European Versus United States Violence

Matthew Gaylor (freematt@coil.com)
Sat, 27 Dec 1997 15:34:51 -0500


These discussions over European vs. American violence leave out several key
points-

One- Europe at various times this century has been very unsafe- Shouldn't
world war be included in any serious discussion on violence? What about
Bosnia?

Second- We should define precisely who we are talking about- If you
factor in race and location, the difference is startling. White suburban
America has similar violence rates to Europe- Of course writing about race
is taboo in American society.

Third- Due to the first Amendment, Americans enjoy a free press- Canada
as an example censors many lurid crime details from being reported. The
American press' sensational tabloid reporting style doesn't do much for the
American image either-

Fourth- There is a lack of correct historical perspective- How many of us
have heard about the "Wild, wild west? Crime rates in the late 1800s in
the US were low- Do you really think that a bunch of civil war veterans on
the western frontier would let a gang terrorize their town?

Regards, Matt-

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