TargetTalk

I ran across this article and found it very interesting. The part that found,
although serious crime has been on the decline over decades, people's perception is that crime is on the increase is fascinating. The media and entertainment industries wield a lot of power over public opinion and can really distort reality. As public opinion on this subject affects a citizen's views on what measures restricting gun ownership should or should not be taken, I hope this thread will be considered on-topic.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/20 ... -safer-now

The media certainly portray crime in a sensationalist manner and report more things to sell their products (newspapers etc). They are also responsible for miss quoting crime figures making country or city X worse than Y. And we all know statistics can be made to tell you pretty much anything you want if you misuse them.

Rob.

This brings two idioms to mind:

1.) If it bleeds it leads,

and,

2.) There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.

I'll add one more:

"Shit flows downhill."

We can't expect much with the current administration.

There are two rules for news media:
Rule one-THE NEWS MEDIA IS ALWAYS HONEST AND CORRECT!
Rule two-Refer to rule one.

Go into almost any gun shop and listen to the conversations. Plenty of paranoia, plenty of people arming themselves to protect self, family and homestead against some largely imaginary threat.

The fact is that they are at very low risk, but there is a well orchestrated propaganda campaign by gun manufacturers, dealers, the NRA and other gun-rights organizations to gin up fear.

Rover, your comment is sad but entirely predictable.

visitor wrote:Go into almost any gun shop and listen to the conversations. Plenty of paranoia, plenty of people arming themselves to protect self, family and homestead against some largely imaginary threat.

The fact is that they are at very low risk, but there is a well orchestrated propaganda campaign by gun manufacturers, dealers, the NRA and other gun-rights organizations to gin up fear.

Rover, your comment is sad but entirely predictable.

And I'd hazard a guess that the gun shops dont try and dispel those myths ?

Thankfully we dont have anything like that in the UK ;) But not because of our rates of crime...

Rob.

visitor wrote:Go into almost any gun shop and listen to the conversations. Plenty of paranoia, plenty of people arming themselves to protect self, family and homestead against some largely imaginary threat.

The fact is that they are at very low risk, but there is a well orchestrated propaganda campaign by gun manufacturers, dealers, the NRA and other gun-rights organizations to gin up fear.

Rover, your comment is sad but entirely predictable.

Utter BS. I saw first hand how quickly society lovey dovey can break down into a crazy scene. In just one city after Hurricane Katrina things went to hell. Even the COPS were committing crimes. If you didn't want to be armed at that time good for you Darwin wishes you well.

So what happens if one day the whole country is in a Katrina mode and there is no government to even swoop in and save your ass? You better be able to defend yourself. Society devolves very quickly in the face of disaster. I know I SAW IT! In just one little city in one little state. Nationwide? Good luck with that.

I don't plan on burning down my house with a kitchen fire but I keep a fire extinguisher there anyway as a tool to help ensure nothing gets out of control. I do the same with my Firearms, they are merely tools in case they are needed.

Oh and come to South Louisiana and I will give you directions to some areas where the crime is so down you will just feel so safe you'll be counting your cash as you walk down the street. Tell me is 85 > 73? If you answered yes then I would say violent crime is indeed up where I live.

The statistics skew everything. Criminals are all over and we will always have them. It is hard to claim a reduction in crime while also claiming jail over crowding or lack of space to put all the offenders in country that already incarcerates more people than any other country even though we claim to be the Free Country. Go figure.

Yes, the odds are tiny that a Katrina-like situation will ever hit the whole country at once. But while we all have our nice target rifles and pistols, how many of us also have an, "in case the shit hits the fan" rifle and/or pistol? I know that I do, but I'd likely win the lottery than ever need the AR.... and I hardly ever play the lottery.

My 2 cents,

Joel

“He who controls the media, controls the mind”
Jim Morrison
(from The Doors music group)

visitor wrote:Go into almost any gun shop and listen to the conversations. Plenty of paranoia, plenty of people arming themselves to protect self, family and homestead against some largely imaginary threat.

The fact is that they are at very low risk, but there is a well orchestrated propaganda campaign by gun manufacturers, dealers, the NRA and other gun-rights organizations to gin up fear.

Rover, your comment is sad but entirely predictable.

I usually don't respond to people who use "Guest or Visitor" as their handle, but this writer sure doesn't have his or her facts straight. I can only assume that "Visitor" is very young and uninformed and/or lives in a very liberal area (maybe a college or university) town where he or she is "enlightened" by intellectual elitists on a regular basis. The NRA has been saying for many years (if one has been paying attention) that the crime rate has been dropping. Gun control groups are the ones who have been using the false propaganda of "crime" to justify more stringent gun control laws. It is they who are the fear mongers.

I believe you got it right MISNY.