Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Debate What It Will Actually Take To Stop Mass Shootings In America

People Debate What It Will Actually Take To Stop Mass Shootings In America
man in black jacket holding white and orange signage during daytime
Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

Most Americans are still reeling from the recent shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Perhaps the only thing more horrifying, is that it was the 27th school shooting to happen in the United States in 2022.

And even worse, at least eight further mass shootings occurred in the wake of Robb Elementary.

Though far too many of our most prominent politicians refuse to acknowledge it, gun violence is a systemic problem which seems to be uniquely American.

A problem which politicians seem unwilling to even try to solve.

Redditor hostofanimus was curious to hear from his fellow Redditors what they think it would finally take to finally put an end to mass shootings in the USA, leading them to ask:

"What will it take for it to stop mass shootings in America?"


It will never happen.

"Impossible."

"The amount of guns in the country + root individualistic society + rampant access to the internet breeding highly radicalized echo chambers + media sensationalism + poor financial and mental health opportunities = disaster."

"I'm all for doing something new, but there is no clear cut answer."

"Einstein couldn't solve this one."- gandaalf

"If nothing happened after Sandy Hook, nothing will happen now."- sokratesz

"Nothing changed the last time children barely older than toddlers were shot."

"Nothing will change this time."- good_god_lemon1

When people pay up.

"When stopping mass shootings can be monetized."- Ezaccly

When people get up off their butts.

"Nothing that anyone is actually willing to do, obviously."- tigerpayphone.

A universal rebirth

"A complete culture change."- Puzzleheaded-Pipe-39

When we start properly educating our children.

"I grew up in South Africa and went to some pretty crap schools filled with some of the dregs of society."

"We had underpaid teachers who didn’t really care etc."

"I was skateboard kid who was seen as a freak due to skating and liking metal and 'other; music."

"I took my fair share of beatings from the bullies at school and outside of school but I never ever had a desire to walk into school and murder the bullies or teachers or anyone else for that matter."

"I think the problem in America is much bigger than a weird kid going mad."

"It’s got to be societal for anyone to harbor that much hate for life."

"Just my honest opinion and from my perspective."- eary_Violinist_3610

Coupons.

"They used to handout free personal sized pizza coupons for reading books when I was in elementary school, maybe we can do something like that?"- anonymous152839.

When it starts being reported like the problem it is.

"First and foremost, stop treating it like a soap opera."

"The news channels detail and go over so much on these shootings it isn't reporting, it's entertainment."

"It's become so mainstream that at this point I just shrug and go 'oh, another one, whatever'."

"I'll hear about it for another few months, then some other kid will glorify it cause tv and do it himself because he needs the attention and monkey see monkey do, it's obvious how to get that attention from as many people as possible all at once."

"The problem is much deeper than this and takes people more qualified than I to solve, but this is where it starts."- shippwnyo

When people actually see the damage done.

"This will sound horrific, but photos of the crime scene."

"Yes, of the dead children."

"Vietnam’s trajectory was heavily influenced by the press being able to capture the atrocities committed/experienced by our own."

"Think about the most famous photos- we all know the ones."

"I’m thinking of the gun to the man’s head in the street as I type,or the teenage girl screaming over her dead friend at Kent State."

"Compare that to what photos we have of Iraq."

"Very little."

"And how does this difference in documentation affect the American psyche?"

"We see one war, documented well, with few secrets. the other shrouded by 'heroic' photos of soldiers with children in their arms."

"Right now, the photos we have of shootings are at a distance in the aftermath, or are of memorials where people cry together."

"It creates a distance in everyone’s mind, even a sense of inevitability because we have seen it so many times."

"Both in our collective minds, and that of politicians."

"We can ignore dead children because we have never had to see them actually lying dead, covered in blood, perhaps eyes open and staring at nothing."

"Its horrific for me to even type, the reality of what it might look like."

"But yet we openly wax philosophically online about the horrors that the families experience in the aftermath, not about a five-year-old, covered in blood, with a bullet in their chest."

"Why?"

"it's too horrific to even say, right?"

"And it will keep happening until we actually have to literally look at it."- plots4lyfe

That one horrific school shooting wasn't enough to legislate change over gun control in this country is shocking.

Making it very dispiriting indeed to wonder if this change, which must happen, will ever come.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

New Photos Of Trump On Air Force One Seemingly Reveal His Alarming Plans For The Kennedy Center

Viral photos of President Donald Trump have sparked alarm after they were captured by a Getty photographer, showing President Donald Trump looking at what appeared to be a posterboard presentation about the future of the Kennedy Center.

Only a small portion of the poster board could be seen, but the legible text suggested a connection to the Kennedy Center and included the word “DEMOLISH." The images were captured by Getty Images photographer Brendan Smialowski.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hannah Revels
@hannahhrevels/TikTok

Woman Recounts 'Craziest' Experience At Restaurant While Reality TV Show Was Filming There—And Yikes

There's a saying about being a "jack of all trades" that's popular for a reason: basically, you cannot be the best at everything, and if you try to be the master of juggling too many plates, you're likely to drop some of them.

TikToker Hannah Revels went out for a double date, including her husband and a couple of friends, to a restaurant that she did not disclose. It's supposed to be a nicer restaurant that was recently renovated, and it's also located in Charleston, South Carolina, so celebrity sightings are fairly common.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Mike Johnson; Zohran Mamdani

Mike Johnson Called Out For His Blatant Hypocrisy After Accusing Mamdani And AOC Of 'Laughing' At 9/11 Victims

During a press conference on Tuesday, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson regurgitated a previously disproven claim that New York progressive Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani were laughing while the names of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were read during the 25th anniversary commemoration in NYC.

The story first made the rounds of MAGA influencers on the day of the memorial ceremonies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @phlynnmartin's TikTok
@phlynnmartin/TikTok

Guy Sparks Debate After Calling Out 'Nightmare' Date Who Racked Up $330 Bill At Frozen Yogurt Shop In Viral TikTok

TikToker Phlynn Martin may not be crying over spilled milk, but he might be ready to cry over money spent on frozen yogurt.

After going on a first date with "a friend," Martin sat in his car and shared the story of going to the popular Melbourne-based frozen yogurt chain, Yo Chi. He looked increasingly shocked and perplexed over what he clearly perceived as offense after offense to proper dating etiquette.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @sailors.mama's TikTok
@sailors.mama/TikTok

TikToker Shares The Outfits She Wore To School Her Senior Year To Hide Her Teen Pregnancy—And Viewers Are Stunned

Most people would agree that high school is tough, from going through puberty and figuring out who you are, to trying to decide what to do for a career and where you might like to go for trade school or college, and maybe experiencing your first love.

Also, going through teen pregnancy during that time takes the high school experience to a whole other level.

Keep ReadingShow less