Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr
Roughly 1 a week in London for last year and this year, not sure how other individual parts of the country compare but it will certainly be a lot less
2021 could, probably will exceed the record of 28 killed in 2008, this is for a city with a population of 9.5 million
Not sure how that compares as a % with similar sized US cities
|
I remember a year or two ago (pretty sure it was pre-COVID) when all of the sensationalist U.S. "news" sources exclaimed, with unabashed glee, that London's violent crime rate had then exceeded New York's. I'm not sure by what measures, but they were pretty giddy about it. "Good news" for someone, I guess...
I'll echo what others here have said. You may have noticed that I'm a rather avid shooter. I mostly just "plink" at tin cans and gongs at the gravel pit these days, but at one time I was a pretty avid competitive rifle and pistol shooter. I've hunted across North America and around the world. I've been an NRA instructor, I've attended every notable shooting class in the country, yada yada yada... One could say I'm "into it".
And yes, I have a concealed carry permit. I really never carry, I just have never felt the need. Oh, I've found myself unwillingly having to go into some pretty "high crime" areas and, yes, it did make me feel better to be armed. But, in 40 years of eligibility, I have never once even suspected I might have to start thinking about my gun.
The only place I do actually carry is in the wilderness. I'm still an avid backpacker and day hiker. I'm blessed to live in a region that hosts mountain lion, black bear, grizzly bear, wolves, wolverines, etc. Attacks are so rare as to be very notable when they do occur. Surviving one, even if armed, is even more rare... but I can pretend... or hope... anyway, I just feel better armed.
So, yeah, most of what you hear about American "gun culture" or whatever is pure, unmitigated b.s. Sensationalist reporting meant to sell copy. I, too, spent a career traveling the world, and mostly in Third World countries, in many of which Americans are, shall we say, "less than welcome" (but hey, we got fifty bucks a day "hazard pay"...). I've felt more uneasy in many of those places than I have ever felt anywhere in the U.S., even in our bigger cities, in some of their "more dangerous" neighborhoods. I mean, granted, things do happen, but statistically, those neighborhoods tend to keep it among themselves. Scores to settle, you know... strangers are in little danger.