I lived abroad for 12 years. Or more. Who remembers? One thing I do remember: how much worse all the other countries were compared to the United States. Of course, there was plenty to enjoy and admire. Try to find a bad meal in France (outside of Paris). Or a funnier person than a Brit. Thailand really is the land of smiles. The speed-unlimited stretches of Germany’s autobahns are awesome. Israeli women? You know how I feel about that. Anyway, no country I ever visited offered its citizens the individual liberty you find here. America is still – far and away – the land of the free. And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. I tried telling that to . . .
foreigners. Ethnocentrism prevented that message from getting through. But I also had that “debate” with my fellow American ex-pats. Surprisingly, or not, they were just as deaf to any discussion of relative liberty. In fact, they hated America. They saw us as bullies, boors and ballistic boobs. We were the problem, not the solution. They apologized for America at every turn.
As the son of a Holocaust survivor whose only post-War goal was to GET TO AMERICA, as someone who didn’t hang with champagne socialists, I had a hard time holding my tongue with these idiots. OK, I have a hard time with that generally. But I tried to open their eyes to the economic suffering and lack of human rights all around them. No dice. So when I see a Tweet like the one above, it makes me angry.
We are far, far from being the “craziest country in the world.” Crazy, in this case, meaning the country with the worst gun laws. The exact opposite is true. We are the only country in the world whose citizens are [relatively] free to exercise their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. Which has – since America’s inception – protected all our natural, civil and Constitutionally enumerated rights.
Are Renata & Mike aware of what’s happening in the “gun free” paradise of China ahead of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest? “In recent weeks, a dozen prominent scholars and activists have been arrested or criminally detained,” nytimes.com reports, “and even seemingly harmless gestures, like posting a selfie while flashing a V for victory, have led to detentions.” Detentions. Sounds like fun! Or not. Meanwhile, how are human rights doing in Nigeria? Somalia? Mexico? And anywhere else where the government has disarmed its populace.
I’m not even going to begin to talk about the government-sponsored genocides – millions of unarmed people slaughtered – perpetuated by evil regimes since the Holocaust. I’ll just say this: those 68 percent of homicides didn’t “come from a gun.” They came from people intent on murder. Would Renata & Mike have preferred them to “come from” a knife? A baseball bat? A black BMW sedan? Or are they the type of people who think “easy access” to firearms somehow entices people to murder or murder more efficiently?
Actually, I will say it: government was, is and always will be the world’s most efficient and lethal murderer. Not crazy 22-year-olds with a pair of SIGs, a GLOCK and 40 California-legal 10-round ammunition magazines. Or teenage gang bangers. Or domestic abusers. You can call me callous for celebrating the fact that America “only” had 12,664 murders in 2011. Or dismissing the fact that 8,583 killers of that total used a firearm. But as horrible as these deaths are (many of which could be eliminated by removing barriers to firearms ownership), they are a small price to pay for our freedom and protection from mankind’s greatest evil.
You know what’s really crazy? Hating the very thing that saves your life.
Yes, yes, yes, America is crazy!!!! So all you “undocumented aliens” (is that what they’re calling border jumpers now?) and Sharia Law stooges who are currently overrunning the country, STAY HOME! You don’t want to come here. It’s crazy!
They will be coming here. All 8 billion of them. On our dime. By executive fiat. Thanks to Barack Caesar I.
Dude, wtf are you even talking about.
I have nothing against people coming here on a work-visa, they are working to live here. Some of them do pretty good work too.
I’d rather see the job go to an actual American, even if “less qualified.”
Ah, Native Americans only, then? As opposed to the rest of us immigrants?
There was a war and the indians lost, live with it.
@foggy
You don’t understand the economic consequences of that, do you? If the job went to the American no matter how under-qualified he is, then in the end people would stop getting qualified at all. Why should I learn what I need when I will get the job anyways? I don’t have to explain what would happen if you have people who don’t know what they are doing, doing something important.
“. . . I don’t have to explain what would happen if you have people who don’t know what they are doing, doing something important.”
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You have just described 50% or more of “Gubmint” employees, and we can plainly see the consequences thereof.
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Sad but true (I would wager the number is higher, 60-70% from personal experience), but it would be even worse if this spread to industry.
Also, if you said that in person, I would high-five you.
The reason i dont do twitter is all the “twits”
And no email on account of all the es?
That’s why it’s called Twitter – they obviously couldn’t call it “Twatter,” it wouldn’t be PC.
