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Have all these shootings changed your way of life?


Guinevere
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No, not really.

 

I pray a little harder when I get onto a plane, I would say. 

 

But although I have never even held a gun in my hand in my life, I'm thinking about getting one.  Not as much because of the shootings as from the increasing sense that the police are not really able to protect me in my home so I'd better be able to do so.

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No.

 

I do hate that I'm dependent on my ability to run, hide, or fight as I've learned in work trainings. I hate knowing that one of my kids can't do any of those things for himself and it's pretty impossible for a parent/caregiver to do those things for an adult sized teen with disabilities.

 

That said there's no point in choosing not to follow my regular activities.

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Well, we now have to teach about and have "Armed Intruder" drills in school, so I suppose so in that way.

 

But for our actual lives?  No.  I'd rather live and die young than grow into old age and do absolutely nothing.  There's very little I fear in life.  Death is not on that list - nor are armed lunatics.

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No. Because doing so can't predictably keep my loved ones safe.

 

If I don't send my kids to school to avoid school shooters, then I run the risk of being somewhere else during those hours and being shot there instead. 

 

I pay more attention to strangers and abandoned backpacks/bags than I did before, but that is about it. 

 

Otherwise we can't go to the mall, the movie, a concert, for a walk down the street, to work...etc.

 

ETA: my cousin walked out of the cafeteria as Kip Kinkle walked in during the Thurston School shooting in Oregon 1998.  There has also been a mass shooting at the college I attended and it greatly affected the community.  My husbands friend just lost a niece in Las Vegas. So, while I haven't had direct impact from the shootings, they have been a very real part of our lives.  

Edited by Tap
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No. Statistically I am FAR more likely to get seriously injured or die taking my kids to their various appointments and activities than I am to fall victim to random violence (mass shootings or getting caught in the crossfire of gang-related shootings)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I got a bit more cynical with some comments made by some *extreme* gun-rights supporters after Sandy Hook. Not the kinds of things my family and friends who hunt or are soldiers (like my husband lol) would ever say.

 

But I lost some faith in the national conversation and bipartanship, not with any actions taken or not taken, but just some offensive things that were said.

 

What I mean is the people who don't believe Sandy Hook happened, or pretend that they don't believe it. It is just so upsetting to me.

 

Since then I have been equally numbed on all of it, I don't expect anything to change in my lifetime.

 

As far as my life personally -- no, I'm not worried. The odds just aren't there. Plus my husband is in the Infantry and on some level I have made peace with the idea he could be injured, and so in comparison to that I just don't worry about daily life in the United States.

 

Edit: I do feel very bad for victims and their families... I cried after this most recent shooting, it was just so sad to think of it.

Edited by Lecka
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No, not really

 

I went to see Mumford and Sons a week after the shooting at the Ariana Grande concert. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't on my mind. I made sure I knew where exits were and said thank you to security on my way out. But I didn't avoid going because of the fear off what MIGHT happen.

Edited by BigMamaBird
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No, I still feel very safe here. I left my home during civil war, and my first residence in the U.S. was a part of town where gunfire was constant background noise. My reactions to these shootings, and this type of crime in general, is very detached. But I also avoid news outlets, especially fresh from a situation. I prefer genuine news reports to the guessing-as-we-go reports that currently pass as "news" so that's part of it, too. In my mind these shootings are still very isolated, tragic though each one is.

 

These shootings become real for me when i see feature stories on the victims. It changes my life in the sense that I'm reminded how short life is and to not take it for granted. But it doesn't change my life in the sense that my day-to-day outings and such.

 

But I was at the park today chatting up some other moms, and one had gone to a major concert last night. She said she wasn't NOT going to go, but that she felt on edge for the first several songs. She shared, too, that she'd have not chosen to go to the concert and only went because she was taking her son to his first concert and this was his favorite group. I get the sense that these shootings are forcing her to evaluate what her priorities are, at least in shared situations (concert shootings, her concert attendance). She said the lead singer actually addressed the topic from the stage, and that this helped put her at ease. 

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not at all and I believve the mentally ill that do these killings are being encourage by all the 24/hr news recycling gun yakking and every freaking internet page.

 

So they are psychotic in the first place already hearing someone tell them to kill. Then they read about a fame killer every day online and every minute they watch TV.

 

Thats the reason for the increase.

 

I wish CNN/FOX would shut the hell up.

 

Also the church shooter was a pro gun person with mental illness

 

SO in his sick mind hearing the consant yaking of people to take guns away after the vegas shooting more than likely tricker him and his sick fantancy of showing his power through terrorizing and killing those people

 

YOu are in more danger of dying from driving. More people are killed in car. I work ER I get way more MVA then GSW.

 

See the constant coverage is causing people to develop mental disorders like anxiety.

 

The 24 hr news networks need to get out of business. That's my answer

 

also every time the antigun people start talking about taking gun its makes people that like gun start buying them up.

 

So if you shut up about taking them away there would not be so many sold.

 

The antigun politics is causing more gun violence.

 

You will never get American's to give up the guns with out a civil war. I actually know many "good old boys' that are getting read cause they believe it will happen.

 

I own guns and my natural independent side wants to buy more and stock ammo cause its a right and a hobby I like.

 

SO if you really want to change gun laws you have to shut up about them for about 10 years. SO the gun owner might actually trust you.

