Is This The World We Want To Live In?

[FallOutBoy2001]

We live in a world where our answer to many things is violence

one person kills themselves every 40 seconds

one person dies in armed conflict every 100 seconds

one person is murdered every 60 seconds

Let that sink in. In the time it took you took you to click on this myTake and read this, someone was murdered, another is about to die in an armed confict, and two people have killed themselves. Four people are dead. Those are four lives that will never fully unfold. Four families who have just lost a loved one. Four brothers. Mothers. Fathers. Sisters. Aunts. Grandparents. Boyfriends. Wives. Sons. Daughters.

Gone

Why do we continue to let this happen? Continue living in a world where people are so damaged by what has been done to them, or what has not been done to them, that think they have no choice but to kill themselves. Where people kill one another for difference in opinion or becaue they have nothing better to do, or beacause they aren't straight and white. In my town, a mother killed herself and her two daughters, leaving her husband alone and shattered. Her daughters? They were 6 and 8, not even out of elementary school. In the next town over, four boys broke into a house and killed a women and nearly killed her daughter with a machete. Their reasoning? They were bored and didn't have anything better to do.

This is so normal to us we don't even think twice about it any more. My generation sees just another mass shooting, another act of terrorism, another murder, another suicide, and thinks "This is just the way it is." Why? Even when we talk about it, that's all we do. Talk. We say "We need better mental health screening, better gun control." Where are those changes? At gun shows, you can buy an AK-47, a automatic machine gun, and not go through any background checks. You could be a mental-unstable escaped terrorist, and buy an AK-47.

Does anyone here want to raise a child like this? Does anyone, in their right minds, want to raise a child in this world as it currently is? A world, where they'll just look at the mass shooting that happened, at suicides, at murders, and just think "This is the way it is. I can't change it, this is just the way things happen." I hope when my generation comes into power, when my generation become parents, start working, start voting, they say "No, I don't want my children to grow up like this. I don't want another generation to go through life thinking this is normal." We've seen what life is like when we think this is normal. We need to change this, we need to stop talking and start acting on those ideas.

In the length of time it's taken you to read this, two more people have died in an armed conflict, three have been murdered, and five people have killed themselves. Ten more people who are dead. Let that sink in once more. That is ten more people who's families and friends will never be the same.

Their fathers will carry their caskets, something they never thought they'd do

Their mothers will cry tears they never thought they'd shed

Their children or little siblings will go to their grave and think "Was this my fault?"

We need change. We need change, and it's our job to make sure it happens

[Anonymous]

You end with "we need change, and it's our job to make sure it happens," but what are you doing to make sure we are changing?

It's one thing to type this and to express what's happening all around us, but people will read this, and most will shrug and say, yes, that's pretty sad, but what am I supposed to do. I think offering up a solution or link to an organization would have been more helpful at the end because you point out that we are sitting ducks, we are inactive when it comes to stopping these things, but then we need solutions, not just more of the same we have problems.

[FallOutBoy2001]

Do you know any organizations? I don't know of any, but I wanted to add some

[Opinion Owner]

I do of course, but if YOU want to change, and YOU have to be a part of that change, you can't just tell everyone else to get on board. You can propose the problems and state the obvious, but without action behind it, this is no more than words on paper. You have access to all the information in the world right at your fingertips via the internet you are on right now. Go online, do your own research, and find an organization or several YOU feel would help bring about change, and actually join, and become part of the change you want to see in others. Or even better start your own organization at school to help stop the problems you see right then and there. What I'm saying ultimately is don't just expect people to get it especially if you aren't leading by example. Do the work, get yourself involved, and then get others involved. This is step one, now it's up to you to follow your own advice and get involved.

[FallOutBoy2001]

Can you suggest any organizations for readers to visit? I'll go find some later today, but any specific ones you'd like to add?

[Waffles731]

The worlds fucked up, always has been and sometimes it seems like it always will.
Sometimes I think god looks down on us and cries all day

[FalloutVaultB0y]

"When one person dies, it is a tragedy. One a thousand people die, it is a statistic". Something I heard somewhere that stuck with me.
I think about the death of less fortunate people a lot. I read posts such as these and watch videos online where innocent people are suffering due to a conflict they want no part of.
The more I do, the more I question the various beliefs I hold about this world. I re-evaluate my sentiments on various matters and have even reconsidered making an aberration from my current plans for my own future in order to make an attempt to help these people where I can. The thought of joining groups such as UNHCR after college has even crossed my mind.

