ilovefuzz.com

dead on with the third thing, but why do the first two occur. And what other factors are involved? It seems simple when stated like that but I can't help but think there are more factors going on. How we treat people with our entrenched institutions. Criminal justice system, schools, corporations, military, etc.

The first is a result of powerlesslness - they'll be somebody, though, if they just take out their rage on other people and have a manifesto for CNN.

They'll be the talk of the town for months, when they're still nobodies if they go about their business properly.

We've equated publicity (no bad press) with success.

Ok, so powerlessness, What causes people to feel this way? I'm not saying this is the sole reason, but I do agree that it is A reason. Why are we encouraging a culture that makes our youth feel powerless. To the point where they loose it.
What else drives them over the edge (edge here defined as a need to kill) lack of respect? hopelessness? a feeling of having no future?
Our suicide rate is also abysmal. Especially among veterans. People who tried to be servants of society. Say what you want about the military, but most join with good intentions. why are these people killing themselves? another thought, as trained killers, why are more military killing themselves and not being the perpetrators of these mass shootings? They are certainly capable and many would be more than most police forces could handle if they really planned it out.

Military folks just end it in silence, they don't want to kill innocent people if the pain is too much it seems. It's always been a problem; now it's just not swept under the carpet as much. It's a separate issue on its own that would warrant a novel and lifetime with no realistic chance of success. Sometimes, it all gets to be too much - what people have seen, what they may have done (or been unable to do), guilt like normal folks won't ever understand that there's no escape from. Add the whole VA debacle of poor care/waitlists and the move to disarm vets who express any sort of concern for their mental health (which ironically will cause many to not seek treatment in the name of retaining their rights, not that I blame them)...and it just gets brutal.

The powerlessness is something separate from the instant fame from being "today's shooter" on CNN - by doing an extreme act, they can instantly become somebody. That's the *only* way that Mr. Can't Get A Date Virgin Shooter would have ever had his ideas publicized en masse on national TV. I don't mention his name intentionally (as I don't like glorifying them by giving them a name). For those who feel like they've got nothing, all it sadly takes is anger and a willingness to kill to get press and attention.

When it's impossible to escape from crushing student loan debt (thanks, Mr. Clinton, for that one), jobs don't exist like they did for my father's generation (the last of the boomers), and housing and security are out of reach even for people with education and all the right opportunity, it's even worse for those who don't have the advantages.

For those who aren't lulled into false security/silliness by the new iWhatever or a new to them vehicle that just further traps them to jobs they hate....the resentment builds. And when there's no real opportunity or outlets to express aggression without fear of gov't intervention (psychologists being bound to report danger to self/others, and fear of being interpreted as such), we've taken many of the safety valves out.

America's emphasis on individuality versus community seems to be part of the issue to me.
But I blame the rich.

AxAxSxS wrote:

Mudfuzz wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:I don't find it funny, but depressing. Because it's a pretty accurate depiction of Americans and that makes me sad.

I always find things like this odd. I have never met anyone actually seriously like that. I've always thought it's just like a joke on tv/the internet.

AxAxSxS wrote:

D.o.S. wrote:

Wes Mantooth wrote:Yeah I'm hoping it was just poking fun at our country's blind, parasitic, nationalism. Don't even get me started on how much I hate the 4th of July...

But I bet you love the World Cup.

I've never really been super depressed about 'Murica etc. because I have easy and accessible options to relocate permanently if I ever felt it was necessary. Being a shitty person isn't confined to a particular nationality, after all, so its just as likely that moving somewhere else would create many of the same problems. Fewer guns, maybe, but less space to crank amps.

I still say that what people say the problems with guns is, is more a problem of motivation. I could kill someone with a hammer just as easily as with a gun. Sweden mandates a weapon in every home for their defense forces and reserves. These are military grade firearms,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politi ... witzerland
Quick check on murder rates finds this
Firearm related deaths.
Sweden Ranked 26th. 9,369
USA Ranked 4th. 162 times more than Sweden

So what the fuck is going on here. Why are we creating people who want to destroy Americans? We have issues. I don't think removing the tools will fix those issues. I do think there needs to be a dialogue shift towards finding those underlying issues. Why do Americans want to kill?

IMO Its 110% the gun culture centered around the 2nd Amendment. I know some people don't agree with that, but the whole "cold dead hands" schtick makes it impossible to have that discussion at all.

jfrey wrote:

AxAxSxS wrote:

Mudfuzz wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:I don't find it funny, but depressing. Because it's a pretty accurate depiction of Americans and that makes me sad.

I always find things like this odd. I have never met anyone actually seriously like that. I've always thought it's just like a joke on tv/the internet.

Go on a road trip. They're real.

It's not just the Second Amendment bunch, it's the "Mr and Mrs America, I would take them all away" on the other side as well.

There really isn't a middle ground. There really isn't.

One side, though, consistently uses hysterical rhetoric to build up the premise that there can't be any compromise.


(... the other is the NRA *rimshot)

jfrey wrote:

AxAxSxS wrote:

Mudfuzz wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:I don't find it funny, but depressing. Because it's a pretty accurate depiction of Americans and that makes me sad.

I always find things like this odd. I have never met anyone actually seriously like that. I've always thought it's just like a joke on tv/the internet.

Have you ever spent any significant amount of time in a rural area? I'm not even talking the South or anything. Just go an hour or two west of Boston, and there are entire towns of people like that. I grew up in Fitchburg, which is relatively urban/suburban. But go 2 towns in any direction from there and it's all 'MURICA FUCK YEAH hillbillies.

bigchiefbc wrote:

jfrey wrote:

AxAxSxS wrote:

Mudfuzz wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:I don't find it funny, but depressing. Because it's a pretty accurate depiction of Americans and that makes me sad.

I always find things like this odd. I have never met anyone actually seriously like that. I've always thought it's just like a joke on tv/the internet.

Have you ever spent any significant amount of time in a rural area? I'm not even talking the South or anything. Just go an hour or two west of Boston, and there are entire towns of people like that. I grew up in Fitchburg, which is relatively urban/suburban. But go 2 towns in any direction from there and it's all 'MURICA FUCK YEAH hillbillies.

I've spent most of my life in, or very near to major cities. I travel a good amount, but almost always just to other cities.

I'm from just about the most rural part of North Carolina. I can murica with the best of em

Fortunately I keep my xenophobia and ignorance under control. Unfortunately I will still do things like drink Mountain Dew in public and drive shitty Camaro's.

I got off work at 6AM today and was almost inside when a neighbor walking his dog stopped me to chat for a minute, but the conversation quickly turned from mundane shit to
1. His retirement
2. The government sucks
3. Obama is trying to become a dictator
4. Immigrants are taking all of the jobs and they should learn English
5. Muslims are crazy, man, did you know that when a girl is born they cut her clitoris off
I had been up for almost 24 hours at that point and it shifted so suddenly that I was reeling and could only pray that neutral comments would make him lose interest and go awayyyyyyy...

Do we have the same neighbor?

Eh.

As long as the aftermath was somewhat of a spectacle and people got mad then it was somewhat entertaining for me.