 

There are many of us that wouldn't mind required Licenses similar to drivers license. Although driver license don't save people

 

But many gun owner want do it because they figure it will become a data base for future confiscation if America political continue to go socialist/communist leaning.

 

Just something for you non gun owners or gun haters to think about.

Nm changed my mind on commenting.

 

 

Anyway, on the op, no, I'm still running around doing my thing.

Edited by beckyjo
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I have always had pretty good situational awareness, but I have definitely become more alert to my surroundings in the last few years. Just things like paying attention to the people near me, what kinds of things they have with them, and whether they seem agitated or not. I also trust my gut and if something doesn't feel right, I may move to another area. Like the other day, I was walking into Home Depot to get something and there was a guy about 20 feet ahead of me that sent all my red flag alarms in full alert. I got back in my car and went back to Home Depot later in the day.

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not at all and I believve the mentally ill that do these killings are being encourage by all the 24/hr news recycling gun yakking and every freaking internet page.

 

So they are psychotic in the first place already hearing someone tell them to kill. Then they read about a fame killer every day online and every minute they watch TV.

 

Thats the reason for the increase.

 

I wish CNN/FOX would shut the hell up.

 

Also the church shooter was a pro gun person with mental illness

 

SO in his sick mind hearing the consant yaking of people to take guns away after the vegas shooting more than likely tricker him and his sick fantancy of showing his power through terrorizing and killing those people

 

YOu are in more danger of dying from driving. More people are killed in car. I work ER I get way more MVA then GSW.

 

See the constant coverage is causing people to develop mental disorders like anxiety.

 

The 24 hr news networks need to get out of business. That's my answer

 

also every time the antigun people start talking about taking gun its makes people that like gun start buying them up.

 

So if you shut up about taking them away there would not be so many sold.

 

The antigun politics is causing more gun violence.

 

You will never get American's to give up the guns with out a civil war. I actually know many "good old boys' that are getting read cause they believe it will happen.

 

I own guns and my natural independent side wants to buy more and stock ammo cause its a right and a hobby I like.

 

SO if you really want to change gun laws you have to shut up about them for about 10 years. SO the gun owner might actually trust you.

 

There are many of us that wouldn't mind required Licenses similar to drivers license. Although driver license don't save people

 

But many gun owner want do it because they figure it will become a data base for future confiscation if America political continue to go socialist/communist leaning.

 

Just something for you non gun owners or gun haters to think about.

😧

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Well, when the DC Beltway Sniper was still at large it did somewhat. I thought twice about where I was going and how probable it was the I could be targeted.

 

And after 9-11 (granted, that was a very different situation), I found it very distressing that military jets were patrolling the sky daily. I did not want to go anywhere that people congregate; I felt very vulnerable living near DC.

 

I’m not a big sort of concert-goer or all that likely to be where people congregate because it’s not really my thing, but it is likely thatif I attended a certain type of event, I might look around to scope out where there could be vulnerability. Of course, I guess it is possible I could be attacked at church or at Walmart just as soon as a baseball stadium or concert. I do know that our church does have armed security; it is just not an advertised fact or something the average by-stander would notice.

 

I do have a general feeling of safety (false, most probably) just because there are a lot of gun regs in this state, so guns are not a big part of the public picture the way they are in some other states. However, we are bordered by states with much more lax gun laws, so it’s not as though it is a very long drive or a difficult thing if someone needs to be where gun laws are looser.

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Well, when the DC Beltway Sniper was still at large it did somewhat. I thought twice about where I was going and how probable it was the I could be targeted.

 

.

I definitely changed my behavior Sept/Oct 2002. That was frightening. Especially, when a boy was shot being dropped at school. Everyone behavior changed. All the sports in my area were cancelled for fall. We weren't going to trick or treat and then they were caught two days before Halloween.

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Well, I do admit I have thought about it in church, specifically when I am volunteering in the nursery and wondering how I (and the other adult volunteer in the room) would protect the kids.  I know in a church shooting in the sanctuary, several of the men (including my husband) would likely be targets because they would stand up to try to disarm or stop a shooter.  (I don't know of anyone who carries in church so when I say "stop" I don't mean by shooting necessarily).  So I do think about it sometimes, but it doesn't stop me from going to church. 

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No, though I do think about it sometimes when we are in crowded or popular places. I had a moment's pause before ComicCon this year, but they always have excellent security. I admit to feeling much less annoyed at the wait and hassle of having my bag checked than in previous years. Any fear over possibilities did not stop me from going. 

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And me, to the OP, I think about it in the same way I think about earthquake preparedness. Or how others think of tornado or blizzard or hurricane preparedness.

 

But not on the level of meteor-landing-on -my-house or nuclear bomb preparedness.

 

That's kind of my spot, too.

 

I live nowhere particularly special, but our region has had a long manhunt for a cop killer, a township meeting murder spree, I just had to divert my route last week for another trooper shooting, my local dollar store, Dunkin', and gas stations get robbed at gun point.  Local schools lock down while officers chase armed suspects.  Gun ownership is huge here, and concealed carry is common. People (including kids) accidentally shoot themselves regularly. I do always assume I'm near a gun.

 

But we live our lives.  We have shelter in place plans. (Many people did not during the weeks long manhunt.)  I've learned alternative driving routes, not that we have very many. I know basic first aid and hope to learn more.  I'm on my community emergency response team. 

 

It's most certainly a serious issue, but I'm not going to quit living for fear of dying.

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