More gun control non-negotiable till cause-and-effect violence is addressed

There are so many threads about gun control right now that I hesitated to include yet another one.

I am a strong supporter of the 2A. Yet, I don't think violent felons nor the mentally deranged should have firearms. We already have laws on the books for that. A lot of good those laws are, right!?

We have inner city violence on a scale that is off the charts. Mostly black on black, hispanic, drug-related and gang-related killing.

Then we have the young males that go berzerk and shoot up a school, or a church, or a mall, or an army base.

Any additional laws will only hurt the law-abiding gun owner that goes about their daily business without incident, but yet, needing to be prepared for the unthinkable.

I think we have two un-related drug problems.

Let's examine whether we have a case of the 1990's crack babies now all grown up.

That depends. Some crack babies seem to fare pretty well and show little long-term harm. Others aren't as lucky and require a lot of help to simply have a chance at life.

Behavior problems cause the most concern. Crack babies are more likely to exhibit behaviors that could limit their ability to learn and develop socially. Problems include irritability and hyperactivity, low tolerance to frustration, impulsiveness, and impaired concentration.

In addition, neurological damage may show up in the form of impaired balance and coordination and other motor control problems.

And these problems don't automatically go away as crack kids age, either.

Then we have the other side of the violence coin....teen and 20-somethings shooting up a public venue. The one thing most of them have in common is SSRI's or anti-psychotic drugs and psychiatric treatments.

So many parents used drugs in the late 80's and 90's, especially coc aine or crack. Are we now observing the consequences of drug use during pregnancy and early childhood development? I think that is a legitimate question to examine more closely.

As long as there is an unknown reason for crazies killing others, I will keep my firearms, thank you very much.

Mass shooting are but a very small part of the equation. They are abhorrent, but not really an epidemic. They just get a lot of media attention. I honestly don't think there is anything that can be done to stop them. Researching any kind of correlation with drugs is a must though.

On the other hand, the real epidemic is inner city violence. Most of it is concentrated in the black community and to a lesser degree, the hispanic community. Much of it is driven by drugs, turf wars, etc. Being black myself, I think the issue stems from the break down of the family brought on by 50 years of liberal policies. From the early 60s on the black community saw their out of wedlock birth rate explode in conjunction with welfare policies that pushed black men out of the home. In a sense, we've created a situation where you have scores of aimless young black males being raised by females. In addition, we've accepted a culture of failure that glorifies street life, anti-intellectualism, and fast money. Of course, many of these areas are also controlled by liberal democrats so we also have a failing school system along with piss poor economies for the lower skilled as well.

More gun control laws will not fix the issue as guns are pretty already banned in these areas already. There isn't a single gun store in Chicago.

We need to focus on fixing the people. However, I don't think that will happen because it doesn't fit the narrative that is being pushed by the progressive left. It also might shed some light on their disastrous policies and ideology too.

a reply to: Edumakated

Well stated...and I agree.

But, what makes one person rise above it all and go on to live a decent life and another sink to a life of criminality and violence?

What is the X factor?

I would like to know how many of these violent criminals are crack babies or crack babies of crack babies.

originally posted by: queenofswords
a reply to: Edumakated

Well stated...and I agree.

But, what makes one person rise above it all and go on to live a decent life and another sink to a life of criminality and violence?

What is the X factor?

I would like to know how many of these violent criminals are crack babies or crack babies of crack babies.

The same thing that makes one brother a gangbanger and the other a professional.

Choice.

originally posted by: queenofswords
a reply to: Edumakated

Well stated...and I agree.

But, what makes one person rise above it all and go on to live a decent life and another sink to a life of criminality and violence?

What is the X factor?

I would like to know how many of these violent criminals are crack babies or crack babies of crack babies.

I don't if there is one thing. As rule though, it is probably strong parental guidance, great teachers, mentorship, opportunity to excel, etc.

Some people have no problem doing well coming from those environments (think Ben Carson), but others seem to just get sucked into the street life.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: queenofswords
a reply to: Edumakated

Well stated...and I agree.

But, what makes one person rise above it all and go on to live a decent life and another sink to a life of criminality and violence?

What is the X factor?

I would like to know how many of these violent criminals are crack babies or crack babies of crack babies.

I don't if there is one thing. As rule though, it is probably strong parental guidance, great teachers, mentorship, opportunity to excel, etc.

Some people have no problem doing well coming from those environments (think Ben Carson), but others seem to just get sucked into the street life.

Literally billions and billions of taxpayer dollars have gone into mentorship programs, parenting skills programs, after school programs, boxing gyms, and thousands of other non-profit groups to improve the lot in life for these inner city communities. At least the books show this to be the case.

If these things are not really there and operative, then where is the money going?

a reply to: queenofswords

I know it is an easy answer but, I think no gun laws is the answer.

Yes, it is ideological and, much like the argument for free markets, it presumes that people will choose to act in accordance with their own best interests.

The only alternative is to presume that people will not act in accordance with their own best interests.

In which case, perhaps government ought to be engaging in human husbandry and farming the next crop of acceptable people to staff the works of the world.

There has been gun violence in the schools and in the populace since the 1700's. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. We live in a violent culture.

originally posted by: queenofswords

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: queenofswords
a reply to: Edumakated

Well stated...and I agree.