13% of the population accounts for 50% of firearm deaths #gunsense
Actually, it is smaller than that.
50%+ of homicides in the US come from about 4% of the population.
100% of the homicides come only from the people who commit the homicides. The people who didn’t commit any homicides account for 0% of the homicides.
84.9% of statistics are made up.
“The doctors say he has a 50-50 chance of living. Of course, there’s only a 20% chance of that.”
Here is one one that is not. About 90% of all US are criminals shooting criminals. Studies in about 20 US jurisdictions have shown this.
EG: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-31-criminal-target_N.htm
Moreover look at the ratio having changed from 70% to 90% of murders being gang members, criminals, felons.
1. If you are not a criminal your, risk of being murdered in the gun heavy US is well BELOW the largely disarmed developed country mean
2. the murder rate has halved in 20 years, but the murder rate of non-criminals has fallen even more — to 1/6th of what it was 30 years ago.
So 1/3 of the murders were not guns. That is still around 4k people killed from means other than guns. If guns were outlawed, and a gun ban was a zero sum game, I bet the amount of people killed would be about the same since it is the behavior of the murderers not the weapon that is driving murder. Since a gun ban is not a zero sum game you might see more violence. How many murders by guns did UK have? About 12% if I remember correctly. That means 88% of the other people murdered in the UK by other means, are still dead.(Yes it’s a smart ass remark)
The estimated population of the United States in 2011 was 311,592,000 people. That year 32,367 people died in automobile accidents. In 2011 homicide wasn’t even in the top ten causes of death! Suicide was #10 with 38,364 deaths. More than FOUR times as many people took their own life than were killed by another person using a firearm.
So what’s the real “epidemic” here, gun murders or suicide, and by proxy mental health issues?
Sad and tragic as it is, suicide really can’t be counted along with murder. It is a personal decision, and nobody else’s business. The “mental health” thing is a serious collectivist trap, and simply can’t be used to predict who might or might not become aggressive and violent.
An armed society is a polite society. Crap happens. We just have to work at living somewhere between those two.
MamaLiberty, I beg to differ on your assessment of suicide. Suicide is self-murder. It is still a homicide. And sometimes it is preceded by the murder of others. And it is other people’s business including family, friends and anyone else the person who kills himself knows. Not too many people live in a vacuum. And, if you believe in God, you don’t own yourself. He does. And there is no justification for killing yourself.
Cordially,
David
David,
If a 65 year old with stage four takes himself out with a gun, rather than suffering and bankrupting his family how is that different that assisted suicide which is increasing legal in the developed world?
And suicide rates don’t change if you remove all guns, just the means changes
Suicide should not be against the law.
How is a person now the owner and not responsible for their own life?
Welcome to the free world motherf**kers! There is a price to pay to live in a country that doesn’t have a coup of some sort every five years(speaking of Thailand.)
We would do well to follow Thailand’s example. Every few years, they have a coup and throw out everybody but the king. We could do the same thing here – every five years or so, throw the whole damn government out and start over from the Constitution. Or just leave it gone, and watch the orgasmic explosion of Peace and Prosperity that Freedom brings!
I don’t like cockroaches. They make me feel unsafe. Ban them. It will make me feel better.
Oh, you say they are a necessary part of the food chain? I dont want to believe that. They are still dirty little creatures.
Rats are a better example. They’re literally taking over New York City. The four-legged kind…
Oh and Ralph, their called “Undocumented Migrants” out here in the west.
That drives my crazy. A ‘migrant’ is an alien seasonal worker. Completely different thing from “immigrant”.
Not a fan of newspeak.
Do you think the fairies come in the night to pick your lettuce?
Wetbacks!
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I don’t own a lettuce farm, nobody picks “my” lettuce.
Surprised Rf didn’t bring up the point that most of the european countries rates are collected differently from the US.
Their crime statistics only count convictions, the US counts charges.
I wonder if someone could breakdown the US crime stats the way most europeans do and what it would look like in a apples to apples comparison.
Another thing to note is that the US’s violent crime rate per captia is less than a great deal of european nations, most notably the UK
I was explaining why I left Australia to a nice woman the other day, you should have seen her demeanor change to a scowl when I said the reason I left was Socialism and then listed the litany of debacles caused by a socialist Govt (nearly all of which have also occurred in the US since 2009).
I nail closet Liberals to the wall when ever possible
BRAVO! Well done!
