Quote Originally Posted by MyNameIsTerry View Post
But is there evidence of this drop going back decades or just a couple of years? A couple of years won't be enough to examine the video game/movies/mental health drugs issues as it could be a temporary dip. But if the US has figures for mass shootings like this going back decades that show the same numbers as now then the problem can't be things like video games, movies and unlikely changes in mental health management. It would point to a more general issue with the availability of guns and no root cause that is triggering these people that has emerged due to modern social change.
Yes, you're right that's one way to prove those boogeymen to be boogeymen, but it's not needed. We can also see that all countries have video games, movies, and mental health patients yet don't have high murder or mass shooting/mass murder rates. The difference is they don't have unfettered access to firearms.

Generally speaking, violence statistics in the US has shown a significant decline in the 90s onward and leveling out lately. The 60s and 70s usually have massively worse numbers (not sure about before then). For example, my home city of Chicago oft-maligned for murders and shootings (and definitely a problem here) has about 500 or so murders a year lately. But in the 60a and 70s it used to be around 900 a year.

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