On Debates, or that Woo won't Bum-kon
We are at the moment engaged in yet another round of debate on gun control, American-style. Without getting too deep into the argument, I would like to point out a very irritating debate point. Call it the Woo Bum-kon.
This post, by a person against gun control, points to the case of Woo Bum-kon, South Korean policeman who killed 56 people. In my previous post, somebody else pointed to Anders Breivik in Norway. Both were being cited as cases of "gun control didn't work."
Here's the thing: the arguments are bullshit. Woo did his thing in 1982. How many mass shootings have there been in South Korea from then until now? (Answer - not very many if any.) Breivik did his thing in 2011. How many mass shootings have there been in Norway since then? (Answer - zero.) Before these two men did their thing, how common were mass shootings in their countries? (Answer - really rare.)
The problem is, in the United States, we have had 273 mass shootings this year. There's only been 275 days this year. Yep - almost as many mass shootings as days. (source.)
Nobody thinks we can get to zero mass shootings, no more than we can get to zero plane crashes. But we can surely reduce the number of shootings and deaths.
This entry was originally posted at https://chris-gerrib.dreamwidth.org/683561.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
This post, by a person against gun control, points to the case of Woo Bum-kon, South Korean policeman who killed 56 people. In my previous post, somebody else pointed to Anders Breivik in Norway. Both were being cited as cases of "gun control didn't work."
Here's the thing: the arguments are bullshit. Woo did his thing in 1982. How many mass shootings have there been in South Korea from then until now? (Answer - not very many if any.) Breivik did his thing in 2011. How many mass shootings have there been in Norway since then? (Answer - zero.) Before these two men did their thing, how common were mass shootings in their countries? (Answer - really rare.)
The problem is, in the United States, we have had 273 mass shootings this year. There's only been 275 days this year. Yep - almost as many mass shootings as days. (source.)
Nobody thinks we can get to zero mass shootings, no more than we can get to zero plane crashes. But we can surely reduce the number of shootings and deaths.
This entry was originally posted at https://chris-gerrib.dreamwidth.org/683561.html. Please comment there using OpenID.