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Skans · January 14, 2013, 02:09 PM

I agree with muggsjunior. You really do need to blame the individual for the bad acts they commit. There are several problems in doing this, however: The perp is dead - you can't punish or make an example out of a dead guy. That is hard for many people to swallow, thus they look at other "reasons" for the deranged dead guy's bad acts. Also, if you go back just 30-40 years, you will not see deranged people killing large numbers of little children for God-knows-what reason.

So what has changed? That's a natural question to ask. 40 years ago it was 1973. Civilians had access to AR-15's, FAL's, AK's, the first Polymer 18 round handgun (VP 70), M1A, Even the Mini-14 came on line in 1974. Machineguns were still legal to build (and register) and there was no import ban on semi-auto rifles or handguns. Politicians wanted to ban "saturday-night specials" because they were mostly used and owned by black people. Now, Marijuana is legal in two states, and yes, it has been linked to delusional thinking.

Well, the use of psychoactive drugs has boomed. Single-parent families has skyrocketed. Realistic looking video games that involve killing are all the rage. Music has little to do with sex and much more to do with committing acts of violence. Gang activity has just about become main stream.

January 14, 2013, 02:09 PM	#10
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	I agree with muggsjunior. You really do need to blame the individual for the bad acts they commit. There are several problems in doing this, however: The perp is dead - you can't punish or make an example out of a dead guy. That is hard for many people to swallow, thus they look at other "reasons" for the deranged dead guy's bad acts. Also, if you go back just 30-40 years, you will not see deranged people killing large numbers of little children for God-knows-what reason. So what has changed? That's a natural question to ask. 40 years ago it was 1973. Civilians had access to AR-15's, FAL's, AK's, the first Polymer 18 round handgun (VP 70), M1A, Even the Mini-14 came on line in 1974. Machineguns were still legal to build (and register) and there was no import ban on semi-auto rifles or handguns. Politicians wanted to ban "saturday-night specials" because they were mostly used and owned by black people. Now, Marijuana is legal in two states, and yes, it has been linked to delusional thinking. Well, the use of psychoactive drugs has boomed. Single-parent families has skyrocketed. Realistic looking video games that involve killing are all the rage. Music has little to do with sex and much more to do with committing acts of violence. Gang activity has just about become main stream.