So why do these shootings happen so often in the United States?

[Franzl]

Why do so many shootings happen in America? If you agree with Option 1, then you have a clear case: There are simply so many guns in America, present in like half the households. If you, however, believe "mental health problems" are primarily at fault, why do these massacres not happen at comparable rates throughout the world?

Please explain.

[Franzl]

No one knows.....if they did we could stop it.

I'm as strongly in favor of gun control as one can be, of course, but if it's purely a matter of gun control, you'd think places like Switzerland would also have monthly massacres.

[Franzl]

I'll go with the media that publicizes these people and makes them household names.

That's true everywhere, though. Everyone in Norway (and pretty much everywhere, I imagine) knows the name Breivik.

[Franzl]

Demographically speaking, homogeneous countries such as the Nordic countries and places like Japan face a lower homicide rate in general. As we are quite diverse, in all categories of the word,  it isn't surprising that we have a higher homicide rate than those countries to which we like to compare ourselves.

Large portions of Western Europe are anything but homogeneous. The Nordic countries actually tend to have slightly higher murder rates than a good deal of the continent.

Define "often."

As in: a lot more frequently (even in relation to the population) than in any other industrialized country.

The question in my mind is why these mass shootings are increasing in frequency in the US, even as the number of other shootings is going down.  

This I think can be explained. Growing social inequality (particuarly in the United States), increased pressure through more competitive labor markets, globalization....etc.

The effects of neoliberalism (did I really say that?).

Or, I dunno, it might just be coincidence.

[Franzl]

Look at the character of our people. We enjoy violent entertainment. Movies which horrify, say people in Europe, are revelled here.

The same movies are shown in theaters and on TV here. Why have they not motivated more people to go on shooting sprees?

[Franzl]

That's my impression as well. The Republicans only became interested in mental health when it became a convenient alternative to discussing the gun problem.

Of course mental health is a serious issue, but it's so blantantly obviously being abused...

[Franzl]

How does the US system of caring for, and controlling, psychotics, compare with the rest of the developed world? Yes, the US system, or lack thereof, is deplorable, and I speak from personal experience. Is there more social anomie in the US than in most of the developed world - as huge, and sprawling, and mobile, and diverse, as the US is?  

The highly competitive American system creates a rather large social divide between winners and losers. To add insult to injury, not only do the losers receive very little welfare, but popular opinion condemns "handouts", and preaches personal responsibility.

If someone is already mentally unstable, this must be a factor in the United States that causes a lot more of them to "snap", because their situation may seem entirely hopeless.

[Franzl]

By "these shootings" do you mean the random crazy shootings of 20 people at once or the much more common murders for reasons of drugs sex or money? They are two completely different problems.

This question is directed towards the random spree shootings. They also seem to be a good deal more common than elsewhere.

I agree with you, of course, that the everyday shootings that never get reported are the bigger issue.