Discoveries of an Anti-Gunner: My Conversion to the Other Side

[jonno99]

A decent article (though I'm not fully in agreement with her stance on the NRA...)

"I used to wish that the government would get rid of all the guns and then everyone would be safe, but I discovered that the utopia in my mind was actually a society with no bad guys. It was never about guns at all."

http://www.agirlandagun.org/discoveries-of-an-anti-gunner-my-conversion-to-the-other-side/

[EdwardBernays]

1. which is why

crime and murder rates are so catastrophic in places with strict gun control!

[gcomeau]

3. That was an excellent use of sarcasm. -eom

[jonno99]

4. In ethnically & religiously homogeneous societies, this is generally true.

In "melting pot" societies like the US (relatively rare?) - not so much.

[EdwardBernays]

7. Not even close to being true

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_ranked_by_ethnic_and_cultural_diversity_level

The US is nowhere near as diverse as many other countries with lower crime rates, and lower murder rates, and strict gun control.

And here's the countries of the world, sortable by murder rate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

There's literally zero correlation between diversity and murder rates, which should be obvious just by looking at America:

The city with the highest murder rate is literally almost 100% one race.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_St._Louis,_Illinois#Demographics

And yet incredibly diverse places like NYC have a murder rate on par with the average murder rate for the entire country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(2014)

And yet, if you drive a few hours down the road to Buffalo New York, which is 50% White and 50% black, the murder rate is really high again...

It's almost like diversity has literally nothing to do with crime.

Because diversity has literally nothing to do with crime.

[jonno99]

11. Sorry if I was unclear; it was not my intent to link diversity & crime. My thinking was more along

the line of laws/traditions/customs.

In ethnically & religiously homogeneous societies I think you would agree that it is easier to reach consensus regarding laws, etc. (assuming a democratic form of govt.).

[EdwardBernays]

12. hmmm

I'm not sure that there's ACTUALLY any reason to think that per se.

I'd suggest that trying in any way link homogeneity to crime or violence will likely fail... for instance Rwanda is one of the LEAST diverse countries.

On the other hand Columbia and Kazakstan are almost exactly as diverse as each other, yet Colombia's murder rate is 4x higher than Kazakstan's.

Belgium is significantly more ethnically and culturally diverse than America... and it's gun violence rate is 20% of Americas.

[Jerry442]

2. I'll give you 99 to one odds...

...that her "conversion" happened when she took up with a guy who was into guns. I've seen it happen.

[jonno99]

5. Could be - the article dosn't give many clues in that regard. You say it however,

like it's a bad thing(?).

[Jerry442]

8. People don't usually change world views casually.

I have in mind a woman who was a peacenik and tree hugger (not that that's a bad thing) who turned hardcore conservative when she married a retired naval officer.

Also:

Robyn participated as a Member {of A Girl and A Gun Women's Shooting League, LLC} before joining the Board of Directors as the Technology Director just 6 months later. In this role she built the technology platform and procedures from the ground up to enable the organization’s rapid growth (650% in 26 months). She was instrumental growing the organization, improving member communication, and developing a chapter onboarding program. As the Executive Director, Robyn manages the day-to-day operations of the organization. Her passion stems from her belief in the organization’s mission to bring more “everyday” women to the range. Robyn is a Certified NRA Instructor for Pistol Shooting, Home Firearm Safety, and Personal Protection in the Home.

http://www.agirlandagun.org/about-us/leadership-team/

[jonno99]

10. "People don't usually change world views casually." Unless they realize that

their view was "myopic". Seeing/be exposed to the larger picture - on any subject - can be enlightening. And the person who is not ruled by their pride is able to see their errors in thinking - and adjust.

[branford]

6. It's a common phenomena concerning many issues.

When you meet a nice person of good character who holds some religious or political opinion with which you previously disagreed, confronting a real person, rather than the political caricatures advanced by ideologues of all persuasions, it often leads to serious reevaluation of prior beliefs, and such humanization very often changes opinions or reduces binary or uncompromising thinking.

[Jerry442]

9. She didn't give up binary thinking -- just flipped her bits, so to speak. nt

[Eleanors38]

13. In my early college daze, I believed in marijuana prohibition...

...then I bit into this:

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. It sounds like you're saying women think with their vaginas.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

15. I thought it was insulting when I first read that

I was going to alert but I'm not that kind of guy. (well sometimes I am)