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The US gets to deal with spree killings; Japan gets to deal with suicides and the occasional otaku serial killer.
I don't think these two are comparable. Suicides have no direct victims, otaku serial killers are very rare, but spree killings and mass shooting incidents are so common in the US now that it doesn't even feel like a big deal any more.
I don't think these two are comparable. Suicides have no direct victims, otaku serial killers are very rare, but spree killings and mass shooting incidents are so common in the US now that it doesn't even feel like a big deal any more.
My main point is that no nation or society is without its faults, and Japan is no exception. There are some people here who, for whatever reason, seem to think that Japan is a utopian place. I love Japan myself, but I'm also not delusional. Nor am I attempting to make the point that school or spree killings aren't a big deal.
Spree killings in the US aren't "common," really. They don't happen on a daily basis all over the nation, and when they do happen, they are shocking enough that they make huge media headlines and are burned into the national psyche. Basically every American knows exactly what and who Adam Lanza, Jared Loughner, Columbine, Sandy Hook, etc are, and will grimace and shudder at their mention.
I think American society's biggest mistakes in dealing with then, other than not doing enough to reign in our gun issues, is that we focus too much on the shooter in the aftermath, which is usually one of the driving factors behind why these guys commit the crimes in the first place. We should be focusing on the people who survive, thwart, or suffer in these attacks instead. This takes away a lot of the notoriety that these shooters want.
My main point is that no nation or society is without its faults, and Japan is no exception. There are some people here who, for whatever reason, seem to think that Japan is a utopian place. I love Japan myself, but I'm also not delusional. Nor am I attempting to make the point that school or spree killings aren't a big deal.
Spree killings in the US aren't "common," really. They don't happen on a daily basis all over the nation, and when they do happen, they are shocking enough that they make huge media headlines and are burned into the national psyche. Basically every American knows exactly what and who Adam Lanza, Jared Loughner, Columbine, Sandy Hook, etc are, and will grimace and shudder at their mention.
I think American society's biggest mistakes in dealing with then, other than not doing enough to reign in our gun issues, is that we focus too much on the shooter in the aftermath, which is usually one of the driving factors behind why these guys commit the crimes in the first place. We should be focusing on the people who survive, thwart, or suffer in these attacks instead. This takes away a lot of the notoriety that these shooters want.
Obviously it's still a big deal, people would say how horrible it is and how "we should do something", then end up doing absolutely nothing.
I get that Japan has plenty of its problems, just that I find the occasional otaku killers not really worth mentioning because of its rarity. Japan's horrific gender inequality, unimaginable social hierarchy, general disenfranchisement of younger population, superficial democracy, and frequency of natural disasters are way, way worse than tragedies that happen once every 5 years in average.
Suicides are based on many of its own problems though, not gonna argue on that.
My main point is that no nation or society is without its faults, and Japan is no exception. There are some people here who, for whatever reason, seem to think that Japan is a utopian place. I love Japan myself, but I'm also not delusional. Nor am I attempting to make the point that school or spree killings aren't a big deal.
Spree killings in the US aren't "common," really. They don't happen on a daily basis all over the nation, and when they do happen, they are shocking enough that they make huge media headlines and are burned into the national psyche. Basically every American knows exactly what and who Adam Lanza, Jared Loughner, Columbine, Sandy Hook, etc are, and will grimace and shudder at their mention.
I think American society's biggest mistakes in dealing with then, other than not doing enough to reign in our gun issues, is that we focus too much on the shooter in the aftermath, which is usually one of the driving factors behind why these guys commit the crimes in the first place. We should be focusing on the people who survive, thwart, or suffer in these attacks instead. This takes away a lot of the notoriety that these shooters want.
Indeed I think the huge amount of coverage the shooters get in the media is viewed as a enormous reward by the shooters. I also think that the media knows it but choose to run the stories on the shooters anyway because it is profitable CNN will cycle stories like that around the clock for weeks.
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Unless I'm mistaken