Despite the evident notion that we live in the post peaceful time in history, that is still irrelevant to the matter at hand - which is that violence is still shed for the most ridiculous of reasons. Can it be fully stopped? Probably not. Can we reduce the amount of violence that pervades this world? Most definitely.
Not all of us has the capacity to go out of our way to help someone in the sub-saharan region or Syrian refugees at the Macedonian border, but the least we could do is to educated ourselves on the happenings in this world and actively participate in discussions to spread this awareness. Hell, we could do little things to make someone's day better. Being nice person to people could go a long way in helping our fellow inhabitants in this world. For all you know, that little bit of kindness you shared with that lady at the grocer would've prevented her from embarking on the thought of committing suicide

Regardless though, we should stop treating the problems of various countries/people across the globe as irrelevant from ours. That mentality is destructive to our society. ISIS was Syrias problem, until it became France's problem. Now it's a threat to every sane country in the world. Ebola was West Africa's problem until it became an international problem. Borders shouldn't matter. We should treat everyone as a citizen of the world. And we should treat everyone well.

[FalloutVaultB0y]

Went a little on a rant there and got off topic. Sorry :/

[FallOutBoy2001]

I want to echo the statement you made about being nicer to those around you. Sometimes one simple act from stranger that says "i acknowledge we're both equal" or a teacher or coach taking interest in a studnet's life can make someones day a lot better, or change their entire life.

[FalloutVaultB0y]

I do wish more people would share your sentiment 😄

[RationalMale]

It's a nice take. Yet it's a somewhat pointless sentiment.

We probably can do something about the suicide rate in the USA, or Europe, I grant you that. Do we actually want to make that effort? The answer isn't gun control or banning knives or household chemicals, or making it impossible to jump off a bridge. You can't make people unable to kill themselves. You have to make changes that make people eager for life. Even if all guns and knives vanished today, people can still overdose on tylenol from the corner store and die if they want.

Violence... the majority of bloody warfare and genocide and such, obviously, is not in the West. How many Americans and Canadians and Euros are willing to die to stop genocide in Africa or the Middle East? How many are willing to get killed to stop bloody tyrants in Asian nations? "Bring Back Our Girls" was a popular twitter thing. How many of those people were willing to fight and risk ending up in a prison camp, getting limbs chopped off?

If you want to look locally, we already lack the resolve. In the 90's the Clintons passed harsher sentencing for criminals, and actually helped lower the crime rate by sending more of the "15 past convictions for..." people to prison. (when convicted criminals are in jail as opposed to on probation or such, they have a much harder time hurting innocent, decent people in every day life.) Now already, Clinton and Sanders are making their campaigns on undoing that, because it apparently sends a lot of black criminals to prison. We already know that if they succeed in easing sentencing for crimes, the crime rate will go up. And police departments are already under massive pressure and cops are taking the hint and sitting in their cruisers and just answering 911 calls, instead of being those assholes out messing with people trying to prevent crimes. Why do you think Baltimore, Maryland... where riots ensued over a career drug dealer dying in police custody... had something like 340 murders in 2015 alone? Cops take a hint to back off and criminals take a hint that it's time to rock.

[RationalMale]

Oh, and FYI, possessing an automatic firearm, a suppressed weapon, or a rifle with a barrel under 16", or a shotgun with a barrel under 18", is a federal crime.

Example: In the USA, an Army Reservist lent an Ar-15 rifle to a guy to take to the range, and a part broke, causing it to fire several rounds in a burst, then lock up and jam. Police arrested the army reservist and convicted of him illegally transferring a machine gun. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison... for a gun that literally malfunctioned and burst fired.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Olofson

[RationalMale]

So to refer to precise, actual facts, if you sell or buy an automatic ak-47, or automatic anything, without following the registration and licensing for a class 3 weapon, you're going to prison. You can't buy it at a gun show, unless you mean that Villain Con that the Minions went to!

