7 ms·

If I lived in the US, I'd seriously consider moving just to give my kids a different schooling experience that doesn't involve the daily fear of being murdered.

If I lived in the US, I'd seriously consider moving just to give my kids a different schooling experience that doesn't involve the daily fear of being murdered. It's just unfathomable to me that a large portion of the populace is okay with guns being woven into the social fabric and culture despite the direct and terminal negative impact on children's lives.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
clipsy 3y ago
Easier said than done, unfortunately. I understand the sentiment, though; I have no children of my own, but it pains me to watch my nieces and nephews be brought up in a country that treats mass school shootings the same as fires or unpredictable natural disasters.
g42gregory 3y ago
In Europe, Switzerland seemingly has low murder rate and relatively high gun ownership rate, 27.6 guns per 100 residents [1]. I am curious as to why the difference. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Switzerland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Switzer...
- p-e-w 3y ago
  Culture. Gun violence is a function of gun ownership, gun culture, and overall culture. Nobody who has visited both Switzerland and the US can fail to notice the huge cultural differences, and how they relate to interpersonal violence. In the United States, hyperaggressive encounters between individuals (mostly not involving guns) happen at a rate that would be unimaginable in most European countries. I'm aware that there are other factors at play (such as most Swiss gunowners having military training, open carry being generally prohibited etc.), but the way people deal with each other is so starkly different that I strongly suspect it to be the main cause.
  - Freedom2 3y ago
    > hyperaggressive encounters between individuals (mostly not involving guns) happen at a rate that would be unimaginable in most European countries. I've been told, even on HN, that this is just what freedom, free speech and "the world's greatest democracy" looks like, and other countries can 'shove it', for lack of a better term.
- kyriakos 3y ago
  Gun ownership doesn't mean that guns are carried around. Many countries allow owning guns but don't allow people to walk around armed.
beej71 3y ago
So many reasons to be grateful I went to school in the 1970s...
kryogen1c 3y ago
> the daily fear of being murdered > unfathomable to me that a large portion of the populace is okay with [...] direct and terminal negative impact on children's lives. That's because those two things aren't true. It's a lie told by statistics. Firearm violence in that demographic is largely from places like LA and Chicago where gangs are the problem and firearms are already illegal. If you're scared for your child's life every day they go to school, you have been brainwashed by media FUD.
- noahjk 3y ago
  Last year there were 300 shootings on school grounds [0]. They seem to happen at random - expensive schools aren't necessarily safer than public ones, city vs. rural, etc. Why is it wrong to have a heightened fear that it could happen at your school? That doesn't need to mean that it is your primary fear, or that you're overwhelmed with fear, only that the concern is higher now than it was X years ago. What are we doing differently than every other country that makes us have so many more shootings in schools? 0. https://www.k12dive.com/news/2022-worst-year-for-school-shootings/639313/ https://www.k12dive.com/news/2022-worst-year-for-school-shoo...

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

clipsy 3y ago

Easier said than done, unfortunately. I understand the sentiment, though; I have no children of my own, but it pains me to watch my nieces and nephews be brought up in a country that treats mass school shootings the same as fires or unpredictable natural disasters.

g42gregory 3y ago

In Europe, Switzerland seemingly has low murder rate and relatively high gun ownership rate, 27.6 guns per 100 residents [1]. I am curious as to why the difference. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Switzerland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Switzer...

p-e-w 3y ago
Culture. Gun violence is a function of gun ownership, gun culture, and overall culture. Nobody who has visited both Switzerland and the US can fail to notice the huge cultural differences, and how they relate to interpersonal violence. In the United States, hyperaggressive encounters between individuals (mostly not involving guns) happen at a rate that would be unimaginable in most European countries. I'm aware that there are other factors at play (such as most Swiss gunowners having military training, open carry being generally prohibited etc.), but the way people deal with each other is so starkly different that I strongly suspect it to be the main cause.
- Freedom2 3y ago
  > hyperaggressive encounters between individuals (mostly not involving guns) happen at a rate that would be unimaginable in most European countries. I've been told, even on HN, that this is just what freedom, free speech and "the world's greatest democracy" looks like, and other countries can 'shove it', for lack of a better term.
kyriakos 3y ago
Gun ownership doesn't mean that guns are carried around. Many countries allow owning guns but don't allow people to walk around armed.

beej71 3y ago

So many reasons to be grateful I went to school in the 1970s...

kryogen1c 3y ago

> the daily fear of being murdered > unfathomable to me that a large portion of the populace is okay with [...] direct and terminal negative impact on children's lives. That's because those two things aren't true. It's a lie told by statistics. Firearm violence in that demographic is largely from places like LA and Chicago where gangs are the problem and firearms are already illegal. If you're scared for your child's life every day they go to school, you have been brainwashed by media FUD.

noahjk 3y ago
Last year there were 300 shootings on school grounds [0]. They seem to happen at random - expensive schools aren't necessarily safer than public ones, city vs. rural, etc. Why is it wrong to have a heightened fear that it could happen at your school? That doesn't need to mean that it is your primary fear, or that you're overwhelmed with fear, only that the concern is higher now than it was X years ago. What are we doing differently than every other country that makes us have so many more shootings in schools? 0. https://www.k12dive.com/news/2022-worst-year-for-school-shootings/639313/ https://www.k12dive.com/news/2022-worst-year-for-school-shoo...