Quote:
Originally Posted by nfotiu
The point being that everyone is saying that the whole US is a terribly scary place to live when the country as a whole is about the same as Edmonton or Calgary in terms of likelihood to die by homicide of any kind.
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Really? Does 40% of the population of Edmonton value the right to carry semi automatic rifles at Starbucks over the lives of school children?
When you go to Chinook Centre, do you constantly check where the exits are or what sort of cover is nearby? Of course not, because you're not going to be randomly murdered by a militia member. I rented a car from the Phoenix airport in 2015 and nearly had a panic attack when I saw the rental car facility was basically an empty lobby the size of a CFL field with nowhere to hide. You drive through Denver and you can feel Columbine and Aurora in your bones. Go to Kentucky and there's an armed guard in every 7/11. A tiny, unsuspecting patch of grass and a white X on the street in Dallas memorializes arguably the most consequential victim of gun violence in the 20th century, JFK.
It is not just about a murder rate. It's about being able to leave your house secure in the knowledge someone isn't going to end your life because their McDonald's order was wrong. And when people have been shown time and time again that no place is safe, no place is sacred, that's not an unreasonable fear to hold.