[Anonymous]

Mental health is the problem. Since the 1950s, the population of the U. S. has tripled (I believe), yet the number of psychiatrist beds has decreased. Oh, and the gun show loophole is a myth and AK-47s have been illegal along with all automatic weapons (including your scary machine guns) since the Gun Control Act of 1934. There are, I believe, 32000 or 34000 gun deaths per year. The vast majority are suicide (again why we need better mental health facilities). 1.2-1.4 million crimes per year are stopped by an armed citizen. Murdered for not being straight and white, huh? Then why have 80000 white people been murdered by black people in the last 40 years? Why are 92% of black murder victims murdered by other black people? Why is 85% of violent interracial crime committed by black people against white people? Oh, and you ask where the laws are? How about the fact that for a while over the summer people receiving Social Security (elderly and disabled) and veterans receiving treatment at the VA were being denied firearm purchases? That's right, the most vulnerable in society were denied their right to self-defense! How about Sen. Tim Kaine's bill to hold gun dealers criminally liable for crimes committed with guns they sell, though on average guns recovered from crime scenes were sold 6 years ago and changed hands multiple times? The same bill also made a backdoor ban on private gun transfers. How about Sen. Chuck Schumer's bill that would allow faceless Beltway bureaucrats to declare you a terrorist for no reason, not notify you, then deny you your due process rights by not charging you with a crime, yet denying you a firearm? Oh, and it turns the legal system on its head because they need no evidence to blacklist you and you have to prove your innocence to get off the list. Just to help you out:
thefederalist.com/.../

thefederalist.com/.../

[Opinion Owner]

Oh, and my personal favorite: President Obama tweeted out that 40% of guns sold in America are sold without a background check. Even the gun-grabbing Washington Post admitted it was a lie and there was no evidence to support that claim. The best part is that gun crime is at a record low in the U. S. so were the claim true, he would actually be endorsing checkless gun sales.

[Phoenix98]

It used to be worse we actually live in the least violent era the sad fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter what measures you put into place of what restrictions you put on people. If someone wants to kill someone then they will find a way take away guns they use blades take away blades they'll use their hands or rocks or a stump. Doesn't matter you can even make a bomb out of household items, there is frankly nothing you can do to really erase it all together.

And I get what your saying and a sympathize with the idea but it won't do much to help, and as cold as it sounds it's just as much our fault as it is the killers, the killers fault for committing the crime and our fault for not teaching our wives, siblings, children, family, friends how to not protect themselves from and danger and trying to do more to keep people safe.

Bad as bad as things are be thankful you didn't live hundreds or thousands of years earlier. Were a party of savages could come into your town, nation and brutally rape, pillage, burn and kill everyone and thing.

[Righttobeararms83]

This is the way it has always been but things are getting better all the time. Think about all the disceases that have plagued mankind for centuries and this generation doesn't even remember. The wars being fought are tiny compared to the wars fought throughout history with hundreds of thousands dying in a single day or even as high as sixty million.
I never got the murder suicide thing like you have to be so deranged to kill yourself and your kids. Something like this happened in my home town five years ago where this man's wife was about to leave him after she found out he was having an affair with an underage girl so he set fire to the house and killed his wife and six. His fifthteen year old daughter called the fire brigade and spoke to thr operator until she lost consciousness they found her still holding the phone. Neighbours tried to help but it was too late.
The suicide thing sometimes people just lose themselves in depression and their thinking becomes so warped that they think its better for everyone. Its nearly impossible to stop a man who decides this.
The problem with guns especially in America is that there so easy to get like you could go and buy a fully automatic AK47 of any gangster without a gun show or any checks.
I keep guns at home and started to conceal carty after getting shot by a car jacker after he stole my car.

[FallOutBoy2001]

Personally, I understand suicide, but not murder suicide or murder

[Anonymous]

Hello there little dude. i know you're confused as to why these things are happening but I've gotta stop ya here. When i was a kid my dad used to tell me war stories and other such things. i won't say too much here but look... i know you're interested in knowing more about why this is happening or what is going on and why it can't be stopped but listen here: don't make my mistakes and focus on it too much. it will tear you apart... you should be a normal teenager. the term "what is normal" has no meaning... just do what makes your happy.. people are gonna die.. thats the way the world is... and be careful okay... NSA will monitor you if you exhibit suspicious behavior. and this is a very paranoid world. please don't research this stuff... I know it makes you sad but little dude, once you leave the matrix you can never return, just remember that :). it's so sad but nothing can be done. just do your thing. focus on you. if you really want to help then you should join a debate club or something.. just be careful what you search for on-line. Vomitilll is right about the AK's they won't just give them to anyone, unless you're buying them illegally. Stay positive little dude and please try not to concern yourself with these things.. there's really no point, take care of yourself and have an A1 day.

