5 ms·

Seriously. Just like that "Bitter Pill" story in Time a day or two ago highlighted that insurance is a red herring for the deeper problem of profit-driven costs

by acabal 14y ago

Seriously. Just like that "Bitter Pill" story in Time a day or two ago highlighted that insurance is a red herring for the deeper problem of profit-driven costs in US health care, the issue of gun control is a red herring for a deeper cultural problem. Like you said people are becoming more fearful and more selfish. Combine that with a culture that glorifies violence and the insane media circus that pops up whenever anybody puts the words "school" and "shooter" together, you get an excellent, self-perpetuating environment for fomenting violence of any kind. Delusional people who can't get mental health care and who want to send a message will find a way to do that no matter what's banned or how Orwellian our society gets.

msluyter 14y ago
Except that violent crime in America has actually been decreasing steadily since the 90s: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States Weird that we have we're getting more fearful and selfish, and more and more violent, and yet violent crime is going down. (Weird how these finger in the wind takes of the zeitgeist work...)
- Zelphyr 14y ago
  You can thank the media for that. Its not that the violence is increasing. As you say, it is the opposite in fact. But the amount we HEAR about violence is skyrocketing. So everyone, do yourselves a favor; STOP WATCHING THE NEWS! Stop reading it! It doesn't benefit you. Take it from a recovering news junkie. You won't miss it. You won't feel less informed. The important stuff will always make it to your eyes and ears. The rest is just going to make you more anxious than you reasonably need to be.
  - cadalac 14y ago
    I already follow your advice. I never read that stuff. Sometimes I go to Google News, and all I see is Murder, Rape, Shooting etc. Do you really think that's the "news" I'm looking for? Someone please start a news site startup that allows for custom filtering or something.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
  - wil421 14y ago
    I have always wondered if crimes are getting more violent or if the amount of coverage we give the violent ones has increased. The closest I will get to the news is the Daily Show, because at least they poke fun at the American media for how ridiculous they can be.
    - reader5000 14y ago
      The "Daily Show" is an interesting phenomenon because it's like, we're still going to feed you the corporate 24-hour news garbage, but we're going to do it satirically so that you can feel superior to all the plebes who watch this stuff "for reals".
      - damoncali 14y ago
        It's also interesting that it appears to be taking itself more and more seriously as time goes by. It's a modern day ministry of propaganda. To what end, I have no idea.
  - bo1024 14y ago
    And not only that, but the media by glorifying anti-hero school-gunman or batman-shooting types also encourages this stuff by turning national attention on these loonies, making the next one want to do it even more. The most hypocritical part is the media will turn around and talk all day about gun control, violent video games, etc etc when they themselves are the biggest problem.
  - damoncali 14y ago
    This is incredibly good advice, especially if you find yourself in an unexplainable funk with no real source. It's amazing how much of that feeling is drivien by the barrage of negativity pumped through your cable TV. I stopped watching the news several years ago and have been better off. I recently turned it back on to watch the coverage of Newtown because guns are an important issue to me, and it was a shock - the deafening, negative stupidity blaring out of every conceivable pit was overwhelming after years of only reading news, and doing so selectively. If you watch a lot of news, especially cable news, give it a try. Just for a month. See if you don't feel better about everything.

by acabal 14y ago

msluyter 14y ago

Except that violent crime in America has actually been decreasing steadily since the 90s: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States Weird that we have we're getting more fearful and selfish, and more and more violent, and yet violent crime is going down. (Weird how these finger in the wind takes of the zeitgeist work...)

Zelphyr 14y ago
You can thank the media for that. Its not that the violence is increasing. As you say, it is the opposite in fact. But the amount we HEAR about violence is skyrocketing. So everyone, do yourselves a favor; STOP WATCHING THE NEWS! Stop reading it! It doesn't benefit you. Take it from a recovering news junkie. You won't miss it. You won't feel less informed. The important stuff will always make it to your eyes and ears. The rest is just going to make you more anxious than you reasonably need to be.
- cadalac 14y ago
  I already follow your advice. I never read that stuff. Sometimes I go to Google News, and all I see is Murder, Rape, Shooting etc. Do you really think that's the "news" I'm looking for? Someone please start a news site startup that allows for custom filtering or something.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- wil421 14y ago
  I have always wondered if crimes are getting more violent or if the amount of coverage we give the violent ones has increased. The closest I will get to the news is the Daily Show, because at least they poke fun at the American media for how ridiculous they can be.
  - reader5000 14y ago
    The "Daily Show" is an interesting phenomenon because it's like, we're still going to feed you the corporate 24-hour news garbage, but we're going to do it satirically so that you can feel superior to all the plebes who watch this stuff "for reals".
    - damoncali 14y ago
      It's also interesting that it appears to be taking itself more and more seriously as time goes by. It's a modern day ministry of propaganda. To what end, I have no idea.
- bo1024 14y ago
  And not only that, but the media by glorifying anti-hero school-gunman or batman-shooting types also encourages this stuff by turning national attention on these loonies, making the next one want to do it even more. The most hypocritical part is the media will turn around and talk all day about gun control, violent video games, etc etc when they themselves are the biggest problem.
- damoncali 14y ago
  This is incredibly good advice, especially if you find yourself in an unexplainable funk with no real source. It's amazing how much of that feeling is drivien by the barrage of negativity pumped through your cable TV. I stopped watching the news several years ago and have been better off. I recently turned it back on to watch the coverage of Newtown because guns are an important issue to me, and it was a shock - the deafening, negative stupidity blaring out of every conceivable pit was overwhelming after years of only reading news, and doing so selectively. If you watch a lot of news, especially cable news, give it a try. Just for a month. See if you don't feel better about everything.