Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id KAA07556 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 4 Jun 2001 10:52:35 +0100 Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745ED4@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: The Culture War Against Kids Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 10:48:54 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
<First, are the figures in this article trustworthy?>
I don't know for sure. Sociologist Barry Glassner's 'The Culture of
Fear' had similar comments about teenage crime, that referenced the source
of figures. One of the things to remember is that the US population has
increased by about 80% or so since WWII, so in absolute terms I expect every
kind of crime has increased, but proportionate rates are likely to be lesser
than in the 1950s, at least for some crimes anyway.
<Second, doesn't the author seem to contradict himself towards the
end, where
> the U.S. can't confront problems that weren't supposed to be all that
> serious earlier in the article?>
>
Possibly, although I think they're referring to other problems, such
as poverty and child abuse which are crimes against children, rather than
crimes committed by children. Although the UK doesn't have gun-wielding
kids massacring their school mates, there have been recent concerns about
repeat young offenders (one was dubbed 'rat boy' in the press) in the news
media.
<Third, is the author a cultural warrior in the gun rights debate?
If so, I
> detect some axe grinding between the lines. I suppose labels such as
> "cultural warriors" apply to them, not us.>
>
Quite possibly. This is the Alternet, of course, and their views
are nicely radical. From outside the US, the gun debate is so obvious that
it's difficult to understand what's blinding many Americans to the truth.
OK, OK, I know it's partly this myth about protecting your liberty against
tyranny, yadda, yadda, yadda. I know also it's about the 2nd amendment,
although that is open to interpretation (states' national guards are the
modern equivalent of the militia it speaks of, and since you have those,
there's no need for individuals to bear arms). But even taking those things
into account, how much higher must the murder rate be in comparison with
other developed nations, before America wakes up and smells the coffee?
Anyway, I think you're right about the ideological position of the author
here.
Vincent
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