[WalterRadio]

You are ignorant and inexperienced. You think you have all the answers, but you know nothing.

How many people died this year of smallpox? How many died of the plague? How many women died in childbirth? How many died of famine? How many children contracted polio?

[oddwaffle]

Statistics say that human die a lot less now compare to before. Major causes of death historically are diseases, famine, war and other disasters that cause the 3 of those.

Famine is mostly cornered but still a threat to poor regions. Diseases still claim millions of lives per year with the potential of having diseases completely resistance to all drugs. It takes about $2-10 per person per year to keep them away from deathly diseases, we are still short of doing that.

War deaths has been reduced compared to before. Most of the causes came from infection, disease due to inadequate treatment and weaken immune system due to lack of food. That's why you see a lot of support comes from the form of food and medicine. People chance of survival increased rapidly with adequate food, water and medicine even in war torn area.

[FallOutBoy2001]

Something should be done to alleviate food scarcity in poorer regions, as that seems to be the major cause of lowered immunity, as well as starvation and even certain wars

[JRICHARDS1996]

HIV/AIDS has killed more people than mass shootings have yet I don't see the left calling for sodomy-control. That would infringe upon the rights of LGBTs. Yet somehow it is perfectly acceptable to infringe upon the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding firearms owners because of the few idiots who give us a bad name.

[FallOutBoy2001]

Well HIV/AIDS isn't just spread by the LGBT community, so yeah, that would infringe on our rights. I just want to point out that the 2nd Amendment was written when Indians could jump out at you at any moment and wild animals were a real threat. Now, not so much. I don't think taking away everyone's guns is a good thing, but maybe making mandatory mental health checks a thing, and having stricter laws on online purchasing so they don't fall into the hands of idiots who will kill people on purpose. I actually don't oppose owning a rifle or shotgun, or even a pistol, for hunting or simple self-protection, but can you really justify owning an AK-47?

[SecretScout]

It isn't only a gay issue silly. It kills thousands in Africa and that's predominantly heterosexual intercourse. Would you like a towel? Your ignorance is showing...

[galloway875]

@JRICHARDS1996 Don't you just love how the Left is so loose constructionist they would tear the Constitution up if it suited their ends, yet when it comes to the 2nd Amendment they tighten it down to muskets for use against wild animals on the frontier.

[JRICHARDS1996]

Neither is violence solely a firearms issue in light of car crashes, stabbings, and industrial accidents, yet you have no problem making a similar argument against the 2nd Amendment.

We know from the CDC and WHO that anal sex is one of the primary transmitters of HIV/AIDS and thus that the LGBT community--primarily gay men--are especially at risk of contracting and spreading the disease due to engaging in that lifestyle.

Thus I reiterate: if gun-control is okay despite the 2nd Amendment and wellbeing of lawful firearms owners, why isn't sodomy-control okay for the same reason?

You leftists are a bunch of hypocrites; "tolerance" is just one big cat's cradle. You only care about your own causes but would shit upon the cause of another without blinking an eye. You are never consistent in your logic.

[JRICHARDS1996]

And the 1st Amendment was written at a time when the internet was not even a fathomable concept and when the founding fathers NEEDED propaganda like the "Boston Massacre" (which wasn't really a massacre) in order to demonize the British. Yet I don't see anyone calling for the overruling of the right to free speech.

You don't understand the mechanics of firearms do you? Mechanically speaking, there is NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER between a "hunting" rifle and a civilian AK-47. Just because the latter looks like its military counterpart does not actually make it so. The military uses select-fire weapons--rifles that fire multiple bullets at a time. Civilian models are semi-automatic only, meaning that only one bullet is expended for every pull of the trigger.

Essentially no different from your grandfather's M1 Carbine; they just look scarier.

But what can I expect from the same retarded liberal generation that thinks Bruce Jenner is a woman?

[FallOutBoy2001]

She is a woman...

