02-16-2018, 12:24 PM
(02-16-2018, 11:45 AM)Nately120 Wrote: People aren't really known for using actual evidence for the purpose of weighing fears. Plus, mass shootings have that sort of "It can happen to you, whether you deserve it or not" factor that really gets people emotionally charged. The numbers don't matter to most people, as evidenced by people who think being killed by a terrorist/mass shooter is a major risk in their lives, but they don't care about buckling their seatbelt, learning CPR, or knowing how to use a fire extinguisher IF they even own one, or something to that nature.
Most definitely. You're far more likely yo be killed in a car accident or slipping in your bathroom than being killed by a firearm, much less in a mass shooting.
Quote:Anecdote time. In the late 2000's I had a gf who was one of those Bush and Palin republicans and we were walking about and we had been discussing terrorists and she went to walk out in front of a car that was supposed to stop at a stop sign and I grabbed the back of her shirt and the guy didn't end up stopping until halfway through the stop sign. I just said something to the tune of you worry about terrorists and I'll worry about people like that.
Excellent example. Of the 12,000 or so homicides committed with a firearm around 60-70% (possibly more) of them are criminals killing other criminals. This means that around 4,000 people per year, who are not engaged in criminal activity, are killed per year, in a nation of 330,000,000 who own collectively around as many firearms. It's certainly no comfort to those killed, or their families, but most people shouldn't spend two seconds worrying about being shot.
