Why the US is No. 1 in mass shootings

[SecularMotion]

Washington: The United States is, by a long shot, the global leader in mass shootings, claiming just 5 per cent of the global population but an outsized share – 31 per cent – of the world's mass shooters since 1966, a new study finds.

The Philippines, Russia, Yemen and France – all countries that can claim a substantial share of the 291 documented mass shootings between 1966 and 2012 – collectively didn't even come close to the United States.

And what makes the US such a fertile incubator for mass shooters? A comprehensive analysis of the perpetrators, their motives and the national contexts for their actions suggests that several factors have conspired to create a potent medium for fostering large-scale murder.

Those factors include a chronic and widespread gap between Americans' expectations for themselves and their actual achievement, Americans' adulation of fame, and the extent of gun ownership in the country.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/why-the-us-is-no-1-in-mass-shootings-study-20150827-gj9oi8.html

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Good article.

I think American tv and movies play a big role as well. According to the article, American mass shooters are more likely than people in other countries to carry more than one firearm. We see people preparing for the big shootout in the movies, and they usually strap on all sorts of weapons. The shooters are preparing for overkill. They probably want to blow up the world, and this is the best they could do.

Another thing that I find interesting is that the shooters tend to dehumanize the victims into targets. Do they feel like society has dehumanized them? Mass shootings are a terrible tragedy, of course, but they are interesting to look at as microcosms of the society as seen by the shooter.

[gejohnston]

2. we have more because

we have more people. However, I would like to see the mass murder rates of each of those countries.

[LuvNewcastle]

3. Are you saying that Americans are committing

mass shootings because America has too many people? I don't really get what you're saying, because these are per capita numbers, so they are adjusted to take into account population differences.

Anyway, I don't find the numbers as interesting as the reasons for committing the crimes. Since Americans are far more likely to commit mass shootings to achieve fame, what does that say about our society? Remember that this is a sociological study, not a law enforcement study, so answering questions about our society is what the statistics are supposed to foster.

Personally, I would rather live in America than a country like Mexico, with their sky-high murder rate. I'd rather worry about 1 killer instead of thousands.

[DonP]

4. FWIW, Mexico has very strict gun laws and only 1 legal gun store in the country

It's a prime example of how gun laws, no matter how strict, can't make you safer.

Agree of the shooters search for some kind of "fame" and public recognition. For them infamy is better than being a nobody.

I wish the media would have a policy of mentioning their name once as part of the initial report, then never referring to them by name again. Instead we get weeks of analysis of them from childhood and onscreen psycho analysis. IMHO, it encourages copy cats by losers looking for one, brief moment of "glory".

But that's just me.

[Straw Man]

5. Not exactly.

Are you saying that Americans are committing

mass shootings because America has too many people? I don't really get what you're saying, because these are per capita numbers, so they are adjusted to take into account population differences.

The worldwide percentages cited in the leader are based on raw numbers. Per capita rates are referenced in the body of the article in re a few other countries, but thr per capita rate for the US is not given.