootings years ago. I grew up right outside a very rough neighborhood; plenty of gangs, drugs, and violence. But those people stuck to their own turf wars. While it was possible to get caught in the crossfire, they didn't go to the movie theater and kill random people.

I take back what I said earlier. The gun culture hasn't changed, but the mindset of the Average Joe has changed with regard to settling their problems in life.
I'm out for the day. DD should be home in just a few minutes. She survived another semester without getting shot and only one lockdown in 16 weeks. Such Progress! Of course, that doesn't count the guy who shot into the crowd in the downtown area at a public festival just blocks from the college. But hey, only one died so that's cool.

Was there gun violence when I was a kid, yes, one guy and girlfriend shot 11 people, by the way, that was in 1958, by the middle of 1959 he was in the electric chair. I'll probably get flamed for this one but, if your kid was in trouble at school, you didn't have mommy and daddy going to the school telling them they can't treat your little snowflake like that. I was more worried about what was going to happen at home. Also if you weren't paying attention in school, they didn't rush to a doctor to see about prescribing a psychotic drug to make little Johnny calmer so you didn't have to deal with it, you dealt with it at home. Your part about the grass, neighbors, former employee, etc is just way off. The closest big city I have is 260,000 people about 20 min away, they just had the first, yes I said first, homicide of the year last week. So no it is not happening all over the country. We had guns in the house when I was a kid, was they locked up, nope, but I knew what would happen if I had one out and my parents didn't know it. We were taught how to use them and to respect life. A couple of these shootings have been, little Johnny has mental problems but I don't want to get any help because it might make him feel bad. If your child has mental problems, keep the guns locked up and safe, you know, there are gun safes that cannot be opened with a key even if you killed me first and tried to break into it. I think part of the problem is parents have got to start getting back to being parents and not friends to their kids. I know little snowflake is going to feel bad for a while but that's too bad, they will get over it. I laugh at my grown kids now because when they were growing up we were the badest and meanest parents around according the them, funny part is now, they thank us for how they were brought up and are now teaching their kids the same manners and respect. Also when I was growing up, a lot of the kids knew how to handle guns and the dangers, we didn't get suspended from school for eating a piece of bread to look like a gun.
These are JMHO and nothing else! I'm with Lisa, I'm out for the day but everyone have a great day and the State college (enrollment around 25,000) is just 20 miles away and haven't had any shootings in years!

 

[Domo]

Quite frankly I am shocked that a nutter has not legally bought a gun and opened fire in the waiting lines outside of WDW so far! Strikes me as a ticking time bomb

 

[CPanther95]

Quite frankly I am shocked that a nutter has not legally bought a gun and opened fire in the waiting lines outside of WDW so far! Strikes me as a ticking time bomb

I'd guess people are more likely to want to shoot their way out of WDW than in.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

Quite frankly I am shocked that a nutter has not legally bought a gun and opened fire in the waiting lines outside of WDW so far! Strikes me as a ticking time bomb

I agree. With just a little imagination, it's easy and scary to think of the possible ways a crazy person can do a lot of harm with or without a firearm.

 

[lustergirl]

Was there gun violence when I was a kid, yes, one guy and girlfriend shot 11 people, by the way, that was in 1958, by the middle of 1959 he was in the electric chair. I'll probably get flamed for this one but, if your kid was in trouble at school, you didn't have mommy and daddy going to the school telling them they can't treat your little snowflake like that. I was more worried about what was going to happen at home. Also if you weren't paying attention in school, they didn't rush to a doctor to see about prescribing a psychotic drug to make little Johnny calmer so you didn't have to deal with it, you dealt with it at home. Your part about the grass, neighbors, former employee, etc is just way off. The closest big city I have is 260,000 people about 20 min away, they just had the first, yes I said first, homicide of the year last week. So no it is not happening all over the country. We had guns in the house when I was a kid, was they locked up, nope, but I knew what would happen if I had one out and my parents didn't know it. We were taught how to use them and to respect life. A couple of these shootings have been, little Johnny has mental problems but I don't want to get any help because it might make him feel bad. If your child has mental problems, keep the guns locked up and safe, you know, there are gun safes that cannot be opened with a key even if you killed me first and tried to break into it. I think part of the problem is parents have got to start getting back to being parents and not friends to their kids. I know little snowflake is going to feel bad for a while but that's too bad, they will get over it. I laugh at my grown kids now because when they were growing up we were the badest and meanest parents around according the them, funny part is now, they thank us for how they were brought up and are now teaching their kids the same manners and respect. Also when I was growing up, a lot of the kids knew how to handle guns and the dangers, we didn't get suspended from school for eating a piece of bread to look like a gun.
These are JMHO and nothing else! I'm with Lisa, I'm out for the day but everyone have a great day and the State college (enrollment around 25,000) is just 20 miles away and haven't had any shootings in years!

Makes complete sense to me.

 

[TAX GUY]

Was there gun violence when I was a kid, yes, one guy and girlfriend shot 11 people, by the way, that was in 1958, by the middle of 1959 he was in the electric chair. I'll probably get flamed for this one but, if your kid was in trouble at school, you didn't have mommy and daddy going to the school telling them they can't treat your little snowflake like that. I was more worried about what was going to happen at home. Also if you weren't paying attention in school, they didn't rush to a doctor to see about prescribing a psychotic drug to make little Johnny calmer so you didn't have to deal with it, you dealt with it at home. Your part about the grass, neighbors, former employee, etc is just way off. The closest big city I have is 260,000 people about 20 min away, they just had the first, yes I said first, homicide of the year last week. So no it is not happening all over the country. We had guns in the house when I was a kid, was they locked up, nope, but I knew what would happen if I had one out and my parents didn't know it. We were taught how to use them and to respect life. A couple of these shootings have been, little Johnny has mental problems but I don't want to get any help because it might make him feel bad. If your child has mental problems, keep the guns locked up and safe, you know, there are gun safes that cannot be opened with a key even if you killed me first and tried to break into it. I think part of the problem is parents have got to start getting back to being parents and not friends to their kids. I know little snowflake is going to feel bad for a while but that's too bad, they will get over it. I laugh at my grown kids now because when they were growing up we were the badest and meanest parents around according the them, funny part is now, they thank us for how they were brought up and are now teaching their kids the same manners and respect. Also when I was growing up, a lot of the kids knew how to handle guns and the dangers, we didn't get suspended from school for eating a piece of bread to look like a gun.
These are JMHO and nothing else! I'm with Lisa, I'm out for the day but everyone have a great day and the State college (enrollment around 25,000) is just 20 miles away and haven't had any shootings in years!

I was going to say something about the current generation and entitlements and they can do no wrong so when something isn't to their liking, they act out. Your version was worded much better.

 

[Domo]

I agree. With just a little imagination, it's easy and scary to think of the possible ways a crazy person can do a lot of harm with or without a firearm.

Very true. They don't even need a gun. It's ridiculously easy to make a fire bomb, for example. Or to plough a car or lorry into a crowd.

 

[CPanther95]

Very true. They don't even need a gun. It's ridiculously easy to make a fire bomb, for example. Or to plough a car or lorry into a crowd.

Getting a lorry over to the US is a pain, and quite expensive.