3 ms·

> something like that is just outside their normal reality It's the case in most developed countries I believe.

lexapro 4y ago
Yes. I've never had a gun in my hands or saw/heard one being fired and don't know anyone who has. Same for most non-developed countries I imagine.
- jiggawatts 4y ago
  Until I was 42, I had never seen a real gun except on the belt of a police officer. I lived near an Army barracks for a decade and never saw a soldier carrying a gun. In my twenties one of the crazy types at work brought a very realistic replica gun to work. He's the type that in some countries would bring a real gun to work, but here... it was just a toy to freak people out with. His strange proclivities weren't what really freaked me out. The toy gun did. I could name the manufacturer instantly when I saw it. I knew how every part worked, and what every part was called. I could operate it without difficulty or confusion. I knew that it had a grip safety, a manual safety, and a trigger safety. I knew what all of those meant. I knew how to reload it, and what to do to release the slide from its locked-back position. It was like... a dragon. We've all seen dragons on TV and read about them in books. We can describe a dragon in detail. We can talk about their behaviour, their capabilities, and their nature. Most of us can name specific dragons. But they're a thing of myth, not something real. Until some guy brings a dragon to work and you realise that they aren't just figments of our imagination. Somewhere out there, there's a country where every second person has a dragon like we have dogs here. There must be a lot of fires there instead of just... barking.
mellavora 4y ago
- sweetheart 4y ago
  There were three mass shootings in my city this past weekend, and one of them included a friend of a friend. But life goes on because this is America. My friends and I decided to stop going to large events. How sad is that?
  - samhw 4y ago
    In the same vein, I was discussing police responses to mass shootings on Twitter, and was quite surprised to find Wikipedia took me to a disambiguation page when looking up “[random small town] shooting”: https://twitter.com/samziz/status/1544460684829904896 https://twitter.com/samziz/status/1544460684829904896
  - elif 4y ago
    Two days ago my neighbor was relaxing in his front yard with his dog behind a tall fence. His dog started barking at someone walking on the sidewalk. One of the two on the sidewalk threw his lit cigarette through the fence panels into the dog's face. The owner said "that's not really necessary now come on" In response, the man said "fuck you my guy" and shot at him three times. Since he wasn't injured, the police showed up about 60 minutes later and there are no leads (and likely no investigation) Can't even feel comfortable at your own home. I also live in the city where 2 subway employees were shot (one fatally) over "too much mayo" last week.
    - avalys 4y ago
      Sounds like the police need more funds - and fewer people complaining about "oppression" for chasing down assholes like whoever shot at your friend?
      - elif 4y ago
        I'm also 4 blocks away from where rayshard brooks was murdered So maybe they just need to redeploy the drive thru task force.
  - meatsauce 4y ago
- stefantalpalaru 4y ago
- _trampeltier 4y ago
  I was a couple of time in japan, and I felt always super save everywhere, even middle in the night somewhere in the city. I even felt much saver in Japan than at home in Switzerland.

Yes. I've never had a gun in my hands or saw/heard one being fired and don't know anyone who has. Same for most non-developed countries I imagine.

jiggawatts 4y ago
Until I was 42, I had never seen a real gun except on the belt of a police officer. I lived near an Army barracks for a decade and never saw a soldier carrying a gun. In my twenties one of the crazy types at work brought a very realistic replica gun to work. He's the type that in some countries would bring a real gun to work, but here... it was just a toy to freak people out with. His strange proclivities weren't what really freaked me out. The toy gun did. I could name the manufacturer instantly when I saw it. I knew how every part worked, and what every part was called. I could operate it without difficulty or confusion. I knew that it had a grip safety, a manual safety, and a trigger safety. I knew what all of those meant. I knew how to reload it, and what to do to release the slide from its locked-back position. It was like... a dragon. We've all seen dragons on TV and read about them in books. We can describe a dragon in detail. We can talk about their behaviour, their capabilities, and their nature. Most of us can name specific dragons. But they're a thing of myth, not something real. Until some guy brings a dragon to work and you realise that they aren't just figments of our imagination. Somewhere out there, there's a country where every second person has a dragon like we have dogs here. There must be a lot of fires there instead of just... barking.

mellavora 4y ago

sweetheart 4y ago
There were three mass shootings in my city this past weekend, and one of them included a friend of a friend. But life goes on because this is America. My friends and I decided to stop going to large events. How sad is that?
- samhw 4y ago
  In the same vein, I was discussing police responses to mass shootings on Twitter, and was quite surprised to find Wikipedia took me to a disambiguation page when looking up “[random small town] shooting”: https://twitter.com/samziz/status/1544460684829904896 https://twitter.com/samziz/status/1544460684829904896
- elif 4y ago
  Two days ago my neighbor was relaxing in his front yard with his dog behind a tall fence. His dog started barking at someone walking on the sidewalk. One of the two on the sidewalk threw his lit cigarette through the fence panels into the dog's face. The owner said "that's not really necessary now come on" In response, the man said "fuck you my guy" and shot at him three times. Since he wasn't injured, the police showed up about 60 minutes later and there are no leads (and likely no investigation) Can't even feel comfortable at your own home. I also live in the city where 2 subway employees were shot (one fatally) over "too much mayo" last week.
  - avalys 4y ago
    Sounds like the police need more funds - and fewer people complaining about "oppression" for chasing down assholes like whoever shot at your friend?
    - elif 4y ago
      I'm also 4 blocks away from where rayshard brooks was murdered So maybe they just need to redeploy the drive thru task force.
- meatsauce 4y ago
stefantalpalaru 4y ago
_trampeltier 4y ago
I was a couple of time in japan, and I felt always super save everywhere, even middle in the night somewhere in the city. I even felt much saver in Japan than at home in Switzerland.