One set of parents from every US kindergarten class most likely will have to bury their child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I would certainly love to see gun control measures passed but I worry the most about traffic safety. We are a car-obsessed country.

That's a mistake, as gun deaths have now passed traffic deaths as the biggest cause of death for kids. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/14/magazine/gun-violence-children-data-statistics.html

We should care about both. Countries that have taken dramatic steps to reduce one have usually also taken dramatic steps to reduce the other. Often around the same time in history. Countries like the Netherlands were motivated to totally redesign their transportation infrastructure back in the 70s because of the number of children being killed in traffic accidents, and they also passed strict gun control laws around the same time. It's a reflection of a culture that highly values the safety and welfare of children.

These countries also do things like give money to all families so they can feed and clothe their kids regardless off income (Finland) or provide extensive post-natal care and parental leaves and subsidized childcare, and this is done largely to benefit kids, not parents (though it does benefit parents). The idea is that children deserve the best possible start in life. And this stuff isn't restricted to Scandinavia. You see more child-centric policies in Africa, Asia, the Mid-East, than you do in the US. Often these policies are portrayed as feminist or pro-women, but that's not how they are conceptualized elsewhere. They are pro-child.

Americans do not value children. We do not value their lives, their education, their happiness. Our individualistic culture extends even to children. It's like a cult.

+100

I wouldn't put it this pessimistically, but we absolutely DO take the individualistic, "everyone can make their own choices" mentality too far. It doesn't count as supporting families making their own choices when policymakers are forcing parents to have fewer kids or be SAHPs when they don't want to, because of financial burden. Totally agree we need to invest in real childcare infrastructure and support working parents.

P.S. I wish the conservative politicians who oppose supporting working moms would realize what an *economic* benefit it is for people to have access to affordable childcare.

Even if you only think in terms of dollar value, it is a win for society.

How does it feel to live your life gaslighting everyone? Making childcare affordable was a Trump-led bill in 2020 that democrats refused to take sign on to because they care more about playing partisan games than actual lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would certainly love to see gun control measures passed but I worry the most about traffic safety. We are a car-obsessed country.

+1. My husband was hit while walking to the subway last week by an SUV likely going around 20 MPH. The culprit was a crazy mom bringing her son to middle school. She had total visibility, but I assume was busy doing something else. My husband is 6'1 and 185 and he broke bones in his back and needed staples in his head. I keep thinking what if he was a kid or what if he was a smaller adult. Our cities are really built for driving in a way that many other cities are not. I also feel law our traffic laws favor cars over pedestrians and bikers to a large extent. You can basically kill someone and as long as you don't flee the scene you're fine.

Yes. My father was killed in a similar accident while walking in a parking lot because he hit his head hard on the asphalt. She just got a careless driving ticket.

[Anonymous]

After the authoritarian tactics deployed in 2020 by Dems and other leftist governments worldwide, the gun lovers will NEVER give up their guns.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:How do we tolerate it? Because I'm betting most of these deaths occur in poor people and we don't have a great track record of giving a rat's ass about them.

Yes, school shootings are the equalizer because they happen in wealthy areas too (schools, shopping areas, concerts, etc.) and as we just saw in Nashville, private schools (I am betting that will become a lot more common in the next few years). But as a PP said, a lot of the gun deaths are not mass shootings and are people in gangs or high crime areas or even low crime areas but late at night etc.

And overdoses - whites are most affected by opioid overdoses and all classes are affected but a lot of the deaths are still occurring in poorer, rural areas.

If you are doing okay financially in America you probably have access to decent health and child care, safe neighborhoods, etc. but all bets are off if you are poor.

Opiod and fentanyl related deaths do not just occur in poor, rural areas. That is a myth. 120% increase in youth overdose deaths Montgomery County from 2021 to 2022. It will continue to climb, and affects poor and wealthy alike. It only takes one pill.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/youth-overdose-deaths-increased-by-120-in-montgomery-county

I don't disagree with you but you are not even glancing at the data if you think drug deaths in this country aren't much more likely if you are poor, and if you are non White. Many Black Americans are in jail for minor drug offenses and that means they and their children's life expectancy is much, much lower. Deaths of despair in poor Whites are rising though and shouldn't be ignored, but it's absolutely untrue that wealthier Whites are dying ANYWHERE NEAR poor people of color. Literally spending 30 seconds with the data set will show you that.

[Anonymous]

This sounds so dramatic until you realize you’re talking about a 1 in 30 chance diluted by 40 years. I am not sure what the math is on that but it sounds like miniscule odds to me.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Teen overdoses are the big threat.

