tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281883476739158489.post51185053580603410..comments2023-10-10T08:26:17.996-05:00Comments on Rayela's Fiber Focus: Murder in Paducah. My Neighbor is Dead.Rachel Bielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14804950102480086440noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281883476739158489.post-6212620794882620442009-09-18T17:12:43.151-05:002009-09-18T17:12:43.151-05:00I'm sorry that you have had to confront this r...I'm sorry that you have had to confront this right in your own neighborhood, but I do thank you for this well-thought-out post. I also come down close to where you are on this issue.goodworks1https://www.blogger.com/profile/02967943973600981509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281883476739158489.post-42146915971267359612009-09-18T10:23:09.425-05:002009-09-18T10:23:09.425-05:00RJ, sure we have many, many social problems and hi...RJ, sure we have many, many social problems and highlighting one does not negate the whole picture. I try to remember that for every nut that is out there, the balance of good people is overwhelming. I've had many, many instances in my life where I have depended on the "goodness of strangers" and that gives me a great deal of hope.<br /><br />Arlee, that was an interesting experiment. I must say that I am grateful for police officers, especially those who seek to diffuse situations where anger can escalate into even greater violence. But, I've often wondered why we do not use tranquilizer guns instead of bullet ones. We have the science to knock people out without having to kill them. I know that that's what tazer guns were supposedly for, but there have been too many reports of how they have been abused, too.<br /><br />I took a peace and violence class in college that looked at both from a micro (individual) and macro (national) perspective. It was taught jointly by a religion and philosophy professor, male and female. Fascinating. In the end, each of us makes a contribution to the whole, and I for one, choose not to have guns in my life.Rachel Bielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14804950102480086440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281883476739158489.post-26942360686090545892009-09-18T09:33:40.033-05:002009-09-18T09:33:40.033-05:00Oh, Rayela, how horrible for you. Hang in there. I...Oh, Rayela, how horrible for you. Hang in there. I am glad that you have chosen not to change your stance about guns. My brother is NYPD, and I had a long conversation with a friend about why I feel that he should not be able to carry the gun for which he is licensed in NYC across state lines. If we're all packing, how do you tell the good guys from the bad ones? There was an interesting experiment I saw on TV recently. This answered the question about whether VA tech students would have been safer armed. They gave the college students laser guns to carry, and surprised them with an attack. The outcome was that none of the attackers were shot, most of the gun carrying students were fatally shot, and one student accidentally shot another. Normal citizens are not trained to respond with firearms, the same way we are not trained to fight fires. Could we if we had to? Certainly. But I'd not like to live in a world where having to was a daily thing.Aleedahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04760581184513977394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281883476739158489.post-72946678724212545182009-09-18T05:45:38.902-05:002009-09-18T05:45:38.902-05:00"The official number one cause of accidental ..."The official number one cause of accidental deaths in the United States is motor vehicle accidents, accounting for about 43,600 deaths. The next three causes, poisoning, firearms, and falls account for 90,000 deaths." Injuryboard.com<br /><br />Cars kill many more people than guns, yet we give children $30K pieces of heavy equipment every day...those same children who can't take care of $20 worth of their own stuff. <br /><br />I am sorry, but the statistics you cite, while good, are meaningless without looking at the whole picture. It is like looking at red fabric without knowing how it reacts to the surrounding quilt. If you won't do one, why do the other?<br /><br />I spent time on the CDC website, but couldn't find your citation. The above was the best I could find. CDC listed 2006 as their only final. <br /><br />"Mortality<br />All unintentional injury deaths<br /><br /> * Number of deaths: 121,599<br /> * Deaths per 100,000 population: 40.6<br /> * Cause of death rank: 5<br /><br />Unintentional fall deaths<br /><br /> * Number of deaths: 20,823<br /> * Deaths per 100,000 population: 7.0<br /><br />Motor vehicle traffic deaths<br /><br /> * Number of deaths: 43,664<br /> * Deaths per 100,000 population: 14.6<br /><br />Unintentional poisoning deaths<br /><br /> * Number of deaths: 27,531<br /> * Deaths per 100,000 population: 9.2<br /><br />Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2006, tables B, 18"<br /><br />Table B lists firearms at 30,896, including 16,883 suicides. Motor Vehicle is at 43,464, Poisoning at 37,286 (6,109 suicides), Falls at 31,647 (725 suicides).Rosie1925https://www.blogger.com/profile/14232906422200267881noreply@blogger.com