Is america a nation of terrified people ????

Good thread - completely agree.

Especially the bit about schoolkids practising for a nuclear attack (I'm over 50 and we never did anything like that at school in Britain, even though it was just as relevant for us).

I remember watching a Michael Moore film (I forget which one) and he was addressing the question why there are a humungous amount of gun homicides in America compared to their close neighbour, Canada - despite the fact that Canada has a similarly high degree of gun ownership.

His conclusion is that the US public are brainwashed with frightening news stories and images, whereas Canadians are not (relatively).

Not wishing to cause offence but the overall impression I'm getting about US posters - mainly in regard to the gun ownership issue - is of a frightened, paranoid people.

Originally posted by CJCrawley
Good thread - completely agree.

Especially the bit about schoolkids practising for a nuclear attack (I'm over 50 and we never did anything like that at school in Britain, even though it was just as relevant for us).

I remember watching a Michael Moore film (I forget which one) and he was addressing the question why there are a humungous amount of gun homicides in America compared to their close neighbour, Canada - despite the fact that Canada has a similarly high degree of gun ownership.

His conclusion is that the US public are brainwashed with frightening news stories and images, whereas Canadians are not (relatively).

Not wishing to cause offence but the overall impression I'm getting about US posters - mainly in regard to the gun ownership issue - is of a frightened, paranoid people.

I agree with all that you said (Even though I think Michael Moore is a complete tool.) However, I do disagree with the final statement that gun ownership is from paranoid people. Not the case. If anything, it is those who are against gun ownership that are the frightened ones, right? They're scared that people with guns are going to come after them and kill them, right?

But yes, we are inundated with fear tactics.
That's why I haven't owned a TV in over 6 years.
I LOVE not having a TV.

reply to post by eleven44


yes...i think you get what i was trying to say.

and i also understand now what you are trying to say.

so really the tragedy is not the 2nd admendment....its the fact that the government has let crime get so out of control that what you keep under the 2nd admendment is now what you use against each other to stay safe.

As a whole, we are a nation scared of it's own shadow. Terrorism, guns, etc.

"Just keep us safe" they cried.

"I'm safe now, but why am I being spied on? You're trampling my privacy", they whined.

Originally posted by Logarock

Originally posted by Leuan

Originally posted by Logarock
The only fear I have is of being shot full of holes like a dog without being able to return fire. I just gots to return me some fire.

I was being held up at gun point one night. With a gun in my face and some craked up fool behind it, I said to self "self what you need is a gun". So I took his and cracked him over the head with the dang thing.

You need to call the cops! Have emergency numbers on dial! Problem solved!

Yes and most of the crack robbers around here have a 20 second rule where they will allow you one call out.

Sadly I didnt have my phone with me.

edit on 31-1-2013 by Logarock because: n

Next time in that situation just point to the floor with intent and say "hey look, a piece of chalk"

Originally posted by CJCrawley
Good thread - completely agree.

Especially the bit about schoolkids practising for a nuclear attack (I'm over 50 and we never did anything like that at school in Britain, even though it was just as relevant for us).

I remember watching a Michael Moore film (I forget which one) and he was addressing the question why there are a humungous amount of gun homicides in America compared to their close neighbour, Canada - despite the fact that Canada has a similarly high degree of gun ownership.

His conclusion is that the US public are brainwashed with frightening news stories and images, whereas Canadians are not (relatively).

Not wishing to cause offence but the overall impression I'm getting about US posters - mainly in regard to the gun ownership issue - is of a frightened, paranoid people.

yes...i think you also understand what i was trying to get at. i am the same as you and so are a lot of others....we dont say these things to cause heartache..fights ... or offend anyone. but i would be so angry that i was made to live with the fear.

Originally posted by bellagirl
reply to post by eleven44

 

yes...i think you get what i was trying to say.

and i also understand now what you are trying to say.

so really the tragedy is not the 2nd admendment....its the fact that the government has let crime get so out of control that what you keep under the 2nd admendment is now what you use against each other to stay safe.

Essentially, yes.

However, I can't say that I completely blame the government. Don't get me wrong, they have definitely done their best to perpetuate the violence, the fear, the disconnect, the misinformation and the duality. But I still hold each and every individual responsible for their own actions.

