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The Left Flank @vgaph.bsky.social

Well, a couple of asterisks to your list: - Many of the guns feeding violence in Mexico (and to a lesser extent Haiti and Bermuda) come from the U.S. -Puerto Rico, despite our president’s statement, is part of the U.S.

aug 29, 2025, 3:12 am • 5 1

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Ulli @ullius.bsky.social

I'm well aware - It's just the part that there are countries worse than the US. Looking at comparable countries like the OECD countries it should be clear to anybody how bad the US situation is. Don't do the apples and oranges thing

aug 29, 2025, 3:21 am • 0 0 • view
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The Left Flank @vgaph.bsky.social

Also if you look at crime over the last 5 decades, it’s not that America is inherently more violent, we were at the same level of most of Western Europe. Violent crime dropped everywhere but it dropped faster in most OECD as quality of life improved for even the poorest and weapons were restricted.

aug 29, 2025, 3:17 am • 4 0 • view
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donnina.bsky.social @donnina.bsky.social

Europe doesn’t have the mass shootings and in particular not in schools. It is not about violence, but about shootings.

aug 29, 2025, 4:54 am • 0 0 • view
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The Left Flank @vgaph.bsky.social

If you wanted to fault two events that make the US the outlier in regards to a persistently high murder rate in the US it would be the 1977 “Revolt in Cincinnati” that put the gun manufacturing lobby in charge of the NRA, and the GOP constant assault of social welfare programs starting in 1981.

aug 29, 2025, 3:21 am • 3 0 • view
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Ulli @ullius.bsky.social

All agreed, - I think that the right wing of the US judiciary including SCOTUS has a big part in that development.

aug 29, 2025, 3:27 am • 2 0 • view
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The Left Flank @vgaph.bsky.social

Again it’s not that things in the US got worse, though there was an uptick in urban violence from the 1970s until the mid-1990s, it’s that it failed to get better as fast as everyone else.

aug 29, 2025, 3:23 am • 0 0 • view
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Killer Cyborg @killercyborg.bsky.social

I think the crime bubble did a lot of damage to our national psyche because it created an era of paranoia about violent criminals, and created the narrative that being Dirty Harry levels of Tough On Crime was the best solution.

aug 29, 2025, 3:26 am • 0 0 • view
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Killer Cyborg @killercyborg.bsky.social

I also have the impression that the gun industry switched at some point from courting the rural market to courting the more lucrative urban market, and this meant a switch in marketing from “isn’t it nice to hunt with your father or son?” to a more “people want to kill you in your sleep!” approach.

aug 29, 2025, 3:24 am • 0 0 • view
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The Left Flank @vgaph.bsky.social

It’s worse, they are feeding both sides of the paranoia divide, and making firearms less safe in the process. Look at the near disappearance of thumb safeties on pistols in the last 40 years. It part of this marketing that you always have to be ready to kill at a moment’s notice.

aug 29, 2025, 3:27 am • 1 0 • view
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The Left Flank @vgaph.bsky.social

Hell the U.S. DOD had to get Sig Sauer to add a thumb safety to the p320 so they could buy it, and the damn thing will still go off in your holster. www.upi.com/amp/Top_News...

aug 29, 2025, 3:30 am • 1 0 • view
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Killer Cyborg @killercyborg.bsky.social

What’s the old saying? Poverty is the mother of crime? 🤔

aug 29, 2025, 3:21 am • 1 0 • view