[JRICHARDS1996]

Not according to the objective, scientific facts of biology. Chromosomes do not lie and nurture is based off of nature. Similarly, a civilian "assault" rifle is not a true "assault" rifle (that is, a select-fire weapon) according to the objective mechanics of firearms, no matter how scary it may look. I'm tired of the Left expressing its utter ignorance over firearms yet being so vocal about instituting laws about them.

[VomitIII]

You're full of shit, kid. There are people who will live peacefully and those who won't. If you think wars and killing are going to magically end for any reason, you're dense, and the fact you think people buy "AK-47s" left and right at gun shows further shows how deluded you are.

[FallOutBoy2001]

you're actually going to go and call me a kid? You're three years older than me

[VomitIII]

Yes, and I'm also legally an adult, so I can exercise that privelege, along with legally smoking, fucking, and consigning myself to the government if they overextend themselves in war and need to draft me in.

Regardless, you've conveniently ignored the actual content of my post. Actual Soviet-made AK-47s are museum items these days, and various newer Kalashnikovs and knockoffs are usually seen more in third-world countries. You can't go to a gun show in America and buy "a automatic machine gun"; the best you can do is a semi-automatic.

[VomitIII]

*privilege

[Anonymous]

ACTUALLY, there are only about 10,000 murders in america every year... while domestic violence affects about 10 million people, and women commit the majority of this crime (up to 70%)

Queens have always been more warlike and aggressive than kings. Women are also about half the rapists outside prison, and are at least 3X more likely to sexually victimize others inside prisons.

Over 40% of South African boys have been raped by a woman. Over 90% of rapes in western juvenile prisons are committed by women, even though they make up less than half the staff... Is this the kind of world we want to live in?

[Opinion Owner]

Single mother kids have exponentially more problems than kids from dual-parent or single father homes. These kids make up 80% of the inmate population.

Hitler was raised by a single mother. Is this the kind of world we want to live in?

[SecretScout]

Talk about twisting something to preach your agenda. Change the fucking record cupcake.

[Opinion Owner]

Your allegation is false.

Whether any woman or feminist likes it or not... these are the FACTS of life. There are massive human rights abuses going on against men in western/feminist society.

[Opinion Owner]

I just hope you don't make any other kind of false allegations...

[Noyb5150]

those r all made up.. u must be a man

[Noyb5150]

@SecretScout righti was thinking the same about him.. i predict the person writing those made up statistics is a man who is a child predator and trying 2 convince woman that they n their kids will b better off if a man is present. i cn tell by ur theories u r sick and are a molester god forgive me if im wrong, but i gt that impression from u... u being "anonamous" person above me..

[Opinion Owner]

Your ignorance is appealing, but I'd be happy to provide you with the sources if you showed sincerity and asked for them one at a time.

This "real man" is feminazi shaming and it needs to GO along with all other things that have cropped up with women's liberation.

[Opinion Owner]

"u... are a molester"

This shows that you are nothing but a feminazi who falsely accuses people and LOVES to put labels on others who don't comply with your feminist agenda... and irrationally make them out to be demons.

Like I said women are half of the motherfucking rapists outside prisons and far more inside... and much more!!

[Noyb5150]

not all men give me that vibe u give me. i didn't falsely accuse u of anything calm dwn guilty conscience.. thats ur new name. all i said was i predict listen predict. ok now u said all the other stuff nt me. u kinda gave urself up in a way but hey im jus a ignorant dummy that dont kno what im talking bout, but have the abillity to obviously hit a nerve in u,, n ur guilty conscience by the way i asked god to forgive me if im wrong.

[FallOutBoy2001]

@Noyb5150 look, he might tke you more seriously if you actually spelled anything right

[Noyb5150]

most child predators were victims as children. to clear that up not all victims become abusers just all abusers were victims as children, anyway with that being said, u sound like u really have a gruge against anyone who isn't vulnerable enough for u to manipulate or convience that u are stating facts but in actuality they are all lies. furthermore my conclusion of ur reaction is that u have an even bigger grudge on woman, my prediction is that u were prob a victim as a child and ur perpertraitor was prob a woman and thats y u prob have such a thing against woman. all assumption no fact im talkin to u guilty cciense ere once a victim as a child and ur a

[Noyb5150]

ur tactic of trying 2 distract from the real matter is nt working and u gt wtf im saying so go become a teacher somewhere so u cn correct essays or something n he took my opinion serious enough 2 where he couldnt help himself to reply and the same goes 4 u if im such an illiterate crazy loon y respond 2 such irreverence

[Opinion Owner]

Like I said, I'll be more than happy to provide sources under the condition that you show sincerity and ask for them one by one. If not you are free to wallow in your ignorance, or just keep being a feminazi.