It's a pretty complicated and interwoven series of causes and effects, but we have definitely strayed away from a 'healthy' society. Our food industries are horrible (malnutrition has a direct effect on the mind/behavior.) Big Pharma has nearly half the population on mind altering drugs. We've started to rely on our Educators to raise our kids. Parents aren't around their children as much. Violence is all over the tv and games. We have never had a day without war. People resort to sarcasm and insults rather than mature conversations. People don't take personal responsibility for their actions. Etc. Etc.

Really though, and I know many many many people will argue with this: But I think it is due to our separation from God. (aka: Separation from the ever abundant source of Love.)

Note: I am not religious. I am not Christian or any other religion. I do not follow doctrine or tradition. But I do have a very intimate relationship with our Creator and I am grateful, every single day, for the Life and Love that God has provided me with.

Originally posted by eleven44

Originally posted by bellagirl
reply to post by eleven44

 

yes...i think you get what i was trying to say.

and i also understand now what you are trying to say.

so really the tragedy is not the 2nd admendment....its the fact that the government has let crime get so out of control that what you keep under the 2nd admendment is now what you use against each other to stay safe.

Essentially, yes.

However, I can't say that I completely blame the government. Don't get me wrong, they have definitely done their best to perpetuate the violence, the fear, the disconnect, the misinformation and the duality. But I still hold each and every individual responsible for their own actions.

It's a pretty complicated and interwoven series of causes and effects, but we have definitely strayed away from a 'healthy' society. Our food industries are horrible (malnutrition has a direct effect on the mind/behavior.) Big Pharma has nearly half the population on mind altering drugs. We've started to rely on our Educators to raise our kids. Parents aren't around their children as much. Violence is all over the tv and games. We have never had a day without war. People resort to sarcasm and insults rather than mature conversations. People don't take personal responsibility for their actions. Etc. Etc.

Really though, and I know many many many people will argue with this: But I think it is due to our separation from God. (aka: Separation from the ever abundant source of Love.)

Note: I am not religious. I am not Christian or any other religion. I do not follow doctrine or tradition. But I do have a very intimate relationship with our Creator and I am grateful, every single day, for the Life and Love that God has provided me with.

edit on 31-1-2013 by eleven44 because: (no reason given)

this would have to be one of the best replies i have seen on ATS. thank you thank you thank you. you have restored my faith that not every american is a gun totting, loud mouthed shoot em up kind of person.

Originally posted by bellagirl
reply to post by eleven44

 

so really the tragedy is not the 2nd admendment....its the fact that the government has let crime get so out of control that what you keep under the 2nd admendment is now what you use against each other to stay safe.

The tragedy is not being able to protect yourself as it is in your country.

Is america a nation of terrified people ????

No..

We are a Nation with a identity crisis.. I have lived abroad and in the states, it is indeed true that there are places in this world where you can walk home at 2am with your friends and not be worried about being mugged, or having neighbors worrying about you breaking into there homes robbing them at gunpoint.

It is indeed hard for people who are being ruled, by another government not the American one, to understand the importance of the bill of rights..

America, is a very big country now that it being you live in Australia, you have about 22 million people living there, living on the coast mainly so there is allot of land for the people. Here in the states Mate, there lives 300 million plus... Most living in cities where social structures and morals are decaying...

In addition Australia, is smaller in population and can sustain a socialized society with ease..

America, has been populated with independents since 1776, so if your not a independent, it will be extremely hard to understand a independent's logic when it comes to his or her rights...

We are not a terrified people thou, I can assure you that..

Originally posted by bellagirl

this would have to be one of the best replies i have seen on ATS. thank you thank you thank you. you have restored my faith that not every american is a gun totting, loud mouthed shoot em up kind of person.

You on the other hand make your country look like a bunch of cowards.....helpless and now judging the americans form your perch.

reply to post by bellagirl

but i would be so angry that i was made to live with the fear.

