Last week's news. A man in some other state was refused a drink at a restaurant because he was getting a little too drunk and he went out to his truck, got a gun and started firing at the ceiling because he was mad. Is this why he carries a gun in his truck?
Week before's news. Man walks into a coffee shop one morning and shoots four police officers eating their breakfast point blank. They never found the guy as far as I heard.
What is wrong with this country? We're brainwashed from a young age to believe that we live in the best country in the world. Sure, there are a lot worse places to be in the world, but why do I have to worry every time I get in my car that someone might get angry and get out of their car and shoot me? Why do I have to worry about drive-by shootings or getting caught in the crossfire while I come home from work on the subway through dangerous neighborhoods? People in developed countries shouldn't have to worry about these things. These are things you worry about when you live in a war zone... or Mexico and their drug wars. Not in the "best country in the world". I've been looking at some websites and it looks like at least 40% of Americans have firearms in their house. That's just sick. We say it's for self defence, but if we didn't have guns in the first place, we wouldn't need guns for self defence. It takes a lot more effort to kill someone with a knife or other object than to just simply push a button.
I'm sick of it. I don't want to turn on the news any more. I promise you I'll never be shot in Korea (unless Kim Jong Il takes some drastic measures). Sure, I might get hit by a motorcycle, but at least that would be an accident. I'm not saying Korea is a land of paradise, but don't listen to that crap that we're so lucky to live in America and if you were born in another country you would be so unfortunate.
The US definitely has gun violence issues. But it's too late to put that genie back in the bottle. Incidentally, the "suspect" in the multi-cop killing was shot and killed a day or two later.
ReplyDeleteStill, America has a lot to offer (or did have when I as coming up) that's hard to find elsewhere.
Yes, I know America has a lot to offer. I just get frustrated with things like this (gun control), poor public transportation, poor health care, drug prevalence, apathy towards environmental issues, and just apathy in general that makes me so frustrated with this country sometimes. Not to say that Korea is better, but maybe I just can't understand what's going on around me so it doesn't bother me.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for that guy that shot the police officers, I guess my local news must have gotten bored with that story, 'cause I never saw what happened with the suspect.
Yeah, the amount of routine violence back home makes me sick. I'm from Pittsburgh, often among the most-livable cities in the country, yet every day the news is full of murders, robbery, and violence both gang and random.
ReplyDeleteI worry about going back, and worry about bringing my fiance there. The problems in the US are big ones for any country. But what makes it worse is that people accept this "land of the free home of the brave" and "greatest country in the world" crap and don't take an honest look around them. Likewise, wouldn't be so hard to take if the country weren't forcing its will on so many other countries. hell, right now we're militarily occupying Japan and South Korea, two countries that have a lot to teach us about civility and culture.
Thing is, few people seem to care. People are more worried about "nation-building" in other countries. How about doing it back home? But it's as if any talk of making social changes is the government interfering too much . . . "if we become civilized, the terrorists will have won."
Now, of course the US isn't all bad. And people forget how big it is. Put it on Europe or Asia and you're covering a bunch of different countries and cultures. But, I really wish people would take a hard look at what's going on in the US and their ocountry's role in the world.
Thanks Brian, I think you put it more articulately than I did...
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