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Amazing how this topic/narrative surges whenever the chances of leftists and minorities arming themselves and/or actually doing something peak.
So what happened this time? Recent Performative Resistance/"No-Kings Protest" turn-out lower than expected? Higher? Someone show up armed and people talked to them instead of assuming they were a counter-protestor? Police and other local morons particularly brutal in a way the press couldn't gloss?
Hey, look, it's divisive rhetoric!
Crimes and violence are caused by unjustified heirarchies, in particular, the ruling class ruling over the working class.
You know what would reduce school shootings? Publicly funded mental health services for young people.
This kind of post is aimed at dividing the working class into two groups, pro-gun, and anti-gun. Refuse to give in to their messaging. Solidarity across the WHOLE working class!
Bingo
Nah dude, I'm sure we will all be drowning in peace once only ICE, police and the US military have all the guns :D
Sure, but know what else would reduce school shootings?
Less guns.
Would it? Is that the only solution?
Why do Yemen and Switzerland have such high ownership and no school shootings?
Don't get me wrong, less guns would be good for many reasons. And I think we can get there, eventually. But right now, I have zero confidence that our government is fit to enforce any law fairly. Neonazis are openly running the DoD and ICE, this is not the time to dial back the Bill of Rights.
nothing on this comic advocates against publicly funded mental health services
It should be noted that this chart compares gun homicides to gun ownership, which... of course those will correlate
If we plotted kangaroo injuries vs kangaroos per capita, we'd see a similar outlier in Australia
It would be more useful to see gun ownership compared to total homicides, to see if an overabundance of guns correlates with more murders. Even then, though, a correlation between the two might not be casual in that direction. It may instead be that in areas with a high homicide rate, people are more likely to own a firearm for defense.
What you would need to prove is that places with high gun ownership have significantly higher homicide rates, but places with high homicide rates don't have significantly higher rates of gun ownership
That's exactly the point! The whole, "it's the owner, not the gun" argument is dumb. If you have more guns, you have more gun-related homicides -- as simple as that.
When the populace don't have easy access to guns, then that's one weapon less they can use to hurt others.
Hmm, why did you exclude Switzerland, Mike?
it's in there, it's one of the unnamed blobs. 25 guns per 100 people, .5 deaths per 100 000 people. on par with portugal.
Comics like this are just preaching to the choir, and only the ones so fervent they're blinded by their own self righteousness. It's so obviously cherry picked and slanted if you've looked into the issues at play. It shows no respect for the reader at all, and likely only hardens the opinions of those it disagrees with.
You can't convince anyone of anything with this kind of trollish virtue signal. It only exists to get the author pats on the back from people in their own camp.
This kind of shitty rhetoric harms the cause. You can't win hearts and minds with blatant disrespect.
I see no disrespect. I see a good and valid point being made that a huge amount of Americans are oblivious to the obvious.
Why all the side issues. Is it true, or not?
If it is true, and I believe that it is, it may explain why you are triggered?
This may be referencing a chart from CNN's report on Small Arms Survey data, which includes many other statistics making the same point. Here's another:
where is switzerland? on the chart, this often gets touted as the counterpoint
On this chart Norway would also be listed with 29 guns per person. These are owned by only 10% of the population however, and automatic rifles are banned for civilians. I don't disagree with the sentiment of this meme, but it's cherry picking data in exactly the same manner as "the other side" would do just for a cheap gotcha argument.
While the data might be cherry picked, one thing that can't be displayed here is motivation. In Canada, a decent number of people have guns, but you can't carry firearms with you, you have to take highly specific routes while transporting any restricted hand guns. The role of guns is sport shooting and hunting and it's highly regulated for those.
In the USA, guns are intended to be used to kill other civilians. Owning a gun for self-defense purposes is buying with the intention that you may one day use it to kill another human. Not an enemy combatant in war, but a fellow citizen with a gun.
It's only a feeling, but I feel like that might be the biggest distinction between the USA and other (omitted) high-gun-per-capita countries. Guns in the USA aren't for mitary drafting or protection against a national invasion.
There's also the matter of training and licensing. A buddy in the USA was staunchly opposed to gun licensing. When I said that in Canada, it just helps ensure that people know how to maintain their gun and use it safely, he said, "Well the people who don't take the time to learn how to maintain it and use it safely just shouldn't get it in the first place", which I'm sure is a popular enough sentiment, but it's also the argument for licensing. The zero barrier for entry approach is also a problem.
I'd love to see more nuanced stats than this 4-panel comic is presenting.