Guns and . . .

[Chris]

I don't know who it was, but in the latest hand wringing over gun violence, NPR was interviewing some talking heads (like senators) and one woman said, that we should also give some attention to all the psychotropic drugs involved in these shootings. This is the first time I've heard this so prominently mentioned in the media in this context. I'll try to find out who said it -- she sounds like a highly placed allie (on a related note, here comes the cynic in me . . .the days and weeks after the mass shooting, hollywood and other violent media purveyors were all sensitive and even postponing some of their gruesome releases. jeez . . a few weeks of a show of sensitivity and then we can get back to business as usual with our relentlessly uber violent entertainment). The rest of the world thinks we're a bunch of gun totin' crazies in the USA and they are right!

[Sheila]

That's good to hear. I, too, have heard or read like one line about meds in long coverage of the gun issue. It's a start, but...

Yeah, it's an interesting historical phenomenon, the US love affair with guns. I figure it has something to do with the colonists using their muskets to overthrow British rule *and* with there being a lot of undeveloped territory available to steal from the natives, develop, and police (basically, the whole continent) *after* the invention of guns. IOW, the ancient Romans did the same thing to Britain, but they did it with swords....

Also interesting to contemplate that swords have been superceded by newer technology, whereas guns haven't.