"Active Shooter" video game lets you be school shooter

[OldLady]

Instead of being somewhat glad that we're doing SOMEthing right, in becoming a less violent culture, we are focused on a Political Hot topic and instead of being mad at Murderers in general now, we are going to focus on their tool of choice, of the minute.

I bet if the Vegas shooter took a mac truck through the center of that concert crowd going 45mph, he would have killed as many folks and then we'd have to have a serious discussion regarding Mac Trucks instead of the brain-state of a human that makes them want to mass-kill folks.

Should we even SELL pressure cookers, though? Or the nails and shrapnel that goes inside of them?

Stop having concerts or marathons, or going to school?????

Because simply changing the weapons of choice isn't the answer to stopping people from wanting to kill. These arguments lack the intellectual DEPTH it would take to decipher the root causes, here.

It's not our culture, because it's statistically rare.
It's not only guns that mass-kill folks - and it's impossible to completely eradicate mass murder weapons with automobiles, bombs, etc..

What should we talk about?

bidets?

 

[G.T.]

Here's the schitzo, in his own words on video.....describing what made him angsty enough to want to kill.................... Florida Prosecutors Release Chilling Videos Of Florida School Shooter Nikolas Cruz Bragging About His Plans To Carry Out The Massacre! | Video

"tired of being told what to do"
"the media the media"

Look, when you have 7 billion people in the world - - - there's just going to be some fucking idiots. I mean, he's a deranged fucking idiot.


It's asinine to blame others. So0o0o god damned ridiculous.

 

[G.T.]

Instead of being somewhat glad that we're doing SOMEthing right, in becoming a less violent culture, we are focused on a Political Hot topic and instead of being mad at Murderers in general now, we are going to focus on their tool of choice, of the minute.

I bet if the Vegas shooter took a mac truck through the center of that concert crowd going 45mph, he would have killed as many folks and then we'd have to have a serious discussion regarding Mac Trucks instead of the brain-state of a human that makes them want to mass-kill folks.

Should we even SELL pressure cookers, though? Or the nails and shrapnel that goes inside of them?

Stop having concerts or marathons, or going to school?????

Because simply changing the weapons of choice isn't the answer to stopping people from wanting to kill. These arguments lack the intellectual DEPTH it would take to decipher the root causes, here.

It's not our culture, because it's statistically rare.
It's not only guns that mass-kill folks - and it's impossible to completely eradicate mass murder weapons with automobiles, bombs, etc..

What should we talk about?

bidets?

Bidets are life. To everyone else? WASH YOUR ASS

 

[Mac1958]

One of the complaints I always hear about the NRA is that they don't care about anything but money. And this game manufacturer doesn't? At least the NRA teaches gun safety and fights in court to protect 2nd amendment rights. Is there any redeeming quality of a games that allows the player to be a school shooter? (rhetorical question).

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. The game itself is just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

 

[G.T.]

As President, Ruler of the Universe and Dictator of your subconscious - - - I'll offer you a deal.

If half of a hundreth of a percent of people, or - 0.005%, begin acting this way, I'll (still irrationally) be like, "hey, what gives? We need to address this serious (not even statistically) trend in our culture!" ....instead of addressing them as outliers / rarities in a sea of MILLIONS.

But if it continues to be the same or less of a % of human organisms just coming out deformed as evolutionary probabilities would dictate.....then I'm going to continue to question your cognitive function in trying to lay the blame on a Culture that's statistically, realistically, rationally, obviously, clearly in every single way, NOT the cause of this issue.....else the problem would be MUCH LARGER.

 

[G.T.]

One of the complaints I always hear about the NRA is that they don't care about anything but money. And this game manufacturer doesn't? At least the NRA teaches gun safety and fights in court to protect 2nd amendment rights. Is there any redeeming quality of a games that allows the player to be a school shooter? (rhetorical question).

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. It's just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

"GET OFF MY LAWN"

 

[OldLady]

One of the complaints I always hear about the NRA is that they don't care about anything but money. And this game manufacturer doesn't? At least the NRA teaches gun safety and fights in court to protect 2nd amendment rights. Is there any redeeming quality of a games that allows the player to be a school shooter? (rhetorical question).