In some places, such as the UK, the homicide count is even more skewed than “their system of counting convictions versus US system of counting incidents.”
According to UK folk we chat with occasionally, in the London area, if somebody is found dead in an alley, with no ID, they often just haul ’em away — there’s no investigation. If you have somebody “die” in your abode, that is another matter entirely.
So, there are folk who are killed by violence who never make the “count.” (Perhaps, that is because, with no investigation being done, nobody is ever “convicted” so the homicide doesn’t count?) They don’t even know “how” they died in many cases.
Bottom line, it irks me when folks like Piers Morgan spout off about how much “better” the UK is, while knowing full well that the UK stats are not even fully collected, let alone gathered under the same criteria as used in America!
Exactly. I lived in Italy. they don’t count homicide for statistical reporting from coroners but from closed/convicted cases.
The statistical method to calculate the murders in the EU is the same in all Members and is comparable to that in the U.S.
Renata is cute. I think Mike is boring her.
le Dirk e’ mobile…poor Shannon…
You know there’s a better way to describe statistics about homicides. Neat factoid about 68% of the homicides in 2011 being committed by a firearm.
But, that’s because firearms are available here.
A much better factoid would be is the murder rate as caused by all methods and which countries are at the top of the heap? From the UN Report on Global homicides from 2011, it ain’t us.
http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf
As a matter of fact, just here in the “Americas” (North, south and central) we are ranked 31 out of the 44 countries in our hemisphere.
Add Africa and Asia into the equation and we drop still further and if you have a moment, scroll down and see the murder rate in Russia (21 per 100K) compared to us (4.1 per 100K) and this when it is almost impossible for the individual to own a firearm in Russia.
And as far as the murder rate being much lower there than here in the US, take a look at how “murder” is classified in the UK and many European countries. A death is not classified as a murder until an arrest is made and a conviction for murder is made in Court. Here in the US we declare and report murders by medical examination but in most of Europe, “murder” is only classified as such when a conviction is made for that very charge.
Appreciate the link. Thanks.
Homicide ≠ Murder
How many of those firearms homicides were self defense (a good use of a gun) or government employees (the people anti-gunners don’t want to disarm)?
Also, how many were a direct result of the gang warfare caused by narcotics prohibition? The US homicide rate plummeted in 1934 for a reason.
The thing pisses me off is I’m moving to China in a few months for a long term internship. Currently looking around to see what exactly I can carry while I’m there. Thinking of getting either the Mace Pepper Spray Gun or the AceCo Micro Shot, some refills for them, and either an ASP baton or the Taser StrikeLight. Really wish I can have a gun.
Depending of which city and province you’ll be living in, you can probably legally carry a small stick. You will return with a new-found gratitude for our freedoms.
Note, however, that the police there are tooling up at a rapid rate to counter the terrorists. Who use knives and IEDs.
I’m gonna be in Beijing. Guess I probably can’t even have the stick huh?
Running shoes is probable your only allowable defense.
Ha, guess I better start working on cardio and limber up before I go anywhere.
Civilian gun ownership rates are not a very good predictor of anything about a society.
Renata & Mike
@mgrossi1
3XCancerSurvivor From Chicago, now CA! CNBC/MSNBC Democrat/Independent/Socialist/Liberal/Humanitarian❤️BACKGROUND CHECKS NOW! CONSERVATIVES ARE NOT welcome!
______________________________
Well, they don’t hide what they are, want, or represent. I travel in a different world, evidently.
A “humanitarian” who then says an entire group of people are “not welcome” (whatever and wherever that means). Doesn’t that just perfectly encapsulate the insanity of the leftist?
68% of homicides in 2011 came from firearms? Hmm. How about 98% of homicides from 1900 through 2013 came from GOVERNMENTS.
Now, Renata & Mike, would you like to try again identifying the root cause of homicides and suggesting whom we should disarm?
You’re welcome.
I do not think I will ever understand why these people seem to believe that being murdered is fine so long as it wasn’t done with a gun.
I’m quite sure they’re all for murder of the un- and newly-born (See: Gosnell) and of the elderly (See: Netherlands).
Wow, in 2014, we still get pundits equating criticism of systems in america with being “anti-america?” That argument died as an intelligent observation soon after Spiro Agnew and his Silent Majority. “America: Love it or Leave it!” is a lame response to anything these days. It’s not constructive. It’s not instructive. It’s just emo-bait for human tools. You know what’s more likely to be “anti-america” by definition? Constant ranting against the american govts. That indirectly incites insurrectionary sentiments. AKA treason. It’s time for some perspective.
