Americans: Do you feel your children are threatened by being shot by automatic weapons in their schoolyard?

[JohnRich 4]

From other posts here, one could think that the only people concerned with American school children being shot by automatic gunfire in their schoolyards are foreigners.

What do you think?

[quade 3]

I don't have children so, my answer has to be no, but you might wanna talk to the folks at this venue.

True, they were only semi-automatic.

Tell ya what John, why don't ya go there and ask them in person if they feel like the children there are in danger from guns?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[NewGuy2005 51]

Right, and at the same time, he could ask them if they feel like they are in danger of being struck by lightning.

I do have kids and I've never given it a thought.

[jm951 0]

There was a time when you could go down to the local hardware store and buy a Thompson submachine gun without any license of any type. How many school shootings were there then? How many up til the 1970s?

I think school shootings have far deeper roots than the availability of weapons. If the ease of purchase and ready availability were the root cause, I'd say that there should have been far more shootings in the past when regulations were virtually nonexistent.

[DZJ 0]

I love Speakers Corner.

[dorbie 0]

Geeze, talk about a lack of perspective.

This is all about perception vs. risk.

Emphasizing isolated incidents however shocking or tragic is the root of the problem here.

And John, you should realize that firearms don't kill schoolkids, video games do.

[DSE 3]

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Geeze, talk about a lack of perspective.

This is all about perception vs. risk.

Emphasizing isolated incidents however shocking or tragic is the root of the problem here.

And John, you should realize that firearms don't kill schoolkids, video games do.

Videogames don't kill people, shitty parents do.

Oops, I forgot, this is the new generation. Parents aren't responsible for their children any longer.
Since Quade brought up Columbine, I'd like to know why the parents of both of those kids aren't locked up.
The MSNBC Interview tells it fairly straight for me.
“Dylan (Klebold) did not do this because of the way he was raised,” Susan Klebold told columnist David Brooks in Saturday’s editions of The New York Times. “He did it in contradiction to the way he was raised.”

...They acknowledged they missed signs that their son was in trouble. Klebold and Harris were in a juvenile diversion program for breaking into a van and stealing tools and other items in January 1998.

In another interview I can't locate at the moment, the Klebolds "saw no harm in the violent video that their son was playing online with other kids."
Even though the police had been notified a year earlier that the boys were making pipe bombs in the basement.

[jm951 0]

Bingo- AWOL, clueless, oblivious parents

I'm again going to point to Grossman's work, On Killing. It has some interesting observations about conditioning and kids with violent video games. His website is

www.Killology.com

This is more an issue of the environment kids are raised in, how the parents do (or don't do) their jobs and how a permissive society that won't penalize bad behavior shouldn't be surprised at the outcomes.

[DaVinci 0]

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I don't have children so, my answer has to be no, but you might wanna talk to the folks at this venue.

True, they were only semi-automatic.

Might as well ask the families of dead skydivers if loved ones should jump.

[Lindsey 0]

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I don't have children so, my answer has to be no, but you might wanna talk to the folks at this venue.

True, they were only semi-automatic.

Might as well ask the families of dead skydivers if loved ones should jump.

The world. It's a scary fuckin' place.

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[jarrodh 0]

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And John, you should realize that firearms don't kill schoolkids, video games do

No, Marilyn Manson music does.

2 BITS....4 BITS....6 BITS....A DOLLAR!....ALL FOR THE GATORS....STAND UP AND HOLLER!!!!

[unformed 0]

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And John, you should realize that firearms don't kill schoolkids, video games do

No, Marilyn Manson music does.

You know .... I once heard Marilyn Manson's music on the radio, and I suddenly had the need to need to kill and eat my parents. Luckily there was a Bible sitting nearby and I was able to read it and force the thoughts out of my head.

If only schools everywhere required students to red the Bible every morning, we wouldn't have shootings anymore.

This ad space for sale.

[jarrodh 0]

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And John, you should realize that firearms don't kill schoolkids, video games do

No, Marilyn Manson music does.

You know .... I once heard Marilyn Manson's music on the radio, and I suddenly had the need to need to kill and eat my parents. Luckily there was a Bible sitting nearby and I was able to read it and force the thoughts out of my head.

If only schools everywhere required students to red the Bible every morning, we wouldn't have shootings anymore.

2 BITS....4 BITS....6 BITS....A DOLLAR!....ALL FOR THE GATORS....STAND UP AND HOLLER!!!!

[quade 3]

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I love Speakers Corner.

Yep. You can always express your opinion and have it respected here.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[quade 3]

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Geeze, talk about a lack of perspective.

This is all about perception vs. risk.

Tell that to the parents of;

