Americans live in a constant state of fear.

Feel free, it wont change my opinion of the media trying to drive fear as a ratings winner

 

Where I'm at in Michigan, I don't really see much of that constant state of fear where things are like that. I think overall that Americans live in ignorance and distraction, which is always used against us by using fear and coating it with American Exceptionalism and populism.

Many Americans are unfortunately too stupid to know that the government is the real terrorists that's f*cking with our minds. They're too much into being "cool", and too dedicated to being in the "in-crowd", which makes them pretty much prone to buying into fear porn. That's why we don't have freedoms anymore, unfortunately.

 

Well I think it's pretty obveous that people who own hand guns in particular are afraid, or they wouldn't feel the need to own a gun. It goes hand in hand. Most other gun owners are LARPing, pretending to be big hunters or military wannabees. A gun is a security blanket for people who can't think beyond the end of their own noses. In all honesty, if they had any sense at all, they should be afraid of the very guns they own, because they increase their chances of being injured or killed, or killing someone else they care about by a high margin.











I'd say they don't have enough fear. Fear is something that can keep you alive, maybe they had more brains they would be afraid more? Maybe they could do more about protecting their own kids? Na, that would be too much to expect from Americans, and what does that really say about how much they care about their own children?

 

What a complete lack of logic.

 

That's your take on it, not mine, and I'm an American. When I read the title of this thread I figured that it wasn't posted by an American - and I was right.

 

Lol. I've lived in the Midwest my entire life. Don't have to worry about locking my door where I've lived the last 14 years. It stays unlocked throughout the day on most days. I've never heard of anyone in my neighborhood being robbed since I've lived here.

Now if I drove about 20 minutes to the extreme liberal part of town that hasn't elected an R in over half a century... that is a different story.

- - - Updated - - -

Blues point went right over your head.

 

What part of Michigan are you in? Mid-Michigan here. Detroit, Saginaw, and Flint single handedly give this state a bad name. I know because I grew up in one of them, still live in a suburb of one.

 

And don't forget the hordes of crazed Jihadis lurking, stealth-like, awaiting the chance to eat nice, juicy Christian babies...they're everywhere, just like McCarthy's Communists weren't...

 

Sometimes it takes a different perspective to discern the wood from the trees. So you're an American; doesn't mean you're right.

 

I live close to Detroit, but not in it. So yeah, I do live in Mid-Michigan

 

You're right we should take you and other foreigners who have biased opinions about how we go about our lives over our own experiences of how we go about our lives. Makes perfect sense, guy.

 

There's no bias involved; it's just easier for us to view America objectively. Something you, obviously, cannot do.

 

You know nothing about us. You go off other peoples interpretations of what is to be an American, so there's absolutely nothing objective about your views concerning us. Should I base my views of England off of what you say, or other second hand info?

 

Wait.. did you just insinuate that people here absentmindedly leave weapons lying around town like they do cell phones?

That this would even enter one's mind boggles mine.

.

 

Threads such as this one worry me a little. Not because any of the information is inaccurate, but because of the way that information is presented. I have visited both the USA and Canada, and while it may not be as different as in the UK or continental Europe, I can see that Canada has different value systems, and thus differing perceptions, from the USA.

Add to that the inherent patriotism (which some may describe as nationalism) of most citizens of the USA, and you have a situation which precludes the objective analysis of the information presented (as it was).

I do not believe that the majority of US Americans live in a constant state of fear, but it must be admitted that the frequent reported killings (mass or otherwise) combined with the remarks of pro-gun Americans on these (and other) discussion boards, can easily lead someone on the outside looking in, to the conclusion put by the OP.

Per example the interminable discussion surrounding the various shootings of unarmed, presumed intruders (from Martin to the 19 year old who knocked on the door) highlighted the potential dangers (according to the gun proponents) facing every American - in his bed, in the security of his home, or innocently walking the streets. The high probability of some stranger breaking down your door (for no apparent reason), torturing and raping your wife and daughters, and killing you and your son in the most horrifying manner, is often given as an immediate justification for gunning down anyone seen on your property after dark. Such statements may be reasonably taken as an indication of fear (justified or otherwise).

So the assumptions of the OP are not entirely unreasonable given the information available, but I might perhaps have broached the subject in a somewhat different, more diplomatic manner.

 

The opening post contains the posting member's opinion, which is different from information. He claims "Americans live in a constant state of fear," which is nothing more than opinion - with nothing to back it up; and it is inaccurate. "Americans" do not "live in a constant state of fear." He also claims, critically, that Americans have "absolute paranoia when it comes to potential public mass killings," and this is, again, merely the poster's opinion. He claims that there are lock downs in schools in the U.S. "every day" because someone saw a gun. No source, nothing to back it up, just a claim.

