What can be done

[rigbymauser]

Correct. Also, American society has done it's best to remove God and religion from everything too. No family, no God. Recipe for failure.

But thats the whole world. Nothing uniqe for the US

 

[willbaforce]

But thats the whole world. Nothing uniqe for the US

I don't believe that to be true, amongst all the immoralities we used to have the fear if God as a nation but now its all gone.

 

[Dragan N.]

The US has the highest number of drug users..illegal and legal. Why?. Has the highest childbirth deaths in any western country. Has the most overpriced healthcare system in the world. Has the highest numbers of homeless/destituted people in a western democracy. Has the highest highschool dropouts. Has the highest college prices too. Highest murder rate in a western world(not counting Mex). Highest number of people in prison. One thing alone doesn`t say alot but putting all these things together says in my book there is something wrong with model of the society. I know I know..as an individuel you are accounted for your own actions and how one conduct life. But some 245 schoolshooting since 1998 must be rooted in a mindset we don`t see here. As a christian I can tell God is being preached in the schools overhere in EU. So its must be something else in america that promot this. But what?.

Drug use in America starts with children in school. I lived in America for 2 years, my family relocated there for my dad's job, and i went to school there at that time. One thing that shocked me was how many kids were on pills. That the teachers and other school workers would administer. Most of these kids were on medication for ADHD. Now in Canadian schools I could not think of one instance were I saw medication being administered to students/kids. Maybe here they do it more discreetly but I doubt it. In America a kid is a little hyper and boom they're on meds for ADHD. The American healthcare system starts introducing pharmacology to kids at an early age. Drugs are seen as the preferred way to treat problems. The same thing happened with opioids being over-prescribed by doctors. Doctors and big pharma made lots of $$$ but now the nation is dealing with a crisis.

An example from Canada. Here you have methadone clinics. Where people who are addicted to opiates can go and get methadone so that they can wean themselves off the opioids. Now I went to one of these clinics with a friend of mine. This friend lets call him M, needs to get a hip replacement surgery done, he had been on the waiting list for 3 years. The doctors first prescribed him T3s. Then they moved him up to dilaudids. He had his surgery and now his hips are good but the addiction to opiates remains. Now he is on methadone to try and wean himself off this. I drove him once to the methadone doctor/clinic he goes to. At the methadone clinic, in the waiting room, there were about 30 or so people. For the hour or so I was there I openly saw people selling or trading drugs with each other. In plain view of the receptionist. I actually walked up to her and asked her about why this was allowed and she mumbled something in a thick East Indian accent that I could not understand. Anyways the first question the doctor asks my friend, every time he goes in to see him, is your dose (of methadone) high enough ?? They have zero interest in helping you to get off opiates they just want to keep you hooked to methadone so they can make $$ off you.

Doctors here, in my opinion/experience view you as a dollar sign. American and Canadian doctors easily earn double, maybe even triple, of what doctors in Western Europe do. Med school in North America requires you to have a 4 year bachelor degree before hand, is crazy competitive and expensive. Yet to other western/wealthy countries I would be willing to bet that the American and Canadian healthcare systems rank closer to the bottom than to the top.

Another issue with American, and to a somewhat lesser extent Canadian schools, is bullying. Having gone to school in Canada i was surprised by how bad bullying in America was. What is most intriguing is that bullies here will almost always pick on the weakest target and will even gang up on this person. They find it amusing to say beat up or harass the smallest and "oddest" kid in the class. What is there to gain from beating up and harassing the most defenseless person ? I have heard from several people who went to school elsewhere in the world and then transferred to Canada that they were shocked by how bad and sadistic bullying in schools was here. Some of these people were even from non-western countries.

Now this is all pretty ancedotal, but i think these are all contributing factors...

 

[sestoppelman]

I went to school in Seattle thru the late 50's to '71 when I graduated HS. Bullies are nothing new, bullies have always been there and everyone and I mean everyone from the biggest and baddest have been bullied.
The big difference now is that bullies get away with being bullies, there is no punishment for it. First of all the bullied are not allowed to defend themselves in school or at least are severely discouraged from doing so, so for the most part bullies have free reign to do what they want.
Instead of letting kids settle their own quarrels as we used to do, now only the bullies get away with it.
When my boy was in 8th grade he got into a squab with a kid in school and was expelled. He was defending himself and the other kid got off with a warning!
I raised Hell with the principle insisting if one gets expelled they both should. Nope.
I can remember in about the same grade, late 60's, there was a small park just outside my junior high school where differences were settled after school, I got my butt kicked there once myself.
On another occasion two friends of mine met there to hash it out. My language arts teacher came up and watched the proceedings for a while and when it appeared neither was making much progress he stepped in, pulled them apart, made them shake hands and all was forgiven.
Times have changed and not for the better.

