Everyday Gunfire

[joedoe]

A thread on the Reality & Streetfighting board got me thinking. How many of you have heard gunfire (that is, shots fired in anger) in your day-to-day lives?

[Buby]

Yes. All the time.

Buby

[Serpent]

More than heard them. I've heard 'em, seen 'em and even felt one. Even now, when a car backfires or some sh!t like that, I've ducked before I realise it and it takes me about ten minutes to calm down again.

I guess a lot of it depends on where you live/hang out. Mind you, in a lot of regular suburban areas there are a lot of bangs and not that many of them are gunshots. You know a real gun when you hear one, believe that! ;-)

I'm off to check the reality forum - what was the thread that got you thinking?

[joedoe]

The gun control thread.

The reason it got me thinking is that I have never heard a shot fired in anger. None of my friends have either.

I was just wondering how common it is in the places where KFO members live. I guess to me it also probably means a lot more than all the stats that get quoted all the time about armed crime.

[Serpent]

D@mn straight! It's probably fair to say that 90% of gun related activity takes place in less than 10% of the country. Out of every 100 shots fired, probably 99 are in places that sensible people would never hang out in! ;-)

[Water Dragon]

When I was in EC, I heard gunfire about 4-5 nights a week. It was the worst in late summer. Probably 50 % of that had a story behind it. At one point, I actually had to carry when I was taking the garbage out to the alley.

Where I stay now, I'll hear gunshots maybe once every couple months. It's a nice change of pace.

[joedoe]

I suspect you and I stand on different sides of the gun debate.

To my way of thinking (and this may well be flawed) if I have never heard a shot fired in anger in my 29 years, and a large enough percentage of the population have not either, then I guess gun control has been pretty effective i.e. gunfire is not a problem we have had to face because access to guns is restricted.

However, I also understand your previous statement and can see the truth in that - the gunfire may only occur in areas that I do not frequent. And in fact I think that may also be the case.

Hmmm. Food for thought. Anyway, keep the votes coming in :)

[wangsizhong]

once or twice when i was living in chicago...

Wang Si Zhong

[Abstract]

on the regular, unfortunately

[diego]

4-5 NITES A WEEK???BAJEEZUS
U LIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURFWAR??

[Serpent]

JoeDoe (can I still call you ABandit? ;-) )

I'm not entirely sure where I stand on the gun debate. In some ways I'm desensitised to their presence, but I'm also scared sh!tless of them (especially since I copped the wrong end of one!) It's all about perspective. I choose to go to places that there are very few guns, I hear no gunshots and I like it that way. But sometimes I have to go places where someone is more likely to have a gun than a high school education. Gun control in the quiet places works, but it's not that necessary. Gun control in the other places is a joke - none of them are licenced anyway.

It's a t***** old issue, huh!

[joedoe]

Sure you can call me ABandit - that is my old nickname and I only lost it because of the move. Besides, I've been called worse :).

I can see both sides of the gun debate, but having visited the US and watched the news just about every night I was there, I was shocked at how blase the media seemed to be about shooting incidents. Apart from the serious stuff like office shootings/massacres, most incidents didn't even make it as news unless it was related to something else (like how some shooting victims had to be turned away from a DC hospital because there was no power in the ER).

It just seemed odd to me because if there is a shooting here, it is front page news. In the US it seemed as if it wasn't that big a deal.

The way I see it, if a large percentage of the population experience gunfire in one way or another (and I mean guns fired in anger either by police or criminals) then it would suggest a gun problem. I tend towards gun control, but that is just me.

Having said all that, I don't want to inflame another huge gun debate thread. I am just curious as to what kind of percentages of forum members have experienced shots fired in anger in one way or another.

[Serpent]

God@amn f ucking stupid profanity filter! That word in my last post that is just too rude for people's eyes is:

t h o r n y

For f uck's sake! :rolleyes:

[Serpent]

ABandit - I hear you. I go all over the world and I see this from so many different angles that it's hard to keep a single opinion. However, I have to admit that (in my opinion) in the US there is a real problem with firearms. In the UK it's not so bad, but it is rising - one thing that helps them is that the cops don't carry weapons, so the crims have less need to. In Australia the cops carry guns, but shootings are rare - but I see that as having a lot more to do with the fact that Aussies are really laid back, mellow people on the whole. It's too hot to get angry, man! ;-)

I think gun problems are very little to do with gun laws and very much to do with the population and it's attitude. In the US there is a real bad concept of guns and ownership and you have far too many d@mn people there. Cram that many rats together and they start to eat each other. In Australia, by comparison, there's loads of room! Take Scandinavia as well - they've got a very cool population in general, not too many hotheads, and there's a lot more peace and quiet. Outside the cities that is - anywhere there is a concentration of people things can get volatile.

Just a few opinions from me and h@ll, what do I know! ;-)

But for your thread, let's try to stick to the original question!

[joedoe]

So true - it is the temperament of the person and/or the society that makes the difference. However given that you have, as you said, a lot of people in a relatively small space, you are naturally going to have temper problems. Giving people guns in that situation doesn't make sense to me. However, it is the constitutional right of the American people to bear arms, so it is kind of moot anyway.

And we are laid back because of the beer, not the heat :).

Anyway, back to the topic. I really want to get a good statistical measure of this, so keep voting everyone.

[Serpent]

Perhaps the beer and the heat!? ;)

[joedoe]

Maybe beer because of the heat :)

In all seriousness, I think it is really because Aussies don't take themselves too seriously. ;)

[Serpent]

That's the truth - that's what makes them such nice people!

[joedoe]

Can you also let us know where you are from just to get a better idea? Thanks :)

[joedoe]

Actually, I just realised how poorly this poll is set up. I will redo it.

[scotty1]

Man, i was watching some show the other day wen an unarmed drunk driver got shot by the cops at the end of a car chase.

jesus.

With respect to gun violence American society seems a bit ****ing scary.

Although there's been a lot more shootings in London recently, in clubs and that.

[triskellin]

well you know where i live, so guess how many times i've heard gunfire? hahaha ;)

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

"Cram that many rats together and they start to eat each other."

agreed 100 percent. i believe that big cities are the ipotmy(sp) of all that is wrong with humanity. we are not meant to live like that. they make me sick. my buddy said that when he took his first plane ride he could only look out the window for so long as the complete absance of undeveloped land was too much for him. i have never been in a plane, but i know i would feel the same. i really wan't to move out into the country, but i'm afraid of becoming a red neck.

"Man, i was watching some show the other day wen an unarmed drunk driver got shot by the cops at the end of a car chase. "

good. drunk drivers are one of my pet peeves. i hear about way too many kids getting killed by drunk drivers for me to have any pity for that guy or any person who kills themselves while intoxicated behind the wheel. in spain (im pretty sure it's spain) the minimum sentence for dui is 5 years in prison and complete revoction of lisence. 2nd offence is death. they don't have a problem with drinking and driving.

on topic gun shots are kinda rare where i live, but not rare enough.

[Water Dragon]

Originally posted by diego
4-5 NITES A WEEK???BAJEEZUS
U LIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURFWAR??

EC. East Chicago, IN. Unfortunately, when I was living there, there was a turf war going on. One gang got totaly pushed out of the area about 4 years earlier. When I was there, they were trying to take the neighborhood back. Scary $hit.