The US doesn't own the monopoly on mass shootings, despite what the rest of the world wants to think. Here's some of the finer crimes and tidbits to jog your memory (all crimes happened between 1990 and present day):
a.) Japan, Tuesday-- Itcho Ito was shot in the back by a Yakuza (gangster). Japan has the most strict gun control laws in the world. So how did this guy get a gun? Hmmm...
b.) 19 people were shot in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
c.) Scotland bans guns, but violent crime rises. Weapon of choice: Knives. Pretty soon, the Scots will be back to eating with their hands around the hearth fire, I suppose...
d.) Last year, Germany, a teenager shot and wounded a dozen people before killing himself. In 2002, a gun man shot 17 people and himself; also happened in Germany, for those of you not following along.
e.) Port Arthur, Australia. 35 dead. Guns banned in the country. Violent crime rises, the murder rate climbs 3.2 percent. Assault crime rises over 8 percent. And get this, armed robberies rose 45 percent. The killer suffered from Aspergers Syndrome.
f.) Beslan School, anyone? 344 dead by militant rebels. This was in Russia.
g.) Aramoana Massacre, 13 people shot dead, shooter killed by police. New Zealand gets this one.
h.) And if you think knife crimes aren't 'that bad' compared to gun crimes, check out Mamoru Takuma, the man who went on a murderous rampage at an elementary school. He stabbed 8 1st and 2nd graders to death in minutes, then was wrestled to the ground by school staff. You know what the real kicker is here? This guy had a severe history of violent crime. He was also schizophrenic...
i.) And lets not leave out our biggest critics, France. How about that Nanterre shooting, eh? 8 dead right? Then the guy kills himself by jumping out the window of the police station, right?
j.) Here's another one for Australia. Sydney, 1991, Wade Frankum stabbed two girls in a coffee shop, killing one of them. He then pulled a gun out and began shooting. He fled into the mall, killing another person, before shooting himself. 8 people dead, more injured. It happened in 10 minutes.
k.) Dublane massacre, UK, 1996. Thomas Hamilton walked into an elementary school and opened fire on children and staff. 16 five and six year olds were killed, plus one teacher. The killer shot himself.
l.) In Yemen, Mohammad Ahman al-Naziri, opened fire in a school, killing six children and two adults. (1997)
m.) Switzerland, the country of peace. Not in 2001, however. Friedrich Leibacher shot dead 14 politicians before killing himself.
The list can go on. I chose only multiple shootings where more than five people died. I found school shootings in Ontario Canada, more in Germany, Bosnia, Argentina, Thialand, etc. Other shootings (not school related) included the Canadian massacre in Montreal, 14 women shot with a hunting rifle, and 14 others injured, more shootings in Australia (2000-current), several in Netherlands and China.
America doesn't have a monopoly on violence. I'm baffled by the world outrage. Where is their outrage for the students in places like Africa or the Middle East, South America, or even in Northern Ireland, where killings are just a part of life? And where is the outrage that half of these killings (ones I listed above) could've been prevented, not from eliminating guns, but focusing on the warning signs many of these people gave off? I was stunned that quite a few of these shooters suffered from one mental illness or another--illnesses people knew about. Instead, the mental health issue is swept under the carpet like a bad stain. Ignored and hidden.
It's not guns killing our brothers, sisters, mothers, children, friends--it's our ignorance. And not just here in the US, but all over the world.
Posted by Zoso at April 21, 2007 10:42 AM