[lbo-talk] Collective idiocy....

[andie_nachgeborenen]

Apparently you haven't been paying attention since the early 1990s. Violent crime rates have fallen to half their level from that time in a sharp drop that shows no sign of decreasing. Experts are puzzled. See NYT 5.23.11. My own chief candidate for an explanation is that this coincides with the point at which the majority of the population became older than 34. Most violent crimes are committed by young makes, ages 18-34. There are other explanations, including higher incarceration rates and longer sentences, more effective law enforcement strategies, even more effective gun control. No one knows for sure. But America's violent crime problem _is_ curing itself or being cured. No doubt it would be much less than what it is if handgun and assault weapon ownership was banned or restricted as in Europe. But you simply have no right to an opinion on the relation of gun ownership to crime if you don't know this fundamental fact about American criminology. Btw, nonviolent property crimes have been declining at about the same rate over the same period. Start doing your homework, then you will have heard something and maybe say something worth hearing.

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 23, 2012, at 7:57 AM, "Jordan Hayes" <jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com> wrote:


> andie says:
> 
>> In that sense we do not have a violent crime problem.
> 
> Now I've heard everything.
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