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. The game itself is just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

How do you think we should address the disease?

 

[TNHarley]

How do you address mental illness and what not without impeding on other people?

 

[G.T.]

One of the complaints I always hear about the NRA is that they don't care about anything but money. And this game manufacturer doesn't? At least the NRA teaches gun safety and fights in court to protect 2nd amendment rights. Is there any redeeming quality of a games that allows the player to be a school shooter? (rhetorical question).

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. The game itself is just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

How do you think we should address the disease?

I assure you, our culture is not "diseased" and there's no viable metric one could use to point to such a thing that doesnt boil down to the age old phenomena even Socrates recognized hundred of years ago.....

which is that older folks become Prudish to the shifting values that have occurred from generation to generation since civilized society began.


Elvis was too sexy for the stage for Mac, and here we are OMG porn meanwhile, life goes on...we're not all growing up these degenerate criminals as the prudish macs seem to actually HOPE would happen. We're simply not as Conservative/Uptight about frivolous things. In this sense, we are more enlightened.

 

[OldLady]

How do you address mental illness and what not without impeding on other people?

What do you mean, "without impeding on other people?" What are you thinking of?

 

[Mac1958]

One of the complaints I always hear about the NRA is that they don't care about anything but money. And this game manufacturer doesn't? At least the NRA teaches gun safety and fights in court to protect 2nd amendment rights. Is there any redeeming quality of a games that allows the player to be a school shooter? (rhetorical question).

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. The game itself is just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

How do you think we should address the disease?

My own little theory is that, since we're such a celebrity/popular culture-driven society, it might very well take people from there to start speaking out and leading the way. Then a momentum has to be created, supported and nurtured. One by one. Changing a culture is one fucking heavy lift. Band aids don't work. A culture affects everything, and it infects everything.

Do I really expect any of this to happen? Not really. Hell, I was so hopeful that even that potentially hyper-goofy Trump/Kaepernick/Kanye "summit" would happen. At least it would be COMMUNICATION. I'll take pretty much anything at this point.

But there are too many people who don't want to see that happen, for their own interests.
.

 

[G.T.]

doom and gloom doom and gloom

 

[Some Guy]

I think one overlooked aspect here in the "gun/mass killing culture" discussion is the ubiquitous presence of media. Were there mass shootings 50 years ago? Yes, there were, but there were far, far fewer methods by which you could learn about it. You had a handful of networks on TV to tell you about them and then the newspapers and magazines. And that's only if they wanted to tell you about it: if they thought it was important for you to know about it.

Compare that to now. 24 hour "news" networks, a computer in your pocket/purse at all times, minuscule moments of downtime filled with someone checking out their facebook feed or whatever on their phone. You have 24/7 access to news no matter where you are, from a hell of a lot more sources of it who all have both their opinions on what you should know and also their own profit motives. Sex sells. Violence sells. Controversy sells. It all gets more eyeballs and ears which fuel that profit motive. So when a school shooting happens, what follows? Ubiquitous coverage, lots of outlets digging for every last detail to feed their rabid audience that wants to know about the shooter and the people who died. They keep it alive by using it to talk about gun control, and what could be done to stop this horrible tragedy. It makes one really question whether or not they want to stop it from happening since it's covered so breathlessly and so completely because there's an audience that craves it. But to the original point: the fact that it happened is shoved in your face and smeared around for days on end: it makes it feel that much more prevalent and that much more of an issue because, as stated, overall homicide is down.

Furthermore, if mass shootings were really our culture, if it was "normal", then no one would pay attention to it cause people don't really care about shit that's normal: it's the abnormal that gets people's attention. People see that and go "wow, that's crazy, i need to know more." If you want to talk about culture, if anything, it's that our culture is obsessed with watching/consuming violence but not committing it. These school shootings are universally condemned as horrible and terrible and tragic but that doesn't stop us from consuming the aftermath of it. We play violent videogames, see violent movies and tv shows and see the aftermath of actual violence on our TVs/devices every single day. Those who aren't directly affected by a mass shooting can't appreciate the impact of it because it blends into the tapestry of violence we consume daily. So if anything, our culture is one that doesn't condone or encourage violence against others but is quite eager to consume the fictitious depiction of it and the quite real aftermath of it.