1. Rachel Scott killed by shots to the head and chest on a grassy area next to the West Entrance of the school.
2. Richard Castaldo shot in the arm, chest, back and abdomen on the same grassy area.
3. Daniel Rohrbough killed by a shot to the chest on the West Staircase.
4. Sean Graves shot in the back and abdomen on the West Staircase.
5. Lance Kirklin shot with wounds to the leg, neck and jaw on the West Staircase.
6. Michael Johnson escaped from the grassy knoll with wounds to his face, arm and leg.
7. Mark Taylor shot in the chest, arms and leg on the grassy knoll.
8. Anne-Marie Hochhalter shot in the chest, arm, abdomen, back, and left leg near the cafeteria's entrance.
9. Brian Anderson injured near the West Entrance by flying glass.
10. Patti Nielson hit in the shoulder by shrapnel near the West Entrance.
11. Stephanie Munson shot in the ankle inside the North Hallway.
12. Dave Sanders died of blood loss after being shot in the neck and back inside the South Hallway.
13. Evan Todd sustained minor injuries from the splintering of a desk he was hiding under.
14. Kyle Velasquez killed by gunshot wounds to the head and back.
15. Patrick Ireland shot in the arm, leg, head, and foot.
16. Daniel Steepleton shot in the thigh.
17. Makai Hall shot in the knee.
18. Steven Curnow killed by a shot to the neck.
19. Kasey Ruegsegger shot in the hand, arm and shoulder.
20. Cassie Bernall killed by a shot to the head.
21. Isaiah Shoels killed by a shot to the chest.
22. Matthew Kechter killed by a shot to the chest.
23. Lisa Kreutz shot in the shoulder, hand and arms.
24. Valeen Schnurr injured with wounds to the chest, arms and abdomen.
25. Mark Kintgen shot in the head and shoulder.
26. Lauren Townsend killed by multiple gunshot wounds to the head, chest and lower body.
27. Nicole Nowlen shot in the abdomen.
28. John Tomlin killed by multiple shots to the head and neck.
29. Kelly Fleming killed by a shot to the back.
30. Jeanna Park shot in the knee, shoulder and foot.
31. Daniel Mauser killed by a shot to the face.
32. Jennifer Doyle shot in the hand, leg and shoulder.
33. Austin Eubanks shot in the head and knee.
34. Corey DePooter killed by shots to the chest and neck.

I'm almost certain they'd be more than willing to argue the point with you that it's the perception that is the problem and not the actual risk.

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Emphasizing isolated incidents however shocking or tragic is the root of the problem here.

That's kind of like saying that nobody has ever died -of- AIDS, only the illesses caused as a result of immune deficiencies; like pneumonia. Or, it's not the gun; it's them damn little bullets.

I'll agree that it's not the root of the problem, but it is a way in which the problem manifests itself.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[quade 3]

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Might as well ask the families of dead skydivers if loved ones should jump.

Poor analogy there.

When a skydiver goes in, most of the time it's his own damn fault.

When a person gets shot, most of the time it's because a different person shot him.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[ExAFO 0]

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When a person gets shot, most of the time it's because a different person shot him.

..whom they bullied mercilessly...and then the administration ignored their victims' cries for help...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/june99/columbine12.htm

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[dorbie 0]

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Emphasizing isolated incidents however shocking or tragic is the root of the problem here.

That's kind of like saying that nobody has ever died -of- AIDS, only the illesses caused as a result of immune deficiencies; like pneumonia. Or, it's not the gun; it's them damn little bullets.

No, it's nothing like saying that. The rest of your post if a cynical appeal to emotion. Compounding your earlier post with a more eggregious and obtuse one does not make any kind of point.

AIDS causes a vast number of deaths and is a real problem that merits attention and resources, like many other issues it is catastrophically more significant than gun violence in schools.

[vpozzoli 0]

Of course they do. Wouldn't you feel threatened too if somebody was firing an automatic weapon (or indeed any kind of weapon) at you?

Ciao.

Vale

[NCclimber 0]

So far, 14 of 32 Americans voted yes.

There's a lot of paranoia around here.

Statistically speaking, what's the risk of your child being killed by a gun, at school?

One in five million?

[DZJ 0]

Probably even less than that.

14/32 surprises me, to be honest. It's higher than I would have expected, even allowing for the dodginess of polls like that.

[rehmwa 2]

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I love Speakers Corner.

Yep. You can always express your opinion and have it respected here.

I'm not sure "respected" was the word you were looking for......

mocked, ignored, reinvented, misstated, used as a stepping stone for someone else's pet issue

all come to mind, not respected,

I mean, if you really meant respected, then you'd realize that RSLs should be an option for the user as it's not a load bearing part of the reserve system so calling it a TSO'd part is a bit of a stretch, and, though abortion is a personal choice, why should only people that make over $20,000 a year pay for everybody else's bad choices, I mean, if you do that, the ozone will thin away, except over Antarctica where the ice is growing, but it's bad ice, full of oil slick residue, which, elsewhere, would poison the polar bears, but giving polar bears the death sentence is just wrong, how about all the innocent polar bears that get the needle, you think their families are glad to see it in place - sure maybe in Texas they are, but they aren't really humans, not like the Europeans.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[narcimund 0]

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I mean, if you really meant respected, then you'd realize that ... like the Europeans.

I'm dizzy now...

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[mnealtx 0]

Yeah... I think the only things he forgot was swooping and exit order...

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Darius11 12]

I said no. If I had kids I would say no.
Here is what I don’t get. If a criminal wants a gun they will not go in to a store show there face and purchase a gun, they will find other sources to find a gun that is untraceable.
I believe I was listening to Jay Severn(spelling) Last night and he was talking about a study done by a Yale professor(sorry he didn’t mention the name) that showed the relationship between violent crimes, and how restrictive the gun laws of a state were.
No surprise the less restrictive gun laws the lower the crime rate.
It makes perfect sense to me. You will think twice about robbing someone who is packing then knowing that most are unarmed.

As for the kids. Simple if you can not dedicate enough time to your children to be a parent then do the world a favor and do not reproduce. Also not every child who is born and grows up is a good person. It has nothing to do with the gun laws if you are evil/bad you will find a way to hurt someone.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain