Oct 27, 02
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OK, just my 2 cents to this...
In terms of the "this kind of thing only happens in the US 'cuz they have a culture of guns" vs. "it happens here too if U wants a gun U'll get it, he was likely unloved" etc etc. I think you've both right, sort of. It can happen anywhere, recent events in both countries, as well as non-recent events (Columbine, Concordia) show it is not a new phenomenon. In terms of the murder rate, from a casual search "Murder rates are generally at least three times lower in Canada than in the United States. In 1999, Canada's murder rate was 1.8 per 100,000 population. In that same year, the U.S. homicide rate was 5.7 per 100,000 population in the United States" (http://canadanews.about.com/library/.../aa072802a.htm). So it CAN happen anyhwhere, but DOES happen more in the US. Why? Personal opinion only but yes, easier access to guns is a factor. People sometimes commit rash acts based largely on emotion - you've done it, I've done it - and some people would let their emotions run so amok that if there was a weapon, someone would get shot. Jilted lovers, former bosses (here recently), classmates (Columbine). But if one out of 100 people would act on that instinct in either country (assuming it is a personal character trait) if they could, then Canada's gun laws help prevent some of this carnage by ensuring that they CAN'T act on it, due to a lack of a firearm. If we assume that many events are rash acts, then once the trigger for the desire to kill has subsided over the course of time it would take to get a gun, the person would resume rational thinking and not go through with the act. Secondly, I think the US does have more of a culture of violence than we do. Listen to much of their music, it tells of wars in the streets in the inner cities. They achieved their independance through revolution. They have the largest and best funded military in the world, bar none. Yes, we have hockey, but beyond that, when Bryan Adams sings that it "Cuts Like A Knife" it has no-where near the meaning of Body Count's refrain of "Cop Killer". I think that there is a desensitization, however slight, that skews the average American towards violence more than the average Canadian. Not a lot more, mind you, but enough so that roughly 4 out of 100,000 people would allow their rash acts to entertain such thoughts of murder and follow through. I don't think that all Americans are gun toting maniacs; in fact most if not all Americans I know are fine people. They are in the other 999,996 of the average 100,000. But squeeky wheels get the grease, and the person who helped an elderly lady across the street or returned someone's lost wallet don't sell newspapers, so its easy to forget that most Americans are about the same as most Canadians. Again, just my little rant 'o the night.... cyberdog 
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