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Ah...the pristine '50s. Happy Days. Chevrolet convertibles with the huge fins. Malt shops and sock hops. Mayberry was America and America was Mayberry. Ike was in the White House, Elvis was in his ascendancy, and Andy Griffith was sheriff. Nobody loves the '50s more than those who never lived them.
I really wonder when we will get over our cultural obsession with how great the '50s were in this country. They were a one-time show. Sooner or later Republicans will have to accept that we are near the end of the second decade of the 21st century. 1958 isn't coming back no matter how much they want to scream and cry about it.
In the 50's light high capacity assault weapons weren't available to the public. Nowadays they are almost as easy to buy as a Big Mac at McDonalds. And back then most firearms users were focused on hunting. Today there's a well oiled NRA funded media campaign that promotes the purchase of infantry grade multi shot weapons as a political statement. Years ago if a homeowner wanted protection he might have a revolver or shotgun. I know people who have enough firepower at home to supply a combat unit operating in the Middle East.
Not even. Back then you could legally buy actual machine guns, provided you got approved through the NFA. America was also awash in WWII surplus weapons and until the Gun Control Act of 1968 you could have guns sent straight to your house in the mail with no background checks whatsoever.
These types of shootings aside; I wonder what happened in the 1960's that caused violent crime to increase dramatically, only decreasing starting in the 90's, but still well above pre-WW2 levels. It is not access to firearms, that has always existed, is it drugs? Did the 1960's hippie movements cause a large breakdown in social/cultural norms? What caused this and is it related to incidents such as school shootings?
In the 50's light high capacity assault weapons weren't available to the public. Nowadays they are almost as easy to buy as a Big Mac at McDonalds. And back then most firearms users were focused on hunting. Today there's a well oiled NRA funded media campaign that promotes the purchase of infantry grade multi shot weapons as a political statement. Years ago if a homeowner wanted protection he might have a revolver or shotgun. I know people who have enough firepower at home to supply a combat unit operating in the Middle East.
WWII era M1 carbines which differed from the AR-15 in no attached pistol grip in the standard model were readily available
"It was shortly before noon on a sweltering Monday morning, Aug. 1, 1966, when architectural engineering student and Marine-trained sniper Charles Whitman climbed to the observation deck of the 27-story clock tower in the heart of UT's flagship Austin campus, armed with rifles, pistols and a sawed-off shotgun.
He killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others before authorities gunned him down."
you are right on with that one, plus I think we have to consider a couple of things: 1-social media 24/7. A lot of things happened 60 years ago but we didn't always hear about them across the country and 2-we have a lot more people now.
Do I think the country has become more violent? Yes, but do I also think constant exposure to the media has brought things to the light we may not have known about. I also feel video games, TV, almost unsensored programs during family time and lack of family life has contributed to the problem.
Back then there was no 24.7 cable news, no internet, no 24.7.365 news cycle. All you had was the local newspaper and nighty news for 30 minutes.
That's your difference. Bad stuff still happened all the time but there was no 24 hr news cycle to whip up hurricane force freakouts over every world event to boost ratings.
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