Sedition is quite different than treason. Crack a book.
As I seem to recall, this country was founded out of mistrust of government, rebellion against oppression, and an extreme dislike of government interference in the private affairs of its “SUBJECTS”.
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And, that’s one reason we here in the “good-ol’-USA-of-A” are now commonly referred to as “CITIZENS” don’tcha know!
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America is the Constitution, not the government. If anything, the government is guilty of treason and inciting insurrection by dismissing the Constitution.
I’m still trying to get why you gave yourself that name. Do you realize what a “koolaid guzzler” is? Are you trying to be ironic? Whatever the case, it fits you perfectly.
I’ve been to New York City where many foreign countries have consulate offices. I’ve never seen lines of Americans waiting outside to get papers to move elsewhere. I have also been to the US Embassy in Manila, and I have seen lines of 100, 200 and more people waiting outside to get a chance to just file for a work or student visa in the hopes that they can come to the USA. They stand there in the rain, the hot sun and during typhoons, day after day. I’ve stood with them while waiting my turn on several occassions. I was born in the US, but my wife and step daughter were citizens of the Philippines. Both are now US citizens, and they LOVE the USA. What I have seen of the rest of the world, makes me just that much happier I was born a US citizen, and not the subject of some royal old fart, or worse, being an expendable cog in some rickety socialist dictatorship like North Korea. The idea of America is NOT crazy. What is crazy is trying to change the dream as created by our founding fathers into some euro-style mess where people have no guarantee of rights, no freedom from oppression, and no respect from the rest of the world.
This site resembles a propaganda site more than it does a pro-gun information site. Very suspicios of this sites real intent.
No need.
@Paco Technically a pro-gun information site by its very nature is Propaganda. So what’s your point?
Troll much guzzler? I thought you folks valued freedom of expression? At least RF doesn’t delete your comments.
Sorry, I am a bit slow but what is “mankind’s greatest evil”?
“. . . as someone who didn’t hang with champagne socialists, I had a hard time holding my tongue with these idiots. OK, I have a hard time with that generally.
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The solution to your problem is simple, Robert.
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Just train your mouth to say “How Incredible” every time your brain wants it to say ” AHH $H!T” !
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First of, homicides dont come from guns – they come from people.
I assume they mean firearms were used in 68% of the homicides. Here’s the thing. Every time somebody throws that at me, I always ask, “what would you prefer they were killed with?”
Solution:
If America is to crazy and “wild west” like, then leave. Enjoy your time in Iran, Mexico, China, etc. Tell us how you like it.
Iran, gun-free?
You should be a comedian.
Ahhhh, China. Everything there is always safe and wonderful right?
For those who don’t know. Mass knife murders are becoming a weekly occurrence.
http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2014/05/chinese-knife-attack-of-the-day-the-people-fight-back/
Because everything would be sunshine and happiness if there were just no guns…..
Curious to know how many of those murders are gang related. I’d love to know the number if you took out all firearm deaths in gun control havens and major cities. In fact, I want the number of firearm murderers committed by NRA members. Ten bucks says you have the fingers and toes on you right now to count them.
I wonder if this two clowns know that everything they’re so superficially proud to be (leftist, socialist, antigun, and so on) is exactly what every American mass murderer was also? Birds of a feather.
You can probably find that if you sift through the FBI Uniform Crime Reports and the various state crime statistics.
Just don’t post your findings on anything run by the grabbers. They’ll delete and ban you because they can’t bear the truth.
“You know what’s really crazy? Hating the very thing that saves your life.”
No, there is one scenario where it makes sense. If a magical thing protected your life so well that you never needed to see it working to protected you, over many generations, your children’s children might start to doubt that, that magical thing even does any good. And their children’s children would doubt it even existed. As long as they don’t have to see it every day. And that is the real irony here. Guns are such a good tool for creating safety and security that since the Civil War no one in the continental US has had to see guns protect them. So, many doubt they are are even useful. The hate comes in when those that carry the touch of remembrance for those that died generations before refuse to lie down for those who don’t remember. Guns are so effective, they made this country so safe, and still are, that it created a wonderful environment where people have the freedom and safety to fight to have them legislated away.
The problem with deterrents is that their effectiveness cannot be measured until they are gone.
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