4 ms·
As a German I find it a bit unsettling that the ratio in guns-per-person between the US and Germany is smaller than that between Germany and, say, Italy. We do
by usrusr 7y ago
As a German I find it a bit unsettling that the ratio in guns-per-person between the US and Germany is smaller than that between Germany and, say, Italy. We do like to fingerpoint a lot at American gun ownership (it really feels absurdly archaic to the average German), but we're apparently not that much ahead.
I wonder how the numbers would look if they were broken down further into "made to be pointed at people" (designed for military, law-enforcement, or self-defense use) and "others" (hunting, dedicated competitive marksmanship). Hunting must be huge in the US, but the whole field of "testosterone booster" use cases from small scale "defend my family" right up to the field of full-scale second amendment militia fantasies (sorry if you are a believer) must account for quite a bit as well. I guess that dedicated competitive marksmanship might be low, I suspect that Americans who are into that kind of thing would tend to do it with hardware from somewhere in the "designed to be pointed at people" range.
- nicolashahn 7y agoNot sure what you mean by "fantasy", since it's the case that, right now, widespread gun ownership would have completely prevented the catastrophe that is current Venezuela, and probably wouldn't have allowed Hong Kong to escalate to this point. It's always crazy that the government would turn against its citizens, until it isn't, and it's happening.
- r00fus 7y agoYou are seriously positing that HK with guns would somehow have avoided its current fate? That is surely fantasy.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- nicolashahn 7y agoHow so? Would the Chinese government be able to just wantonly and unilaterally degrade HK citizen rights as they've done? They know there is no consequence for their actions, because HK citizens have no power. The threat of force only comes from one side. As of now, HK's only hope is to appeal to international actors that do have power.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- oceanghost 7y agoAmerica is deeply, deeply ill. Our gun ownership is a reflection of how deeply broken our society is. We are stuck in a predator-prey relationship and the predators run our society. We seem unable to change that relationship.
- whenchamenia 7y agoCitation needed. Most gun owning americians I know are generally more well-adjusted than the rest. Your own dislike of guns does not make others with a different outlook broken. Maybe your own perspective needs work.
- usrusr 7y agoThe point is that those well adjusted Americans believe they need guns. That's not exactly a sign of a healthy society.
- oceanghost 7y agoI think you're misreading me. I'm saying an accurate view of reality necessitates gun ownership. I am a gun (and crossbow) owner. I don't feel like I can trust my government. I lived a few blocks from where Kelly Thomas was killed and watched the police officers who did it beat the system and get off. As far as I'm concerned, until those folks are brought to justice, and until the architects of the financial collapse are brought to justice, the law in this country is meaningless because some people are not subject to it.
- nadezhda18 7y agoReading your comment made me think: Wow Germany must be like the US! Who knew! But then I read the article and was super or even mega surprised to see that Switzerland, Sweden, France, and even Canada, they all overcome Germany based on this measure (Guns per 100 people). Something tells me that maybe you should not be concerned about the position your country has on that list ... I was really surprised by Switzerland being the #2 on this list. Maybe it is indeed due to hunting habits the country has? I wonder how similar their gun thinking is to the US gun thinking.
- jen20 7y agoActually it’s because every Swiss male keeps their service rifle following service. However, it’s forbidden to keep ammunition.
- nadezhda18 7y agoI see! This is indeed very different from the US, more like an award I guess.