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How many people do you know who have been injured or killed from gun violence? How many do you know who have been victims of nuclear violence? I know for me per

How many people do you know who have been injured or killed from gun violence? How many do you know who have been victims of nuclear violence? I know for me personally I've witnessed gun violence, and know people who've been injured because of it. For me at least gun violence is much more personal, and thus more depressing and terrifying.

gizmo686 9y ago
Gun violence frequently kills a small number of people. USA/USSR nuclear war is an extremely rare event (to the point where it never actually happened; but any reasonable reading of history recognizes that it could have happened), that kills a large number of people. Lets estimate between 70 and 160 million immediate deaths in the US. [0]. This would be between 35 and 80% of the population. Lets round this estimate to a flat 100 million. In 2013, there was about 100,000 firearm injuries (~34,000 of which were fatal. and 21,000 were suicide) [1] These two number are not directly comparable, because of population growth, and my considering non-fatal gun injuries but only immediately fatal nuclear injuries. However, both of these facts serve to make gun violence look relatively worse than nuclear violence. Even with these simplifications, our gun violence is equivalent to a nuclear war every 100 years. Readings of history may vary, but I doubt we could survive 100 years of cold war without starting a nuclear war. For simplicity, lets ignore population growth and just focus on the absolute numbers (which will make shootings look even worse, because the total population has increased). [0] http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/129966 http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/129966 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_Sta...
- deleted 9y ago
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stale2002 9y ago
> How many people do you know who have been injured or killed from gun violence? Um, none?
- gumby 9y ago
  Exactly. The chance of this affecting your kid is tiny, compared to choking, being hit by car, etc. bought it does serve to terrorize the kids.
hippich 9y ago
In 8 years i live in usa i did not witness any gun-related violence. Nor nuclear-related.

gizmo686 9y ago

Gun violence frequently kills a small number of people. USA/USSR nuclear war is an extremely rare event (to the point where it never actually happened; but any reasonable reading of history recognizes that it could have happened), that kills a large number of people. Lets estimate between 70 and 160 million immediate deaths in the US. [0]. This would be between 35 and 80% of the population. Lets round this estimate to a flat 100 million. In 2013, there was about 100,000 firearm injuries (~34,000 of which were fatal. and 21,000 were suicide) [1] These two number are not directly comparable, because of population growth, and my considering non-fatal gun injuries but only immediately fatal nuclear injuries. However, both of these facts serve to make gun violence look relatively worse than nuclear violence. Even with these simplifications, our gun violence is equivalent to a nuclear war every 100 years. Readings of history may vary, but I doubt we could survive 100 years of cold war without starting a nuclear war. For simplicity, lets ignore population growth and just focus on the absolute numbers (which will make shootings look even worse, because the total population has increased). [0] http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/129966 http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/129966 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_Sta...

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

stale2002 9y ago

> How many people do you know who have been injured or killed from gun violence? Um, none?

gumby 9y ago
Exactly. The chance of this affecting your kid is tiny, compared to choking, being hit by car, etc. bought it does serve to terrorize the kids.

hippich 9y ago

In 8 years i live in usa i did not witness any gun-related violence. Nor nuclear-related.