Several Dead In Southern California Shooting Spree

[primavera]

102. Certainly, very few problems in life are the result of just one single cause

Undoubtedly conditions in Europe are less conducive to violence than conditions here are. I think it's also safe to say that part of the reason they have fewer gun deaths is because their cultures don't grow up glorying Hollywood heroes like John Wayne and Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris and Clint Eastwood and so on, who individually solve problems, overcome all obstacles, and right all wrongs with the help of their trusty six shooter when the system fails to mete out justice. In contrast to European culture, US culture glamorizes vigilantism and lethal responses with... guns. Guns in our culture are worshipped; in European culture, they are not. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I'm also sure that having fewer guns available, and stricter regulation over who can have them also makes a difference. I can't speak for other gun control advocates, but I seldom hear any of them claim that the existence of guns is the one and only causal factor behind our culture of violence. But simply because guns are not the sole cause does not mean that they are not an important contributing factor deserving of attention.