 

[OldLady]

I think one overlooked aspect here in the "gun/mass killing culture" discussion is the ubiquitous presence of media. Were there mass shootings 50 years ago? Yes, there were, but there were far, far fewer methods by which you could learn about it. You had a handful of networks on TV to tell you about them and then the newspapers and magazines. And that's only if they wanted to tell you about it: if they thought it was important for you to know about it.

Compare that to now. 24 hour "news" networks, a computer in your pocket/purse at all times, minuscule moments of downtime filled with someone checking out their facebook feed or whatever on their phone. You have 24/7 access to news no matter where you are, from a hell of a lot more sources of it who all have both their opinions on what you should know and also their own profit motives. Sex sells. Violence sells. Controversy sells. It all gets more eyeballs and ears which fuel that profit motive. So when a school shooting happens, what follows? Ubiquitous coverage, lots of outlets digging for every last detail to feed their rabid audience that wants to know about the shooter and the people who died. They keep it alive by using it to talk about gun control, and what could be done to stop this horrible tragedy. It makes one really question whether or not they want to stop it from happening since it's covered so breathlessly and so completely because there's an audience that craves it. But to the original point: the fact that it happened is shoved in your face and smeared around for days on end: it makes it feel that much more prevalent and that much more of an issue because, as stated, overall homicide is down.

Furthermore, if mass shootings were really our culture, if it was "normal", then no one would pay attention to it cause people don't really care about shit that's normal: it's the abnormal that gets people's attention. People see that and go "wow, that's crazy, i need to know more." If you want to talk about culture, if anything, it's that our culture is obsessed with watching/consuming violence but not committing it. These school shootings are universally condemned as horrible and terrible and tragic but that doesn't stop us from consuming the aftermath of it. We play violent videogames, see violent movies and tv shows and see the aftermath of actual violence on our TVs/devices every single day. Those who aren't directly affected by a mass shooting can't appreciate the impact of it because it blends into the tapestry of violence we consume daily. So if anything, our culture is one that doesn't condone or encourage violence against others but is quite eager to consume the fictitious depiction of it and the quite real aftermath of it.

There was a mass shooting in 1966 and not another until 1984. 18 years. Then another in 1986, and from there they started happening with more regularity.

I agree with you that the 24/7 news channels and the news on social media keeps sensationalized news from around the country on our plate all the time, giving the impression we are just a mess. However, it is not true that 50 years ago there were as many mass shootings as there are now. This is really easy to watch/no reading to speak of.
A timeline of mass shootings in the United States

 

[OldLady]

One of the complaints I always hear about the NRA is that they don't care about anything but money. And this game manufacturer doesn't? At least the NRA teaches gun safety and fights in court to protect 2nd amendment rights. Is there any redeeming quality of a games that allows the player to be a school shooter? (rhetorical question).

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. The game itself is just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

How do you think we should address the disease?

My own little theory is that, since we're such a celebrity/popular culture-driven society, it might very well take people from there to start speaking out and leading the way. Then a momentum has to be created, supported and nurtured. One by one. Changing a culture is one fucking heavy lift. Band aids don't work. A culture affects everything, and it infects everything.

Do I really expect any of this to happen? Not really. Hell, I was so hopeful that even that potentially hyper-goofy Trump/Kaepernick/Kanye "summit" would happen. At least it would be COMMUNICATION. I'll take pretty much anything at this point.

But there are too many people who don't want to see that happen, for their own interests.
.

we're such a celebrity/popular culture-driven society, it might very well take people from there to start speaking out and leading the way.
Like the Me Too movement? Like I said, social media has its up side.

 

[Some Guy]

I think one overlooked aspect here in the "gun/mass killing culture" discussion is the ubiquitous presence of media. Were there mass shootings 50 years ago? Yes, there were, but there were far, far fewer methods by which you could learn about it. You had a handful of networks on TV to tell you about them and then the newspapers and magazines. And that's only if they wanted to tell you about it: if they thought it was important for you to know about it.