Nobody can make you live in fear. This is where free will comes in.
I'm in Amerika and I don't feel any sense of fear in regards to what you're describing.
Anger? Yes.
I think you have tunnel vision and are only seeing what you want. You need to step back and look at the entire picture.
First, the government bailed the banks out while these banks didn't do anything to help anyone.
Next, the government bailed out the auto industry and other businesses. Still, the Americans received no help.
Then, you have a record number of people living on food stamps while taxes and food prices keep going up and the unemployment rate keeps rising.
Can you feel the anger brewing yet?
Lastly, they want our guns now. After they've completely ruined people's lives by fueling greed and putting the citizens on the bottom of their List of Importance, they think we're just going to roll over when they've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they really don't give a rat's behind about our well being. The government has made itself quite clear that they are controlled by the banks and they believe citizens need a nanny.
The government should fear its people. Not the other way around.

it is predictable that so many responses claim, "I do not live in fear."

this is like a fish saying he doesn't live in water. when you are immersed in a thing, you are ill-equipped to properly identify and characterize it.

i am american and consider myself to be extremely self-aware. I have in the past spent many hours pondering the op's question. and I tell you unquestionably and without hesitation that our entire culture, seeping down to an individual level, is centered on an existential fear coupled with a deep-seated obsession with matters of authority.

we behave like kindergartners, constantly under threat of "getting in trouble". shells of humans....not real ones.

having lived many years in Italy, it is shocking to witness how liberated those people are.

reply to post by eleven44

If anything, it is those who are against gun ownership that are the frightened ones, right? They're scared that people with guns are going to come after them and kill them, right?

this makes me think of a fat man clutching a bag of oreos, claiming that thin (normal) people are starving. what is strange is that its usually the fat man who is starving, and the gun fanatic that is afraid of getting shot.

I am a conscientious objector. I do not live in fear of violent individuals.

i would also like to add that one of the reasons i have been giving this so much thought and the reason for my post is that my uncle is married to an american. they have 2 older teenage kids and have lived in american all their life till 3 years ago when they came to australia to live.

his wife has just been back home with the two kids to spend xmas with her family. she came back shell shocked at the changes just in the last 3 years.

part of what i was trying to get at is that firstly...i dont blame americans. i think they are victims over many many years. secondly i was trying to get at the fact that maybe you dont get what i was trying to say because you are constantly living in combat mode. living 24 hours a day in the "fight" mode that i talked about in the first post.

now back to my aunty. for the last 3 years she has had a chance to "let her guard down". she is not constantly in the "fight or flight" mode. her opinions and attitude to many things like guns etc changed dramatically. she found herself at odds and in heated discussions with her own family during her visit. this has never ever happened before.

so...thats how i ended up with this post. it got me thinking and when i thought about it, i came to believe that america is now up to its 3rd generation of living in fear of all those things i said in the first post.

reply to post by tgidkp


great reply..well done.

reply to post by Logarock


you can keep replying with your spite and spit venom and i will keep ignoring you.

go away please...

reply to post by bellagirl

for the last few months it has seemed that here on ATS and other places it has been a fight between the US and the rest of the world. i will be honest...we just dont get the whole gun/violence thing. here in australia i can go to the local pub and walk home at 2am laughing and chatting all the way home with friends without the fear of someone shooting me because they think im about to do a home invasion..steal their car...rob their house etc.

I live in Australia and its not completely safe to be walking around at 2am in the morning. I hear on the six oclock news bad things happening to people every night, many of them people who were wandering around by themselves late at night. In a group there is of course more safety but not everyone wil have luxuary of friends escorting them down dark streets at night. Im sure many of them victums would if they had the chance would of liked to be armed with a gun which for some would of meant remaininga alive.

reply to post by bellagirl

now back to my aunty. for the last 3 years she has had a chance to "let her guard down". she is not constantly in the "fight or flight" mode.

My goodness! Where did your aunty live? Detroit? Camden?
I've lived in plenty of cities and towns on the east coast and have traveled to the west coast for a visit and I can think of very few times where I was living with my guard up constantly. Temporarily, yes. But this was only when I was traveling through a known bad area.

reply to post by Afterthought


you need to understand the whole post. its not just a fear of crime, like i said in the first post its the constant worry of the economy...crime..the constant raising of the terror threat etc. the fear of having kids in a school, the fear when they go to the movies etc.