Don’t take street drugs. Solved.

I used to think like this. But what if it is your kid who makes a stupid decision? Do they deserve to die for that stupidity?

They do in cars all the time. All the time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds so dramatic until you realize you’re talking about a 1 in 30 chance diluted by 40 years. I am not sure what the math is on that but it sounds like miniscule odds to me.

Minuscule odds that don’t matter to you, except I’m willing to bet if your child was killed by a gun suddenly those minuscule odds would start to matter a lot to you. Every human life matters, the fact that you can just categorically dismiss thousands of kids literally dying each year is astounding to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After the authoritarian tactics deployed in 2020 by Dems and other leftist governments worldwide, the gun lovers will NEVER give up their guns.

This is true. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds so dramatic until you realize you’re talking about a 1 in 30 chance diluted by 40 years. I am not sure what the math is on that but it sounds like miniscule odds to me.

1 in 25 chance of dying before 40 sounds like miniscule odds to you? Let me guess, you aren’t exactly a math whizz?

[Anonymous]

We need a real culture of valuing human life in this country.

[Anonymous]

Will die from ANY CAUSE? That’s sad but not as alarming as I think they intended it to be. Accidents (whether gun, car, drowning, sports, something else), disease, drugs, suicide. I’m glad it’s just one per class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would certainly love to see gun control measures passed but I worry the most about traffic safety. We are a car-obsessed country.

That's a mistake, as gun deaths have now passed traffic deaths as the biggest cause of death for kids. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/14/magazine/gun-violence-children-data-statistics.html

If you look at the data, the biggest increase is in gun homicides among Black teens. Tripled since 2013.

Yes, and let's look at Chicago a city which has the most draconian gun control laws, yet experiences the highest incidence of gun violence, especially in the black community. So yes, gun control is a great topic to spout off about but does it really work? Are we then going to take away all the knives and sharp objects? If an evil person, and that's who the nashville shooter women was, wants to cause harm and use physical violence they will find a way. I think it's much better to properly secure our buildings and stop declaring these places as gun free zones which only encourages people like the nashville shooter. She knew it was low on security and she could get in there easily. JFC, let's be smart and protect our children with the technology and knowledge and man power we have, it's easier then you might think. And if society would stop demonizing every single cop as a horrible person our children could find some comfort in their presence. We need to be smarter and pro active, this constant cry about taking legal guns away from legal gun owners is never going to work.

Yes we know you are obsessed with Chicago, you post about it so much.

Gun control isn’t working there because Chicago is right next door to Indiana which has no gun control.

Just like you like to complain about illegal drugs coming across the border. Illegal guns come over the border of Illinois and Indiana.

National gun control. Let’s try it and see what happens. You NRA shills aren’t even open to trying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After the authoritarian tactics deployed in 2020 by Dems and other leftist governments worldwide, the gun lovers will NEVER give up their guns.

Because you value guns over lives. Even children’s lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would certainly love to see gun control measures passed but I worry the most about traffic safety. We are a car-obsessed country.

That's a mistake, as gun deaths have now passed traffic deaths as the biggest cause of death for kids. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/14/magazine/gun-violence-children-data-statistics.html

If you look at the data, the biggest increase is in gun homicides among Black teens. Tripled since 2013.

Yes, and let's look at Chicago a city which has the most draconian gun control laws, yet experiences the highest incidence of gun violence, especially in the black community. So yes, gun control is a great topic to spout off about but does it really work? Are we then going to take away all the knives and sharp objects? If an evil person, and that's who the nashville shooter women was, wants to cause harm and use physical violence they will find a way. I think it's much better to properly secure our buildings and stop declaring these places as gun free zones which only encourages people like the nashville shooter. She knew it was low on security and she could get in there easily. JFC, let's be smart and protect our children with the technology and knowledge and man power we have, it's easier then you might think. And if society would stop demonizing every single cop as a horrible person our children could find some comfort in their presence. We need to be smarter and pro active, this constant cry about taking legal guns away from legal gun owners is never going to work.

How does turning schools into prison-like buildings save children who die on the street or in their homes by gunshot?

[Anonymous]

I keep suggesting golf carts on DCUM and people dismiss it. I live in a big golf cart city. They go about 15 mph and share lanes with bikes, walkers, and joggers. You just have to build cart paths. It reduces gas usage and fatalities, and promotes a healthier lifestyle. You can't use it for all travel but you can use it in town to take kids to school, shop, go out, etc.