Compare that to now. 24 hour "news" networks, a computer in your pocket/purse at all times, minuscule moments of downtime filled with someone checking out their facebook feed or whatever on their phone. You have 24/7 access to news no matter where you are, from a hell of a lot more sources of it who all have both their opinions on what you should know and also their own profit motives. Sex sells. Violence sells. Controversy sells. It all gets more eyeballs and ears which fuel that profit motive. So when a school shooting happens, what follows? Ubiquitous coverage, lots of outlets digging for every last detail to feed their rabid audience that wants to know about the shooter and the people who died. They keep it alive by using it to talk about gun control, and what could be done to stop this horrible tragedy. It makes one really question whether or not they want to stop it from happening since it's covered so breathlessly and so completely because there's an audience that craves it. But to the original point: the fact that it happened is shoved in your face and smeared around for days on end: it makes it feel that much more prevalent and that much more of an issue because, as stated, overall homicide is down.

Furthermore, if mass shootings were really our culture, if it was "normal", then no one would pay attention to it cause people don't really care about shit that's normal: it's the abnormal that gets people's attention. People see that and go "wow, that's crazy, i need to know more." If you want to talk about culture, if anything, it's that our culture is obsessed with watching/consuming violence but not committing it. These school shootings are universally condemned as horrible and terrible and tragic but that doesn't stop us from consuming the aftermath of it. We play violent videogames, see violent movies and tv shows and see the aftermath of actual violence on our TVs/devices every single day. Those who aren't directly affected by a mass shooting can't appreciate the impact of it because it blends into the tapestry of violence we consume daily. So if anything, our culture is one that doesn't condone or encourage violence against others but is quite eager to consume the fictitious depiction of it and the quite real aftermath of it.

There was a mass shooting in 1966 and not another until 1984. 18 years. Then another in 1986, and from there they started happening with more regularity.

I agree with you that the 24/7 news channels and the news on social media keeps sensationalized news from around the country on our plate all the time, giving the impression we are just a mess. However, it is not true that 50 years ago there were as many mass shootings as there are now. This is really easy to watch/no reading to speak of.
A timeline of mass shootings in the United States

I never denied that, although statistics on this are very hard to gather and the definition of "mass" shooting has been a moving target throughout the years.

You're wanting to blame our culture for the rise of mass shootings, and i don't blame you for wanting to find an answer to a very disturbing and confounding problem. I just provided you a way to effectively do that while also being able to acknowledge that we are a safer society by the homicide rate as mass shootings increase. If i were to suggest some place for you to land on this, it would be that our culture of consuming but not condoning violence makes it easier for people who aren't quite right in the head (for whatever reason) to justify in their head moving from consuming/thinking about/fantasizing about violence to committing violence in a way that'll get a whole lot of attention: attention that they probably didn't get enough of in their head which would be a factor in leading them to commit violence.

That's where i land on this anyway.

 

[Mac1958]

We're not supposed to see anything questionable here.

Question it, and there is something wrong with YOU.

Which tells you a lot about where we are as a country.
.

Mac, you must be pleased that the gaming platform pulled the game due to public outcry. Social media has it's downside, but sometimes it actually allows good stuff to happen. A lot of good people said No way. So maybe the news isn't totally bleak.

Y'know, the individual stories like this are fine, but my focus is usually on what they mean. I look at these stories as a gauge. That's why banning this or that isn't a high priority for me. The game itself is just a symptom, and we need to address the disease.

Yeah, it's good that this horrified people, but pulling it doesn't mean that anything in our culture has changed or improved. Enough people said NO this time, but I'll bet you there will come a time when it's less shocking.

Maybe we'll find a bottom, though, I dunno. For my kids' sake, I hope so.
.

How do you think we should address the disease?

My own little theory is that, since we're such a celebrity/popular culture-driven society, it might very well take people from there to start speaking out and leading the way. Then a momentum has to be created, supported and nurtured. One by one. Changing a culture is one fucking heavy lift. Band aids don't work. A culture affects everything, and it infects everything.