But, what makes one person rise above it all and go on to live a decent life and another sink to a life of criminality and violence?

What is the X factor?

I would like to know how many of these violent criminals are crack babies or crack babies of crack babies.

I don't if there is one thing. As rule though, it is probably strong parental guidance, great teachers, mentorship, opportunity to excel, etc.

Some people have no problem doing well coming from those environments (think Ben Carson), but others seem to just get sucked into the street life.

Literally billions and billions of taxpayer dollars have gone into mentorship programs, parenting skills programs, after school programs, boxing gyms, and thousands of other non-profit groups to improve the lot in life for these inner city communities. At least the books show this to be the case.

If these things are not really there and operative, then where is the money going?

There is only so much that can be done if the family foundation is not there. This is why the out of wedlock birth rate in the black community needs to be addressed before anything else. Nearly 3/4s of black children are born to single mothers. Study after study shows that kids raised in single parent homes do worse on pretty much every measure. So we literally have a community where 3 out of 4 kids start off behind statistically from birth.

To put things in perspective, about 50% of hispanics are born out of wedlock, 30% of whites and 20% of asians. When you look at education attaintment, wealth, etc doing well in these categories line up exactly. Hispanics fair better than blacks. Whites better than hispanics and blacks. Asians as a whole are doing better than whites. While correlation does not equal causation, you cannot ignore this fact.

I don't believe we need to throw more money at the situation. I also don't believe you can save everyone. Some people simply make bad choices with their lives. however, I refuse to believe the entire community is a failure.

I wish I knew the answer.

originally posted by: queenofswords
a reply to: Edumakated

Well stated...and I agree.

But, what makes one person rise above it all and go on to live a decent life and another sink to a life of criminality and violence?

What is the X factor?

I would like to know how many of these violent criminals are crack babies or crack babies of crack babies.

No one else will say so I will. Parenting. Ideally both, but at the very least a parent like Toya Graham. Shamrock6 says Choice, but choosing to be a thug as opposed to being successful in some form or fashion shouldn't even be a choice when you're living with your parents.

The above covers the school system as well. Yes there needs to be Improvement, but in the end its up to the student to show up, not goof around and learn something. Thus you need involved parents if teachers are gonna have limitations ("I can only suspend or expel you because I know you wont show up for detention") placed on them as far as discipline goes.

This thread demonstrates this is a complex issue. Any solution needs to be multi-variate.

While tragic, are mass shootings statistically even a problem? With 330+ million Americans with 1.2 guns per capita, it is amazing mass shootings are less than 1% of gun deaths per year.

No one wants to see a church or school shot up. But why does the media focus on that 1%? The other 99% don't count? They are not worthy of national discussion?

Maybe something can be done about it without erosion of civil liberties. But I do NOT trust legislators now-a-days to develop that "something". The same bunch facilitating death and destruction of thousands every year elsewhere in the world.

I do not trust most Americans, entitled lot of them who believe someone owes them safety against everything always. Far be it from them to provide their own modicum of self protection or even be slightly aware/educated on what goes on around them.

Just because I do not have an immediate solution to a very complex social problem does not mean I am ready to trust pathetic Americans and criminal politicians to decide what I am to do or give up to ensure both groups are taken care of.

Please Delete

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a reply to: queenofswords

Intelligent question to ask, but I would venture to guess that it's just another of myriad factors that go into why some people have lost their respect for human life.

But this does make me worry about what people will be like in 20 years from now, what with the massive heroine problem happening in many areas of the country--hell, my neighbors who foster kids have two heroine babies in their house right now, and the emotional issues that they exhibit don't really seem like the kind that can be fixed with therapy (maybe loosely managed, though), and we all suspect that the current drugs on the market will not do anything to fix the problem, and they might actually make them worse.

But in any event, you raise a good question, and one that reminds me of this horrible song that illustrates just how bad the crack problem was:

originally posted by: ABNARTY
Just because I do not have an immediate solution to a very complex social problem does not mean I am ready to trust pathetic Americans and criminal politicians to decide what I am to do or give up to ensure both groups are taken care of.

Spot on.

The reality of life everywhere, but seemingly especially in America (as far as "first-world countries" are concerned), is that one can only rely on him/herself for protection against unanticipated and senseless things that occur here and everywhere. Those who wrongfully assume that the government is there to protect them against everything on a daily basis are the ones who are caught off-guard and defenseless because they don't know what to do.

I refuse to be one of those people, but luckily I was always taught that I am my own best advocate in life and that relinquishing control of aspects in life as important as something like personal protection is generally a bad idea. It's best to be knowledgeable and act accordingly. The vast majority of Americans seems to be ignorant and apathetic to acting at all if it entails anything more than writing a hashtag and posting it online.

Nobody wants to stigmatize "crack babies". Some grow up and manage to rise above it all.

But, now we see the first and in some cases, the second generation of crack babies having crack babies. I think some focus should be put on more medical studies, not just the cognitive and behavioral studies. Something is happening on an incomprehensible level in the young black community. This inner city violence is out of control, and focusing attention on gun control IS NOT the answer.

It's not just black males getting more violent. There are many videos out showing horrific violence done by black girls.

America, we have a problem....and it is NOT guns.