Thursday, December 06, 2007

Please mind the gap


So I've finally decided that its worth keeping track of shooting. US shootings seem to have become all the rage over the last few years. It feels that almost every week another story hits front page news about someone opening fire in public places. So I've created a blog where I'll be tracking each shooting i find on a front page of a news source. If i miss one, feel free to send me an email and we'll add it to the running sheet.

I've made mention before about my belief that these shootings are signs of a widening gap between the common person and those with authority in the USA. I believe that as this gap widens the violence is going to continue and get worse. In other places this discontent might lead to protests or strikes, but the individual culture that has been cultivated for years in the USA means that there are few outlets for angst at the whole social order. This strong individual culture has never been seen before in history. It is a cause of discussion among some as to whether this will lead to a falling apart of the social order or whether it will force a sort of anti-culture that brings people together...or it may do something completely different.

No matter what, i hope this blog brings to the forefront the need for something to be done in the USA about gun control, about poverty, and about the widening social gap.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also add in what the media believes is the blame for the shooting. It would be interesting to see how many are blamed on Marilyn Manson/video games/Tickle Me Elmo.

kris said...

Good point, i hadn't thought about that one. So far this year looks like everything is being blamed on "ani-social" behaviour. Where it comes from seems a bit of a mystery for the most part..although i hear Internet chatrooms are the fad for blame this year.