 

[Newboomer]

I went to school in Seattle thru the late 50's to '71 when I graduated HS. Bullies are nothing new, bullies have always been there and everyone and I mean everyone from the biggest and baddest have been bullied.
The big difference now is that bullies get away with being bullies, there is no punishment for it. First of all the bullied are not allowed to defend themselves in school or at least are severely discouraged from doing so, so for the most part bullies have free reign to do what they want.
Instead of letting kids settle their own quarrels as we used to do, now only the bullies get away with it.
When my boy was in 8th grade he got into a squab with a kid in school and was expelled. He was defending himself and the other kid got off with a warning!
I raised Hell with the principle insisting if one gets expelled they both should. Nope.
I can remember in about the same grade, late 60's, there was a small park just outside my junior high school where differences were settled after school, I got my butt kicked there once myself.
On another occasion two friends of mine met there to hash it out. My language arts teacher came up and watched the proceedings for a while and when it appeared neither was making much progress he stepped in, pulled them apart, made them shake hands and all was forgiven.
Times have changed and not for the better.

That's the way it was when I was in school in the 1950s. Someone tried bullying someone else and he got ganged up on and got the hell beat out of him. Bullying did not work.

 

[Mike Van Horn]

So many open questions here. All entrances locked at a school. Only way in, is to be bussed it at the front door.?
Active shooter in the parking lot, the school doesn’t do to total lockdown?
Somehow there is a open door for him to enter?
All classrooms should have locked doors?
Active shooter training in the school?
Police force doesn’t go in?

What are we missing? What the hell is going on?
I think there’s a lot more to this story, and none of it is good

 

[koodoo62]

So many open questions here. All entrances locked at a school. Only way in, is to be bussed it at the front door.?
Active shooter in the parking lot, the school doesn’t do to total lockdown?
Somehow there is a open door for him to enter?
All classrooms should have locked doors?
Active shooter training in the school?
Police force doesn’t go in?

What are we missing? What the hell is going on?
I think there’s a lot more to this story, and none of it is good

One of the teachers heard the noise of the shooter crashing his grandmother’s truck into a ditch adjacent to the school. She went out a door to see what caused the noise and propped it open so she could return through the same door. Completely against school policy and a terrible mistake. That is where he entered.

 

[CJW]

I rarely if ever see this mentioned, but if we're going to hold firearms responsible for children's deaths, when do we start counting deaths caused by cell phones and internet? We hear it all the time. A kid gets bullied online so they commit suicide. Girls look at beautiful models, figure they don't measure up and decide to end it. More and more kids are suffering from depression and anxiety. A punk like this finds "friends" online and a place to air his woes and sick accomplishments and get more radicalized. Etc, etc. We see it happen to adults so a kid doesn't stand a chance.

What we never see is anyone make a point of it or taking their kids cell phones away. Should we start holding parent's accountable? Personally I think we should. I can't make sense of a parent saying they knew their kid was upset by things on the internet and wishing they would have done something after the fact. They may not have pulled the trigger but they put the gun in their hand.

Parent's aren't only giving their kids access to the world but giving the world access to their kids. Then we could talk about the hypersexualizing of kids and child predators.

Sadly I feel like expecting most parents to take accountability is as much of a losing concept as MSM doing the same.

 

[Newboomer]

I rarely if ever see this mentioned, but if we're going to hold firearms responsible for children's deaths, when do we start counting deaths caused by cell phones and internet? We hear it all the time. A kid gets bullied online so they commit suicide. Girls look at beautiful models, figure they don't measure up and decide to end it. More and more kids are suffering from depression and anxiety. A punk like this finds "friends" online and a place to air his woes and sick accomplishments and get more radicalized. Etc, etc. We see it happen to adults so a kid doesn't stand a chance.

What we never see is anyone make a point of it or taking their kids cell phones away. Should we start holding parent's accountable? Personally I think we should. I can't make sense of a parent saying they knew their kid was upset by things on the internet and wishing they would have done something after the fact. They may not have pulled the trigger but they put the gun in their hand.

Parent's aren't only giving their kids access to the world but giving the world access to their kids. Then we could talk about the hypersexualizing of kids and child predators.

Sadly I feel like expecting most parents to take accountability is as much of a losing concept as MSM doing the same.

