A (DU) minority view on guns.

[delrem]

29. "The reality is the world is a dangerous place."

Well no, it isn't, except in pockets, just as the world is only subject to firestorms (or whatever) in pockets. A forest fire can be terrible, esp. when close to or surrounding a town. A massive fire, coupled with more minor but no less devastating fires nearby, is universally understood and felt as terrible. All but sociopaths understand, and all who understand think in terms of "what can be done to prevent this in future". I would say that when most people think of a forest, they think of an empire, of sorts, that contains glades as well as formidable dangers.

When they think about forests, very few people think first about "forests" managed by silviculturalists working for international corporations. In a "forest" managed by silviculturalists the only dangers are human. I don't think anyone would prefer to wander through such a managed "forest", except someone paid to do it.

Carrying this simile forward, when pockets of human communities have very high homicide rates, a search for true causes will begin. By 'true cause' I mean that when countered, the problem is solved, so understanding a true cause = understanding a true solution, or rather a hint toward mapping a solution.

One solution the US has to high homicide rates is to further deregulate the firearms industry. No shit. This way more arms can be sold, more profits can be made, and the economy prospers. The US applies this formula to the whole range of its military production, and the US is by far the biggest arms manufacturer in the world. In fact, some say that the production of division, chaos, mixed with enough "free" guns and incitement will create a massive and addicted customer base for a country that feeds off war, like a vampire.