The opening post didn't come across to me as objective; as I pointed out, it's nothing more than claims without anything to back them up. The post came across as written by someone with an anti-American bias to me, but since I haven't been posting here very long, to be fair, I did a quick search of cdnpoli's posts, and this is what I came across in the first 1-3 pages of the search results:

"....typical American who grew up thinking you solve problems with a gun..."

"If you cannot name Ottawa as the capital of Canada you might be a redneck, or American."

"Americans just don't care to learn about anything."

"Americans are too self important. The rest of the World doesn't exist to them."

"Americans are toxic. Just look at the state of their country. They are gun toting paranoid freaks."

As I said previously, I knew by the title of the thread that it most likely wasn't written by an American.

There are 312+ Americans, and the remarks that you refer to do not by any means speak for or represent all of us. Furthermore, while perhaps someone on the outside looking in might, as you say, easily conclude that Americans are living in constant fear and absolute paranoia, perhaps rather than making a claim based on being on 'the outside looking in,' it might be best to ask Americans how they feel; ask Americans if they are living in fear. Furthermore, I've heard non-Americans who are pro-gun* present the same arguments for gun ownership as the Americans you refer to; I would say it speaks more for the mindset of the group you are referring to than to "Americans."

*I would say it's more of a 'right to bear arms' mentality than "pro gun" mentality among many who support such a right. The majority of Americans do not own a gun.

Agreed. However, it's the attributing such thoughts/feelings to "Americans" that I take issue with.

Certainly you have been more diplomatic. I would never perceive you to have an anti-American bias as I did with cdnpoli. I do, however, think attributing the claims in the OP to "Americans" and criticizing "Americans" - considering there are 312+ million of us - is unreasonable. I also feel as if my initial reaction re: a bias is justified.

 

In this case I absolutely was right. I said that I could tell from the title that the thread most likely was not posted by an American - and I was right. I said the OP was cdnpoli's take on it - and I was right. What he posted was his opinion, not fact.

It doesn't take "perspective" to know if we are living in fear or not. We either are, or we are not. Would you like my perspective as to whether or not you are happy with your lot in life based on my "different perspective?" Or do you think you might be in a better position to know that than I am? Fear/happy - they are emotions that one feels, not that others assign to them according to their perspective.

 

If there was a magic button, that when pressed, made gun powder fizzle, and not project a bullet at more than a few feet per second....

Would that in any way make things better... or WORSE?!

I will not argue that America has a Violence problem.

But even without guns, we'd have a Violence problem.

And without guns, those with lots of muscles, bad attitudes, and lawlessness as advantages, would have very little to worry about from weaker young women, the elderly, and law abiding citizens.

We do NOT have a gun problem. We have a Violence problem.

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Just remember that Liberalism is based on the REAL enemy- fear.

 

It was under my impression that people were buying all the guns and ammo out of fear that gun control would limit their weapons and thus the narrative of criminals being armed and innocent people being defenceless.

Also look at all these polls and articles stating what i did

https://www.google.ca/#q=do+americans+fear+guns

http://articles.timesofindia.indiat..._boston-marathon-sikh-temple-poll-respondents
Americans fear random violence more than foreign terrorism: Poll

 

I hope you're joking. ha ha ha. Wow, that is a real deluded statement. If you DO believe that, you better change your news sources.

 

That could be because Americans are more aware of their surroundings, which would mean that they're more aware of you when you're here, and that would make you more nervous.

Take the extreme, and pretend that everyone in Germany is only 10% conscious. Then it would be VERY relaxing to be around them.

 

It certainly isn't overly surprising that people living in a land full of guns and mall shootings would mistake something sounding even remotely like gunshots in a mall for actual gunshots, especially if they don't have personal experience with firing guns and the sounds they make.

How could people deal with that, though? Short of everyone becoming more intimately familiar with firearms, I don't see a way to change it. We know the potential is always there, and we have a history of public shootings that has been hyped up by media. Less media coverage might work also, but good luck with that.

 

Maybe some were buying out of fear of innocent people being defenseless, but that's just some of those who were out buying guns and ammo and Americans in general were not out buying guns and ammo. As I said, the majority of Americans don't even own a gun. Furthermore, just because some were buying guns so they wouldn't be defenseless to their way of thinking doesn't mean they are living in a constant state of fear or that they are paranoid. Perhaps they aren't living in fear at all since they bought a gun.

Those articles aren't stating what you did from what I can see. Do you just do a Google search, read the headlines of the search results, draw conclusions, and then make claims about Americans?

So what does that prove regarding your claims? Apparently some Americans were asked in a poll whether they feared random violence or violence from foreign terrorism more - and they said random violence. That doesn't mean they are living in fear - and it doesn't mean that they fear random violence more than they do violence from someone they know. It just means that they fear random violence from Americans more than they do foreign terrorism when asked to choose between the two. They simply answered a question put to them.

There's nothing to suggest that your claim is true.

 

americans actually fear our government more than they do terrorists,our forefathers always said we had tyranny instead of liberty when they feared the government,they were right.