It's not guns killing people - it's greed! Sane view of why guns are not the problem behind the US

First off - this is not a thread pro or against firearms.
Secondly - this is an OP written by a non american citizen. An outsiders look at the problem behind the mass shootings in USA, if you will.

Fact: 5% of the earth's total population consists of americans. These americans own 42% of the privately owned firearms in the world.

Do they own that much firearms just because they have the right to do so? Just because they can?
Of course not. They do this because they are scared.

Scared that they themselves or their loved ones will get hurt or killed.
Scared of people stealing or destroying their hard earned property.
Scared of beeing raped, beaten or voilated in other ways.
They want to protect themselves from all the scary stuff in the world basically.
We all do. It's nothing wrong in wishing to be safe.
I can sympathize with owning a gun for that purpose!

How many % of the gun owners in USA have had use of their firearm in order to actively protect themselves?
I dont have the numbers, but it's likely that most people that own a gun, NEVER had any use for it to actively protect themselves. And that is a good thing of course.
Most people have them "just in case".

Have you ever heard the phrase: It's not guns that kill people - it's people that kill people.
I'm sure you have.
Gun lobbyists use this phrase all the time to defend their right to sell guns and earn money.
Law-abiding gun owners use it as well to defend their right to own a gun and protect themselves.
It's (in my humble opinion) a stupid phrase, but there might be some truth to it actually.
Here's why:

We must start by asking ourselves - why do all those school shootings and other mass shootings frequently happen in USA and not in for example Switzerland (who have a higher gun per capita rate then USA) or Canada (that have alot of hunters and therefor alot of hunting weapons)?

It's the PEOPLE in USA, not the guns in USA, that are the problem.

Can this be true? Are the americans really more scared, erratical and irresponsible then the rest of the world?
Of course not!
All of the americans I have met seem to be good, honest and reasonably sane people actually.
So what IS the problem then?

Here's what (and something tells me that many americans, gun loving or not, aren't gonna like this conclusion):
You don't take care of your own. Simple as that!

Most civilized countries that have gun ownership laws, also have WAY better social security then USA.
Switzerland for example, are comparable to USA in gun numbers per citizen, but they don't have nearly the amount of homeless, broke and almost starving people that USA have.

Desperate people tend to take desperate measures.

This is why americans are so scared.
They KNOW they have alot of alienated and desperate people out there in their community that will act desperately sooner or later.
The solution IS NOT to buy a gun to protect yourself from desperate people - the solution is to take care of them instead.

So why don't americans take better care of their less fortunate?
So that they don't need to be scared of other people doing stupid things in desperation?
The answer is greed.

Here is a pretty typical american way of thinking:
- "Why should I, that work hard to support my family, pay extra taxes to support for the ones that are too lazy or stupid to support for themselves? Goddamn socialistic ideas! This is MY money, I worked hard to earn them and I need every penny I make to get by myself. It's MY money and I'll spend them as I please!"

Like buying a firearm for $500 that will grant you protection for the next-coming 10 years instead of paying the same amount in social taxes over a 10 year period to help others, so that you might not NEED a gun?

No country can fully avoid having unhappy people, no matter how good and effective their social safety nets are, but if you are the world's weapon-densest country, you should at least try a little harder to keep your population from living on the brink of desperation!

Because it's not guns killing people - it's greed killing people...

It really amazes me that no one seem to put 2+2 together and see that this is the core of the mass shootings problem in USA.
Everyone just discusses gun restriction or no gun restrictions.
It's not about the guns alone - let them have their freedom to carry a gun for protection if they like to do so.

But make sure that fewer people feel alienated and without hope, so that these guns are used for what the laws intended them to be used for - protection.
And not a means to act out desperation...

reply to post by Tollon


People kill people, guns are just a symptom and a means.

Originally posted by BrokenAngelWings33
reply to post by Tollon

 

People kill people, guns are just a symptom and a means.

Really? A one liner is all you had to say about it?
A variation of the very mantra I just commented about in the OP too.

There was actually a time when new members (I noticed you signed up here only a month ago) actually did put some effort into their replies.
Those were the days...

Originally posted by Tollon

Originally posted by BrokenAngelWings33
reply to post by Tollon

 

People kill people, guns are just a symptom and a means.

Really? A one liner is all you had to say about it?
A variation of the very mantra I just commented about in the OP too.

There was actually a time when new members (I noticed you signed up here only a month ago) actually did put some effort into their replies.
Those were the days...

Try writing something original.

Greed? No.

Fear? Yes

Obtaining the means to defend is not greedy. For example, we all have to defend ourselves from the elements, but this is not a matter of greed.

The whole gun thing is nothing but provocation. Anyone who has a gun for security is already infected with fear. Threatening to remove the tool they consider a protection will only exacerbate the situation.

I don't know the solution. I'm simply not given the resources, but I can encourage others to find peace within themselves, for that is where the universe actually is. When one understands that space and relative dimensions are an illusion, this is rubbish but the sentiment is true.

Gunpowder is an awful device but nothing compared to an existence in fear.

For what it is worth, peace.