SigmatheZeta
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2021
- Messages
- 615
- Gender
- she/her
- Basic Beliefs
- Generally, I am rooted in both ancient Epicurean and ancient Pyrrhonist sentiments, although I am somewhat sympathetic toward the intentions behind ancient Cynicism.
More meat! Yay!
*dons a napkin and whips out a fork and a knife*
Hey, over there! Would you please pass the sriracha? It's next to your forepaw. What do you mean you can't pick it up without opposable thumbs? Just nudge it over with your nose, you useless git.
*thumps her hind-foot* Science time! Here are some very interesting correlations that have been found by some very nice scientists at Miami University, and here are the factors that they see as being associated with the likelihood of a school shooting. You can find their article in Sociology Compass here:
I took some of their results and put them into an easy-to-read format, here:
As far as gun control, the cost of making weapons available to the public is that some of the public will do evil things with them. It is one thing to say that you are willing to tolerate that cost, which I do not necessarily agree with, but it is irrational and delusional to ignore that cost altogether. I have tried to explain this reality to people that are hot to protect their "Secund amundmunt raights," but every time I do, they start carrying on about firearms trivia and going "huhuhu, I bet you don't know the durffrunce twain a magazine und a clip! Stupid lubrul! Har har! Scairdy whiney lubrul!" and then, when I say, "I was taught how to aim down a rifle sight when I was 4 and went through basic combat training, actually, and I was just saying that the only scientific evidence you have brought forward was debunked long ago, which is something you might want to fix," they don't notice. By that time, they're already talking about the relative advantages between one brand of pistol and another. They have a fixed narrative of how the discussion is supposed to go, in their heads, and they are never going to believe otherwise. They have boiled it down to pageantry, and I have met billboards that were more interested in what I had to say. If you want to try to reason with them, then be my guest.
*dons a napkin and whips out a fork and a knife*
Hey, over there! Would you please pass the sriracha? It's next to your forepaw. What do you mean you can't pick it up without opposable thumbs? Just nudge it over with your nose, you useless git.
*thumps her hind-foot* Science time! Here are some very interesting correlations that have been found by some very nice scientists at Miami University, and here are the factors that they see as being associated with the likelihood of a school shooting. You can find their article in Sociology Compass here:
I took some of their results and put them into an easy-to-read format, here:
Individual causes and qualities
Mental illness
- Depression, suicidal tendencies, and mixed personality disorder (McGee and DeBernardo 1999, 2002; Harding et al. 2003; Harter et al. 2003; Sullivan and Guerette 2003)
- Fixation on fantasy and weapons, including violent media (Meloy et al. 2001)
Identity of shooters
- Shootings frequently perpetrated by males (Mai and Alpert 2000; Neroni 2000; Newman 2004; Spiegel and Alpert 2000)- Shootings frequently perpetrated by whites (Schiele 2001)
Access to guns
- Individual access to firearms and weapons (Newman 2004)
Peer relationships
- Romantic rejection (Klein 2005b)
- Victim of bullying (Burgess et al. 2006; Harter et al. 2003; Kimmel and Mahler 2003; Klein 2006; Larkin 2007; Leary et al. 2003; Meloy et al. 2001; Newman 2004)
- Social marginalization of perpetrator (Newman 2004)
Familial neglect or abuse
- Troubled home situation (Fox et al. 2003; Newman 2004; Webber 2003a
Community Contexts
Local youth social dynamics
- Exclusionary youth peer group dynamic (Lickel et al. 2003; Sandler and Alpert 2000)
- Intergroup conflict (Hagan et al. 2003; Larkin 2007)
School contexts
- Poor quality of student/faculty relationship (Moore et al. 2003)
- Inability of school administration to enforce rules and respond to threats (Fox and Harding 2005)
Community cohesion
- Tightly knit communities may suppress response to delinquency (Newman 2004)- Deracinated communities may be incapable of responding to delinquency (Larkin 2007)
Community climate
- Intolerant community climate (Tonso 2003; Aronson 2004; Larkin 2007)
Social and Cultural Contexts
Educational
- Crisis in youth culture educational institutions, especially public schools (Catlaw 2000; Cook 2000; Jacobs 2002)- States that allow corporal punishment in schools (Arcus 2002)
Masculinity
- Masculine roles may ‘script’ violent behaviors in boys (Mai and Alpert 2000; Neroni 2000; Newman 2004; Spiegel and Alpert 2000)
- In some cases, girls are specifically targeted (CNN 2006; Eglin and Hester 2003; Webber 2003a, 53–7)
Political climate
- Shootings have occurred more frequently in US states that are politically conservative (Kimmel and Mahler 2003)- Shootings have occurred more frequently in areas with a strong conservative religious population (Arcus 2002)
Culture of violence
- Widespread availability and acceptance of guns (Haider-Markel and Joslyn 2001; Lawrence and Birkland 2004; Webber 2003a)- Violence in media as glorifying violence or sparking copycat crimes (Larkin 2007; Sullivan and Guerette 2003; Webber 2003a, 25 – 43)
The bottom-line is that if you want to avoid your kid getting exposed to a school shooting, then you should consider living in a liberal and secular area. Realistically, that is about all you can do.As far as gun control, the cost of making weapons available to the public is that some of the public will do evil things with them. It is one thing to say that you are willing to tolerate that cost, which I do not necessarily agree with, but it is irrational and delusional to ignore that cost altogether. I have tried to explain this reality to people that are hot to protect their "Secund amundmunt raights," but every time I do, they start carrying on about firearms trivia and going "huhuhu, I bet you don't know the durffrunce twain a magazine und a clip! Stupid lubrul! Har har! Scairdy whiney lubrul!" and then, when I say, "I was taught how to aim down a rifle sight when I was 4 and went through basic combat training, actually, and I was just saying that the only scientific evidence you have brought forward was debunked long ago, which is something you might want to fix," they don't notice. By that time, they're already talking about the relative advantages between one brand of pistol and another. They have a fixed narrative of how the discussion is supposed to go, in their heads, and they are never going to believe otherwise. They have boiled it down to pageantry, and I have met billboards that were more interested in what I had to say. If you want to try to reason with them, then be my guest.
