OzOne wrote in message news
On Wed, 01 Nov 2006 03:47:21 GMT, "Maxprop"
scribbled thusly:

The rest of the world gets a rather distorted, over-dramatized view of
America's gun issues. Oz must think we lurk in shadows, holding our
defense
weapons in front of our bodies, constantly wary of attackers. That only
happens in paintball arcades, to the best of my knowledge.

Max


Max, I think you need to come over here and see just how different our
lives are.

I doubt that you would find a single hotel concierge who would tell
you that it wasn't safe to walk anywhere in our city at night..even
our Hyde Park or Botanical Gardens.

I have been asked a number of times as I walked out of US hotels where
I was going and had suggestions about which areas I should not venture
into.

Come over...you will be enlightened

Been there, done that. And several hotel employees gave us caveats as to
where not to venture after dark. Were they lying?

You are correct in that our culture and yours are different in many
respects. I don't have the answers as to why this is the case, but I do
know that violence is an integral part of US society. Movies, TV, and video
games glorify violence and guns. And criminals are often heros in films and
literature. Somehow I tend to believe that most progressive societies
gravitate toward more and more violence with time, and I suspect that the
world, in general, including Australia, will do so as well.

My point is, and always has been, that removing guns is akin to treating the
pain when one has a 6" gash in the flesh. A more intelligent approach is to
treat the underlying injury, and the pain will subsequently subside.
Removing guns here will not stem the violence--only major cultural changes
will accomplish that.

Max