The real problem? That's you.

[Opinion Owner]

" u were prob a victim as a child and ur perpertraitor was prob a woman and thats y u prob have such a thing against woman"

Actually women have always been hated and kept in their place, and men have always known your nature... but I love the extreme to which this has gone...

Safe to say it WOULD NOT be acceptable if I said these things about you, and the comment would be removed and I would be demonized for being an abusive male... Just another day in the land of feminism...

[FallOutBoy2001]

@Noyb5150 Well you do type like a fucking 4 year old...

[FallOutBoy2001]

@Noyb5150 Also, you're making assumptions about a guy who not only seems like a normal, reasonable human being, is able to form literate sentences with words, and has been very calm in explaining his point of view to someone who has to be about four fucking years old

[dipta]

People choose which side to take in their personal fight against evil in the world and in what they believe it's worthy every nanosecond.
I just made that statistic too.

There's no good without the evil. Let that sink in.
And let's think long and hard before joining ISIS or other revolutionary groups.

[FallOutBoy2001]

You have a good point that there is no good without evil.

[dipta]

Yes. I'm sorry.
Maybe it's best to start working on promoting good and peace on a smaller scale, like your family, among your acquaintances, people you meet in real life. I. e., make a difference first with people close to you. Which is a huge thing already.

[AdamThomas]

It is the way it is and it always will be. It's nature. Life and death happens all the time. You have to be very naive to think you can ever stop violence no matter how much you try. The answer to this for many like yourself seems to be more laws and more government - what do you think they use to enforce law against people resisting arrest? How has that worked out in the past?

[FallOutBoy2001]

I mean personally, tasers seem better than guns (and to be honest, seems like it's be less of a weight on the conscience) so I guess we could make all law enforcement carry and use those

[AdamThomas]

But tasers are no match for guns, and you can't take away everybody's guns. Even here in the UK where all guns are illegal they're easy to get hold of it you know the right (or should I say wrong) people. People still get shot all the time over here.

[FallOutBoy2001]

So I've heard

[Bandit74]

When you consider we have over 7 billion people those figures aren't surprising at all.

The maximum carrying capacity of the earth is debated but regardless of whether or not we can hold more people, that doesn't mean we should or that its ideal.

Personally I feel like we could do with LESS people.

[poopedmypantsagain]

It is not the one I want or really like but it is what it is.. its a dog eat dog world out there and a lot of things that go on in this world are brought on because the governments make it so tough for people to make ends meet.. and some people that are struggling big time to make it.. after a certain point say to themselves what is the point of living.. the governments take most all I have anyways.. and when they get that way some do not care if they take others out when they go.

[Bluefish]

We were always violent and we will always be violent. Thats how we survived and will always survive. We have come to a point where we have realised that violence is not completely the answer anymore but we will always answer in the future with violence even if it does play a lesser role in the world.

[MixedGirlBL]

Violence sucks it is true. It is also true that violence has declined. www.ted.com/.../steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence

[LiveFreeorDieHard]

Life has always been like that. Sometimes, i think the best wy to deal with this atuff is to just not care. I mean, humans are flawed, we wantt hings we dont need, we feel hatred over stupid things like religion or race, we get grt jealous, why can't we just get along. Im just going to mind my business and do what i want and less the world go to flames if thats what the world wants.

[RachelBrigs]

Ah, human nature.

We've been killing each other for as long as we can possibly know. We can't blame guns. Guns don't make that lethal decision, people do. People have been shitty for as long as people have been around.

[ThatBritishLad]

You know those blokes who go on about how they want to live in the Medieval times or the Colonial era or the World Wars to find glory where life was all romantic and crap? Or those dudes that think they'd find themselves in a post-apocalyptic world even though they'd probably consider suicide if the internet went down for a week?
Be glad of what you've got.