Isn’t this more of a statement about the impact the current news cycle has than the shooting themselves?
They have been there for a while but it’s becoming a cash cow for journalism to turn it into an event.
Opinion polls on this is more or less WORTHLESS. Perception, especially crime, is rarely based on statistics and fact, but anecdotal data and feelings.
PERCEIVED risk and ACTUAL risk is also usually horribly skewed.
What I gathered from this particular post was less that it was about collecting statistics and more about morale in the united states and how people feel about the place they live in.
It’s really really sad that people feel like it’s NORMAL for these mass shootings to be a thing. And apparently quite a few of them feel like it’s normal. That, to me, felt like what this was supposed to be stating.
Seventy percent, however, say they’re not worried or are only slightly worried about this happening.
Seventy percent, however, say they have a working knowledge of statistics.
Fixed that for 'em.
I’d sure love to see some serious discussion initiated from some leaders (e.g. the president) about real solutions. I’m no gun-nut but it really worries me that the only “card” that seems to be presented for play is gun control. Really, REALLY there are people with problems - society is producing some very sick people (societies probably always do and will, but we have a new phenomenon here), probably due to a variety of stresses. Shouldn’t we be worried about that?
Of course it’s not normal. It’s just too frequent. I sigh, and say “WTF, again?” and hope not too many dead/injured/scarred emotionally this time. Complain to the internets and vote accordingly. Sometimes send email to representatives. None of which does shit. Murica, phooey.
Approximately 4% of Americans have a severe mental illness.
And approximately 4% of murders are committed by people with a severe mental illness.
The “stop mass shootings by fixing mental health” thing is just a distraction.
Pretty much every other country in the world has a “real solution” to reduce gun violence, and that “real solution” is gun control. It’s proven to be effective, regardless of any rhetoric otherwise.
Anything that happens more than once per day, and only in America can fairly be called “a normal part of American life”.
So it doesn’t bother you that “these people” want to go kill lots of more-or-less random strangers? We should just keep guns away from them and they’ll be OK and cause no type of harm to society? (note that I’m not saying there shouldn’t be further gun control, and I’m not using the argument that they’ll just get guns anyway).
I’m pretty sure less than 2,000 people per year die from mass shootings. They’re only slightly more important than terrorism.
If you care about saving lives, campaign for quality food, exercise, safety caps for cleaners, and fences around pools. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
In my future dystopia story setting, one part of the “show, don’t tell” (which, yes, I recognize that I’m violating) in describing the setting, the normalization of mass shootings is to the point that there’s a dedicated stat block in the newspapers for reporting the previous day’s casualties and fatalities.
The Box scores, as it were?
Had to look up what that meant, but, yeah, sure. Just basically making it part of the worldbuilding–that the Confederated Republic Of America is a backwards hellhole, and reinforcing that in myriad little details, like the border fence with the Pacifica Commonwealth being designed to keep people in, not out, despite their claims, or an off-hand comment about the daily dust level and associated contaminants from the Kansas Desert.
You know, I’m sure that’s already been done.
What’s that saying? Good authors create, great authors steal? 
I will admit to inspiration from Richard K. Morgan’s Thirteen. 
But that’s only part of my setting material, anyway.
I believe it’s a normal part of life, in the sense that it happens on a daily or weekly basis and isn’t likely to change any time soon. That’s certainly not the same thing as saying it’s acceptable, but to claim that it’s out of the ordinary at this point would be living in denial. It’s happening, and will keep happening because enough people not only do feel it’s acceptable, but will fight kicking and screaming to their last breath to make sure nothing is done about it.
I agree with you about gun control, but if most mass-murderers are not “mentally ill,” then clearly there’s an underlying problem here. Emile Durkheim was able to show how the rise in suicide rates correlated to the development of capitalism. It’s hard not to look at this phenomenon and feel like there’s something equally fundamental going on.
Another suicide bombing in Iraq.
Another school shot up in the USA
Gradually the headlines get smaller until they are just on the tickertape at the bottom of the screen.
Well, it isn’t like we’ve tried it.
