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I do want to add, I know Newton, Iowa--the town this article takes place in--and they do not have any mass shooting or gang violence. There is drug use, but bar

I do want to add, I know Newton, Iowa--the town this article takes place in--and they do not have any mass shooting or gang violence. There is drug use, but barely any drug-related violence (unless you count alcohol, I guess). I know you are talking about police in general, not this specific town, but I wanted to make clear that none of those are a daily reality in Newton.

chongli 3y ago
I still think it would be a totally different story if it were Newton, Japan rather than Newton, Iowa. Police culture doesn't stop at city limits. It permeates a society. The police in Newton, Iowa likely have the same warrior mindset as the ones in Baltimore, they just don't see nearly as much action. But every police officer in Newton knows that there's nothing stopping a criminal from another state just showing up in town, heavily armed, and robbing a liquor store. Whereas doing that in Japan would be far more difficult. Heck, when the former president of Japan (Shinzo Abe) was assassinated the shooter used a home-made gun.
- jimnotgym 3y ago
  > Heck, when the former president of Japan (Shinzo Abe) was assassinated the shooter used a home-made gun. Which does nothing at all to imply guns are hard to come by in Japan. I'm sure there are plenty of preppers in the US who make their own firearms. > Whereas doing that in Japan would be far more difficult. Why? It looks pretty easy to move around Japan?
  - chongli 3y ago
    According to Wikipedia, the US has an estimated 120 civilian firearms (registered and unregistered) per 100 people. In Japan, that number is 0.3 [1]. There are literally 400 times as many guns per capita in the US compared to Japan. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_guns_per_capita_by_country?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_g...
  - shiroiuma 3y ago
    You think a lot of people can figure out how to build their own guns and ammunition from raw materials? The shooter in this case used some metal pipes from a hardware store, a piece of wood, some duct tape, and an electrical igniter he made himself. He had to make his own ammunition and gunpowder from raw materials too. Moreover, the guy wasn't some random idiot; he was in the army before and had some kind of technical job there. As for "moving around Japan", in case you've never looked at a map, Japan is an island (or more properly, an archipelago). You can't just import guns there. And buying a gun is very difficult and will put you on a first-name basis with the local cops, and even here all you can buy is a hunting rifle or shotgun, and you better have a good reason to own it. Handguns are completely prohibited. The idea that some criminal could just show up in town, heavily armed, is utter fantasy.

chongli 3y ago

I still think it would be a totally different story if it were Newton, Japan rather than Newton, Iowa. Police culture doesn't stop at city limits. It permeates a society. The police in Newton, Iowa likely have the same warrior mindset as the ones in Baltimore, they just don't see nearly as much action. But every police officer in Newton knows that there's nothing stopping a criminal from another state just showing up in town, heavily armed, and robbing a liquor store. Whereas doing that in Japan would be far more difficult. Heck, when the former president of Japan (Shinzo Abe) was assassinated the shooter used a home-made gun.

jimnotgym 3y ago
> Heck, when the former president of Japan (Shinzo Abe) was assassinated the shooter used a home-made gun. Which does nothing at all to imply guns are hard to come by in Japan. I'm sure there are plenty of preppers in the US who make their own firearms. > Whereas doing that in Japan would be far more difficult. Why? It looks pretty easy to move around Japan?
- chongli 3y ago
  According to Wikipedia, the US has an estimated 120 civilian firearms (registered and unregistered) per 100 people. In Japan, that number is 0.3 [1]. There are literally 400 times as many guns per capita in the US compared to Japan. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_guns_per_capita_by_country?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_g...
- shiroiuma 3y ago
  You think a lot of people can figure out how to build their own guns and ammunition from raw materials? The shooter in this case used some metal pipes from a hardware store, a piece of wood, some duct tape, and an electrical igniter he made himself. He had to make his own ammunition and gunpowder from raw materials too. Moreover, the guy wasn't some random idiot; he was in the army before and had some kind of technical job there. As for "moving around Japan", in case you've never looked at a map, Japan is an island (or more properly, an archipelago). You can't just import guns there. And buying a gun is very difficult and will put you on a first-name basis with the local cops, and even here all you can buy is a hunting rifle or shotgun, and you better have a good reason to own it. Handguns are completely prohibited. The idea that some criminal could just show up in town, heavily armed, is utter fantasy.