Do I really expect any of this to happen? Not really. Hell, I was so hopeful that even that potentially hyper-goofy Trump/Kaepernick/Kanye "summit" would happen. At least it would be COMMUNICATION. I'll take pretty much anything at this point.

But there are too many people who don't want to see that happen, for their own interests.
.

we're such a celebrity/popular culture-driven society, it might very well take people from there to start speaking out and leading the way.
Like the Me Too movement? Like I said, social media has its up side.

Yep, you bet, great example.
.

 

[OldLady]

I think one overlooked aspect here in the "gun/mass killing culture" discussion is the ubiquitous presence of media. Were there mass shootings 50 years ago? Yes, there were, but there were far, far fewer methods by which you could learn about it. You had a handful of networks on TV to tell you about them and then the newspapers and magazines. And that's only if they wanted to tell you about it: if they thought it was important for you to know about it.

Compare that to now. 24 hour "news" networks, a computer in your pocket/purse at all times, minuscule moments of downtime filled with someone checking out their facebook feed or whatever on their phone. You have 24/7 access to news no matter where you are, from a hell of a lot more sources of it who all have both their opinions on what you should know and also their own profit motives. Sex sells. Violence sells. Controversy sells. It all gets more eyeballs and ears which fuel that profit motive. So when a school shooting happens, what follows? Ubiquitous coverage, lots of outlets digging for every last detail to feed their rabid audience that wants to know about the shooter and the people who died. They keep it alive by using it to talk about gun control, and what could be done to stop this horrible tragedy. It makes one really question whether or not they want to stop it from happening since it's covered so breathlessly and so completely because there's an audience that craves it. But to the original point: the fact that it happened is shoved in your face and smeared around for days on end: it makes it feel that much more prevalent and that much more of an issue because, as stated, overall homicide is down.

Furthermore, if mass shootings were really our culture, if it was "normal", then no one would pay attention to it cause people don't really care about shit that's normal: it's the abnormal that gets people's attention. People see that and go "wow, that's crazy, i need to know more." If you want to talk about culture, if anything, it's that our culture is obsessed with watching/consuming violence but not committing it. These school shootings are universally condemned as horrible and terrible and tragic but that doesn't stop us from consuming the aftermath of it. We play violent videogames, see violent movies and tv shows and see the aftermath of actual violence on our TVs/devices every single day. Those who aren't directly affected by a mass shooting can't appreciate the impact of it because it blends into the tapestry of violence we consume daily. So if anything, our culture is one that doesn't condone or encourage violence against others but is quite eager to consume the fictitious depiction of it and the quite real aftermath of it.

There was a mass shooting in 1966 and not another until 1984. 18 years. Then another in 1986, and from there they started happening with more regularity.

I agree with you that the 24/7 news channels and the news on social media keeps sensationalized news from around the country on our plate all the time, giving the impression we are just a mess. However, it is not true that 50 years ago there were as many mass shootings as there are now. This is really easy to watch/no reading to speak of.
A timeline of mass shootings in the United States

I never denied that, although statistics on this are very hard to gather and the definition of "mass" shooting has been a moving target throughout the years.

You're wanting to blame our culture for the rise of mass shootings, and i don't blame you for wanting to find an answer to a very disturbing and confounding problem. I just provided you a way to effectively do that while also being able to acknowledge that we are a safer society by the homicide rate as mass shootings increase. If i were to suggest some place for you to land on this, it would be that our culture of consuming but not condoning violence makes it easier for people who aren't quite right in the head (for whatever reason) to justify in their head moving from consuming/thinking about/fantasizing about violence to committing violence in a way that'll get a whole lot of attention: attention that they probably didn't get enough of in their head which would be a factor in leading them to commit violence.

That's where i land on this anyway.

I think that is a sensible place to land, and I never said it was an all or nothing proposition. I believe media violence is at least a reflection of our violence loving culture. The grisly reason homicide rates are down from 50 years ago is that the ER is saving a lot more shooting victims. They never collected data on shooting victims who survived, so no comparison can be made, but I would be surprised if the number of shooting victims has not risen.
Although some people here protest anyone over 30 having a memory, I remember a time when mass shootings didn't happen with regularity and even gang members were using knives, not guns. Things are not headed in the right direction at the moment, imo.

