Just asking. Seems consistent. I mean, I'm rejecting the whole 'what does sex and drugs have to do with AIDS?' rubbish. We all know darn well what it has to do with it. And in America alone, close to half, if not more than half, the same number of those murdered by guns every year die of HIV/AIDS every year.
Now, in fairness, the NRA tells people to do nothing but own guns and practice gun safety. It doesn't tell people to go out and shoot other people. Hollywood, on the other hand, spends most of its time telling people to take tons of drugs, have tons of sex, wear a condom, and all will be well.
You might say that Hollywood is more responsible for AIDS than the NRA is for gun violence. But I'm a reasonable man. I'm willing to say they are both equally responsible. Or not. You can't have one and not the other. Though, in all honesty, you could argue Hollywood and the entertainment industries' emphasis on sex/drugs, especially aimed at young people, is uniquely responsible for the pandemic of the age.
Also when Hollywood isn't too busy celebrating sex, it's celebrating
ReplyDelete...wait for it...
GUN VIOLENCE!
Yup. Obvious but unfortunately necessary to say over and over again.
DeleteYou just proved yourself wrong by admitting that "Hollywood" encourages condom use, which effectively minimizes the chances of contracting HIV, while the NRA encourages widespread ownership of guns (even elementary school teachers in school now, for God's sake)! Easy access to weapons explains why the rates of violent crime in the US are many multiples of those in Western Europe (10 times as many in the UK, for instance) where strict gun control laws make mass murders almost non-existent and violent crime comparatively rare. Maybe that's why half as many people die from AIDS as are murdered, as you yourself admit.
ReplyDeleteBy that argument, the NRA encourages responsible gun ownership and safety. Nonetheless, despite that, people still use guns the wrong way. We know that despite all efforts to the contrary, not everyone uses condoms (given druthers, most men would prefer not -
Deletejust keeping it real). Condom use might minimize, but it doesn't eliminate AIDS. As they say, they are not 100% effective at their best, so you will still have the chances of infection, and that with sexuality alone. Not counting drug use, which Hollywood is also fast and loose with advocating. But there are also other countries to compare us to than just a select grouping from Western Europe. Why not compare us to Mexico? In some ways, Mexico is closer to us as a nation than many W. European countries - it is nearby, it is larger, it is made up of an indigenous people who were colonized by Europe, etc. And around 1/2 to 2/3 die of AIDS as are murdered by guns. That's those who directly die as a result of AIDS. that doesn't count those with AIDS who die, where the reasons are fuzzy. Oh, and why is it we don't have 1/2 to 2/3 the coverage about AIDS deaths in the US that we do gun violence? Just things worth pondering.
Oh, and none of this counts the fact that there is no place that glorifies and celebrates violence and gun violence more than Hollywood. But that's for a different day.
DeleteI don't think the ban of guns is the issue. If a disturbed violent person (let's call them criminally insane) wants to kill people, and doesn't have access to a gun, that person will resort to knives or other weapons to do the job.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think there are other things to look at, Mental Health being near the top of the list.
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