The lack of parenting is one of the main causes. Both parents working, no one at home when the kids get out of school so kids find something to do. Most of the time it's some garbage on line or they start hanging out with the wrong crowd instead of going home and studying. The parents have minimal contact with their kids for a little while in the evening and in the morning. That gives no structure to a developing mind.

 

[Newboomer]

The lack of parenting is one of the main causes. Both parents working, no one at home when the kids get out of school so kids find something to do. Most of the time it's some garbage on line or they start hanging out with the wrong crowd instead of going home and studying. The parents have minimal contact with their kids for a little while in the evening and in the morning. That gives no structure to a developing mind.

PS to above: To compound the problem even more is a single parent household. The lack of a father figure leaves a huge void in a young person's life. All too often the child ends up on the street with the wrong crowd for lack of guidance.

Many times, or most often, even if the whole family is home in the evening, there is little or no conversation. Everyone has their nose stuck in a damn cel phone instead of discussing the day's events or attempting to solve problems. Mealtime should be a forum for this but usually is a hit or miss affair with everyone going in separate directions.

When my children were growing up we had strict discipline in the 1,2,3 rule. 1 they got reprimanded. 2 they got a good swat on the butt. 3 they got paddled in good shape. Not very often did it get to 3. Hair and ears were great deterrents to misbehavior. A handful of hair or a hold ona ear steered them in the right directiion("It hurts." "If you don't resist, it won't hurt.")

As they got into the teens phone calls and cel phones were prohibited during mealtime and study time. All that extraneous distraction was on hold until afterward. More than once I had to set a friend straight who broke that rule. We had only one phone so all calls were monitored. Worked rather well. Dad didn't have to don his First Sergeant's hat very often.

I must say, they turned very well. Family and discipline are all it takes.

 

[willbaforce]

Vote wisely vote republican to change things for the better.

 

[Ray B]

Vote wisely vote republican to change things for the better.

With the exception of Donald Trump's Presidency, voting in Republicans meant things didn't get as bad as fast as when DemonRats are in charge.

 

[WAB]

With the exception of Donald Trump's Presidency, voting in Republicans meant things didn't get as bad as fast as when DemonRats are in charge.

Totally agree. Our party needs a major cleansing.

 

[Tanks]

Well, Canada basically banned handguns and rifles with more than 5 round magazines today. Glad I am not a Canadian.

 

[jeanes]

With the exception of Donald Trump's Presidency, voting in Republicans meant things didn't get as bad as fast as when DemonRats are in charge.

You, sir are absolutely correct and I'm afraid the great red wave may not be the salvation everyone seems to expect.
As long as we are ranting about things here, can we mention the 10 innocent Afghannis, including 7 children, that Biden okayed killing so he could look tough during the withdrawal debacle. Seems like senile demented old men shouldn't be allowed to have control of Hellfire missiles either.

 

[Woodcarver]

 

[Phil Giordano]

I have obviously no answer for that - also, I am not even US citizen, I'm Italian. But I grew up looking at your Country, 'cause of my love for hunting, fishing, the great outdoor, and, you know, something special US had. My first special adventures, moments I will never forget, are from Montana and Idaho. It's sad to see that so much are chanced, I admit not only in US but all over the world. But, my friends, US as a so important Country, it's driving, we follow many of your examples, both good and bad. The same problems you do have about your new generation, we have with our own, same troubles in our society.
So I guess that the Texan tragedy is only a symptom, that has few or nothing to do with firearms, but a lot with menthal healt issue, and I hope someone will pay attention to what our young people do on social media and internet video games, to name just two.
Anyway, it's not the same World I grew up in.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Video games promote gun violence as 'entertainment'.
TV promotes gun violence as 'entertainment'.
Video content promotes gun violence as 'entertainment'.
Hollywood, those righteous pricks, promote gun violence as 'entertainment',
while whining 'What can be done about gun violence?'.
Many who would rule us seek to divide us and create fear. Fearful people arm themselves and look for threats - real or imagined.
Celebrities blame guns for the acts of mentally ill people, those disaffected by society, those angry over who knows what? At the same time they promote gun violence as 'entertainment'.
Judges and prosecutors routinely release dangerous criminals back on to the streets.
Law makers make stupid laws and jawbone the issue - seeking votes at the esxpense of actual solutions.

WTF?

I have a good friend in a Caribbean country whose father and teen age sister were slaughtered by a man with a machete. Why? Because he was fired as their gardener and was angry. No gun involved, but a lesson none the less.

Don't expect anything to change until people (of any nation) open their eyes and have the cajones to enable real solutions and dispense with rhetoric.