 

[G.T.]

I think one overlooked aspect here in the "gun/mass killing culture" discussion is the ubiquitous presence of media. Were there mass shootings 50 years ago? Yes, there were, but there were far, far fewer methods by which you could learn about it. You had a handful of networks on TV to tell you about them and then the newspapers and magazines. And that's only if they wanted to tell you about it: if they thought it was important for you to know about it.

Compare that to now. 24 hour "news" networks, a computer in your pocket/purse at all times, minuscule moments of downtime filled with someone checking out their facebook feed or whatever on their phone. You have 24/7 access to news no matter where you are, from a hell of a lot more sources of it who all have both their opinions on what you should know and also their own profit motives. Sex sells. Violence sells. Controversy sells. It all gets more eyeballs and ears which fuel that profit motive. So when a school shooting happens, what follows? Ubiquitous coverage, lots of outlets digging for every last detail to feed their rabid audience that wants to know about the shooter and the people who died. They keep it alive by using it to talk about gun control, and what could be done to stop this horrible tragedy. It makes one really question whether or not they want to stop it from happening since it's covered so breathlessly and so completely because there's an audience that craves it. But to the original point: the fact that it happened is shoved in your face and smeared around for days on end: it makes it feel that much more prevalent and that much more of an issue because, as stated, overall homicide is down.

Furthermore, if mass shootings were really our culture, if it was "normal", then no one would pay attention to it cause people don't really care about shit that's normal: it's the abnormal that gets people's attention. People see that and go "wow, that's crazy, i need to know more." If you want to talk about culture, if anything, it's that our culture is obsessed with watching/consuming violence but not committing it. These school shootings are universally condemned as horrible and terrible and tragic but that doesn't stop us from consuming the aftermath of it. We play violent videogames, see violent movies and tv shows and see the aftermath of actual violence on our TVs/devices every single day. Those who aren't directly affected by a mass shooting can't appreciate the impact of it because it blends into the tapestry of violence we consume daily. So if anything, our culture is one that doesn't condone or encourage violence against others but is quite eager to consume the fictitious depiction of it and the quite real aftermath of it.

There was a mass shooting in 1966 and not another until 1984. 18 years. Then another in 1986, and from there they started happening with more regularity.

I agree with you that the 24/7 news channels and the news on social media keeps sensationalized news from around the country on our plate all the time, giving the impression we are just a mess. However, it is not true that 50 years ago there were as many mass shootings as there are now. This is really easy to watch/no reading to speak of.
A timeline of mass shootings in the United States

I never denied that, although statistics on this are very hard to gather and the definition of "mass" shooting has been a moving target throughout the years.

You're wanting to blame our culture for the rise of mass shootings, and i don't blame you for wanting to find an answer to a very disturbing and confounding problem. I just provided you a way to effectively do that while also being able to acknowledge that we are a safer society by the homicide rate as mass shootings increase. If i were to suggest some place for you to land on this, it would be that our culture of consuming but not condoning violence makes it easier for people who aren't quite right in the head (for whatever reason) to justify in their head moving from consuming/thinking about/fantasizing about violence to committing violence in a way that'll get a whole lot of attention: attention that they probably didn't get enough of in their head which would be a factor in leading them to commit violence.

That's where i land on this anyway.

I think that is a sensible place to land, and I never said it was an all or nothing proposition. I believe media violence is at least a reflection of our violence loving culture. The grisly reason homicide rates are down from 50 years ago is that the ER is saving a lot more shooting victims. They never collected data on shooting victims who survived, so no comparison can be made, but I would be surprised if the number of shooting victims has not risen.
Although some people here protest anyone over 30 having a memory, I remember a time when mass shootings didn't happen with regularity and even gang members were using knives, not guns. Things are not headed in the right direction at the moment, imo.

violent crime is down, not just homicide. That means the ER doesn't account for the decrease in violent crime, but only to a decrease in homocide alone.

you can look stuff up, yannow.

