- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
I mean, it gets worse when you look at mass shootings. I can only think of four (that have resulted in death) in the United Kingdom that are unrelated to the Troubles. And I mean ever. I don't mean in living history. I mean in history, period.
So do you really think it's weird for someone living in a country where mass shootings virtually never happen, to think that mass shootings are relatively frequent in the United States? Because they are relatively frequent in the United States when compared to pretty much any other European nation. The top five mass shootings in terms of fatalities in the United States all happened within the past five years. The fact that I can say "top five" in itself makes the United States a statistical abnormality. Population differences can't rationalise it - Europe has twice the population of the United States, and comparatively, mass shootings still almost never happen, even if you factor in terrorist attacks such as those in Paris or Belfast.
RE: stabbed vs. shot,
Using the same data that I linked to above, let's look at the per capita homicide rate:
5.5 homicides per 100,000 in the United States.
0.9 homicides per 100,000 in the United Kingdom.
And it's even less in most European nations.
Is it still "quite a lot". Sure, maybe, in absolute terms, depending on who you are, but since we're talking about relative terms here...
Saying the murder rate in European countries isn't "that much lower" is, basically, not true.
So do you really think it's weird for someone living in a country where mass shootings virtually never happen, to think that mass shootings are relatively frequent in the United States? Because they are relatively frequent in the United States when compared to pretty much any other European nation. The top five mass shootings in terms of fatalities in the United States all happened within the past five years. The fact that I can say "top five" in itself makes the United States a statistical abnormality. Population differences can't rationalise it - Europe has twice the population of the United States, and comparatively, mass shootings still almost never happen, even if you factor in terrorist attacks such as those in Paris or Belfast.
RE: stabbed vs. shot,
Using the same data that I linked to above, let's look at the per capita homicide rate:
5.5 homicides per 100,000 in the United States.
0.9 homicides per 100,000 in the United Kingdom.
And it's even less in most European nations.
Is it still "quite a lot". Sure, maybe, in absolute terms, depending on who you are, but since we're talking about relative terms here...
Saying the murder rate in European countries isn't "that much lower" is, basically, not true.