Woah CBS, ban hammer? Really?

You think this kind of violence is a uniquely American phenomenon? I've got three words for you: Anders Behring Breivik.

No, I'm saying that's it's inherently more violence than in comparsion to other countries. Of course there are mass shoootings and in the case of China, mass stabbing however, statistics don't lie. The number killed per year is much higher than any other nation in the 1st world.

@airborne, total number killed is irrelevant. How about comparing the number killed *per capita*. That is the only realistic comparison. Most of the world is significantly *higher* than the US in that regard. Mexico has an intentional homicide rate more than 4x that of the US. Bermuda's is nearly 3x the US. And Honduras has the worst rate in the world at nearly 20x the US rate.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

@Draugnar I said 1st world countries and according to the chart by ascending order of rate we are at a respectable 4.8 but then we have the UK at 1.2, Sweden at 1.0 and Germany at 0.8

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/files/2012/07/America-is-violent-graph.png

So Russia isn't first world? It has 2.5x our rate. It sits at 10.2.Greenland is 19.2, approaching 4x our rate. Mexico is 22.7 and no one calls them third world, do they?

I go by the tradition definition of 1st world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World
No, Russia and former Eastern bloc countries is usually considered the 2nd world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World
I'm not saying that American culture is inherently worse for having a debatably amount of violence in the culture.

That's not even a fair comparsion for the US and Greenland. With a population of 57 thousand, 11 homicide will be a big percentage for them. Next on the list is Montserrat

with 1 death for around 5000 people for a rate of 19.7

@ airborne

"The hero worship of the Armed Forces"

Yeah, because mass shootings are caused because we *sometimes* give veterans and current servicemen the thanks they deserve.

"and the media and "news" in general."

The media is a huge part of the problem. We don't need a month of wall-to-wall coverage of a shooter. More than a few of the recent ones are probably homicidal attention whores.

No not that exactly, the glorification of the Marines, Air Force, etc. Call of Duty sort of mentality that guns, tanks, and the supercarriers are fuckin' awesome! That's why I respect Spec Ops: The Line for its story a lot, my Game of the Year

Exactly!

Well, I don't know about video games, but playing WebDip sure makes me want to go and conquer Europe.

@Yebellz: My youtube video concluded that video games actually had no effect on violence.

@Airborne and Draugnar The biggest problem that I have comparing Homicide is its not the only kind of crime.

Look at burglary, armed robbery or assault and America's crime rate is lower then Britain's. Homicide and Drug possession are the two crimes where America is significantly higher then the rest of the first world. Any other crime and there are a few European powers that have higher rates then Americas.

I also don't think Sandy Creek or any of the other shootings were that significant its just a minor tragedy blown out of proportion by the media which politicians are now using to fuel their own agenda.

26 people died in Sandy Creek. In 2012 over 30,000 people died in a gun related death, 20,000 of which were accidents or suicide.

Those 26 at the end of year was rather insignificant compared to the bigger picture.

My original point was that video games are not the sole cause and in many cases not even a factor. There are more factors in place; mental health issues, poor parenting, ( such as if a 12 year old kid is playing Call of Duty), and the media

A 12 year old kid playing Call of Duty does not cause him to shoot people. 7.5 million Americans player Call of Duty.

If it causes violence then why aren't 7.5 million people now killing stuff. In fact since video games have come on the market the rates of violent crime has gone up.

All studies in this (except for 1 study) have found that video games cause no effect on violence.

I was being sarcastic on that point, the overall point of poor parenting is what I'm trying to make.

I don't think that video games cause violence either (look at Canada and Japan who are also countries with a lot of gamers too), I put the blame on society in general is the point I"m trying to make.

socioeconomics and bad parenting are the two most important factors.

The factor I hardly ever heard brought up that concerns me is how easy the U.S. is on criminals. Seems like if you are a unskilled/unconnected criminal, you'll end up getting caught, spend a few months in prison, and gain some skills and connections for when you get out again.

In Oregon the voters approved an initiative to build a new prison. The prison was built, and then the county it was in decided they didn't have the funds to run it so it sits empty. It was built 9 years ago and still sits empty.

Meanwhile District Attorneys in Oregon release a list of "lesser" crimes that they won't prosecute for because the jails are full and there wouldn't be anywhere to put criminals that commit those "lesser" crimes without releasing inmates that committed more serious crimes. And for every criminal that is put away, another one is let out early to free up the bed space.