 

[OldLady]

I think one overlooked aspect here in the "gun/mass killing culture" discussion is the ubiquitous presence of media. Were there mass shootings 50 years ago? Yes, there were, but there were far, far fewer methods by which you could learn about it. You had a handful of networks on TV to tell you about them and then the newspapers and magazines. And that's only if they wanted to tell you about it: if they thought it was important for you to know about it.

Compare that to now. 24 hour "news" networks, a computer in your pocket/purse at all times, minuscule moments of downtime filled with someone checking out their facebook feed or whatever on their phone. You have 24/7 access to news no matter where you are, from a hell of a lot more sources of it who all have both their opinions on what you should know and also their own profit motives. Sex sells. Violence sells. Controversy sells. It all gets more eyeballs and ears which fuel that profit motive. So when a school shooting happens, what follows? Ubiquitous coverage, lots of outlets digging for every last detail to feed their rabid audience that wants to know about the shooter and the people who died. They keep it alive by using it to talk about gun control, and what could be done to stop this horrible tragedy. It makes one really question whether or not they want to stop it from happening since it's covered so breathlessly and so completely because there's an audience that craves it. But to the original point: the fact that it happened is shoved in your face and smeared around for days on end: it makes it feel that much more prevalent and that much more of an issue because, as stated, overall homicide is down.

Furthermore, if mass shootings were really our culture, if it was "normal", then no one would pay attention to it cause people don't really care about shit that's normal: it's the abnormal that gets people's attention. People see that and go "wow, that's crazy, i need to know more." If you want to talk about culture, if anything, it's that our culture is obsessed with watching/consuming violence but not committing it. These school shootings are universally condemned as horrible and terrible and tragic but that doesn't stop us from consuming the aftermath of it. We play violent videogames, see violent movies and tv shows and see the aftermath of actual violence on our TVs/devices every single day. Those who aren't directly affected by a mass shooting can't appreciate the impact of it because it blends into the tapestry of violence we consume daily. So if anything, our culture is one that doesn't condone or encourage violence against others but is quite eager to consume the fictitious depiction of it and the quite real aftermath of it.

There was a mass shooting in 1966 and not another until 1984. 18 years. Then another in 1986, and from there they started happening with more regularity.

I agree with you that the 24/7 news channels and the news on social media keeps sensationalized news from around the country on our plate all the time, giving the impression we are just a mess. However, it is not true that 50 years ago there were as many mass shootings as there are now. This is really easy to watch/no reading to speak of.
A timeline of mass shootings in the United States

I never denied that, although statistics on this are very hard to gather and the definition of "mass" shooting has been a moving target throughout the years.

You're wanting to blame our culture for the rise of mass shootings, and i don't blame you for wanting to find an answer to a very disturbing and confounding problem. I just provided you a way to effectively do that while also being able to acknowledge that we are a safer society by the homicide rate as mass shootings increase. If i were to suggest some place for you to land on this, it would be that our culture of consuming but not condoning violence makes it easier for people who aren't quite right in the head (for whatever reason) to justify in their head moving from consuming/thinking about/fantasizing about violence to committing violence in a way that'll get a whole lot of attention: attention that they probably didn't get enough of in their head which would be a factor in leading them to commit violence.

That's where i land on this anyway.

I think that is a sensible place to land, and I never said it was an all or nothing proposition. I believe media violence is at least a reflection of our violence loving culture. The grisly reason homicide rates are down from 50 years ago is that the ER is saving a lot more shooting victims. They never collected data on shooting victims who survived, so no comparison can be made, but I would be surprised if the number of shooting victims has not risen.
Although some people here protest anyone over 30 having a memory, I remember a time when mass shootings didn't happen with regularity and even gang members were using knives, not guns. Things are not headed in the right direction at the moment, imo.

violent crime is down, not just homicide. That means the ER doesn't account for the decrease in violent crime, but only to a decrease in homocide alone.

you can look stuff up, yannow.

You could provide a link, yannow, supporting your "statistics."