Canada Blames U.S. for Gun Violence

[Puck]

[Republican_Man]

Oh come on. You can't blaim another country for something like this. Ridiculous.

[IntrepidIsMe]

Hahaha. Figures that while their violence level is on the rise, America's is on the decent. As far as I can see, they're just looking for someone to blame. Don't get me wrong, it's sad, but it's also pretty tacky to try and place the responsibility on another country. Apparently they need to look at their current law-enforcement system.

[Brightstar82]

As a canadian I agree with you guys this is a total outrage. I mean its not another countries fault for our gun violence.

[Leo Wyatt]

Yeah someone must always whine about something these days and to blame someone. How childish lol When guns violence is everywhere in the world. Not in just one country.

[Brightstar82]

It just goes to show how ignorant some people can really be.

[Birdy]

Violence is inbedded in every human being, so to blame another country doesn't make any sense.

[Hitchhiker]

It's really sad, especially in the larger cities like Toronto. The problem isn't guns, though. The underlying issues are never really addressed.

The government keeps on talking about "gun control" like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. "We'll just get rid of the guns off the street," say they, "and it'll all be shiny and good again." Aside from the fact that we can barely keep a government, let alone run one, this is also the wrong way to go about addressing the problem.

Most violence committed by youths, including deaths, aren't even gun-related. Gun violence just makes for better news than stabbings (unless they're brutal stabbings ). Maybe instead of trying to take away the weapons, we should figure out why they want to use these weapons? Could it be that they lack sufficient educational and healthcare resources to meet their needs?

Canada's blaming the U.S. for a couple of reasons. Martin is blaming the U.S. for only one: to look good. Remember when the U.S. ambassador to Canada made those comments about Canada, and Martin responded ascerbically? His polls went up. America bashing, it turns out, is good for one's campaign.

I'm tired of all this negative campaigning, be it against Harper, Layton, or America. I'm just thankful that the election has basically paused for Christmas.

[Republican_Man]

Tach, my friend. Well put. I highly agree with you. And it is sickening how America-bashing works up there. Just how much anti-American sentiment would you say is present in your country?

[IntrepidIsMe]

Not just "up there." It's more like everywhere.

[Republican_Man]

Nope. Just look at Iran. Amy Kellog spent a couple weeks in Iran, after getting permission. Most Iranians like America--just not the War in Iraq.
And it's not America-bashing, per se--just some dislike. And that goes down to a lot more levels than current events. I would argue that it has a lot to do with religion and the fact that the USSR is gone.

[IntrepidIsMe]

I'd like America if I lived in Iran, too. Your president is wacked out and your government is staring nuclear research... Scary prospect. I'd be in love with any stable country. I suppose "everywhere" was too general.

Anyway, in the Western world, anti-american sentiment is high, Canada, the UK, Spain, France. Sure, they're technically allies, but that doesn't exactly mean the public likes America, especially Bush.

[Republican_Man]

You didn't watch the news pieces and hear from the Iranians themselves. It has nothing to do with that.
And of course not. But there's a lot more to it than just Bush.

[IntrepidIsMe]

Indeed, that's why I said "especially Bush." Everybody seemed to have loved America when Clinton was in power.

Yeah, guess I missed that bit on Fox. Too bad I don't watch it to begin with. I'm reading about how Iranians fear Iraq's new secular democracy (put in my America, no less), and how they're angry about Britain and America's claims that they're aiding in the insurgency promblems. And anti-American graffiti. Apparently only the younger generation even comes close to liking America. Just read all the articles on the website.

[Republican_Man]

Ever thought that that's just the government of Iran?

[IntrepidIsMe]

According to Amy Kellogg, it's the government and everyone 25+.

[Republican_Man]

Not exactly, as the end of http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176045,00.html in particular shows. Although that's not surprising that a large amount of those that were raised under past circumstances would be. I mean, the anti-American sentiment there goes back a long, long ways. Way before even the Cold War. But I got a very good impression of the opinions of a growing, large amount of Iranians who like the US.
I mean, it does say something, at the very least, that the majority of those under 25, at the very least, like the United States, just not action in Iraq. It says something that a growing majority want democracy there. It especially says something that the young people want democracy there, and that there's a growing movement towards transforming Iran into a democracy.
And although relations may have seemed better back under Clinton, I wouldn't say that it's because we had him in office or anything. I would argue that it was growing over time, since the end of the Cold War, plus with our strong religious heritage and their strong secular heritage (since the Renaissance). Western Europe no longer relies on the US to protect it against the Soviet Union, and because that fact has grown more and more apparent over the last 15 years, impressions have gone down.

[IntrepidIsMe]

Okay, so they don't like American foregin policy... aka the government. That's what I was saying all along. She said it herself, they like Americans, not our government. As was clearly illustrated by the flag burning episode. Or at least that's what I thought we were talking about...

But yeah, this has kinda drifted.

[Republican_Man]

Not our entire foreign policy, the average Iranian dislikes, I would argue, because they don't know most of it. All they know is Iraq and what we do in the Middle East, and because of the propaganda there, that makes them a bit upset, if that's the right word. And I would argue, my apologies, that it's not just Americans they like, but America. I remember hearing, from her reports, them talking not only about liking Americans but also liking America.
There's still a lot of Iranians, though, that are caught so much in the propaganda and all that stuff that they go all-out anti-American, hence the flag burning. I mean, yeah, anti-American sentiment goes WAAAAY back.

But you're right. This is off-topic. Moving on...
Yeah, you can't blaim another country for something like this. That's just not right.

[Founder]

[Republican_Man]

[IntrepidIsMe]

Well, not "loved" but our foreign relations were better. I'm not saying that anyone is to blame, it's just a fact.

[Republican_Man]

It's partially true, but there are a lot of reasons for it. The lack of the presence of the USSR, meaning less reliance on the US. Cultural differences. Want to become a power equal to the US, what with the EU and all. And, yes, I would agree that Iraq does play SOME role in it. But there are a LOT of things adding to it, and it has been building over time, even before the collapse of the Soviet Union--and especially after it.

[Hitchhiker]

[oberon]

Well it is very easy for virtually anyone to get a gun in the US. Due to the NRA being so close with the republican party, the process by which one may obtain a gun is too simple for my liking. Plus, the US has quite a bit more gun violance as compared with most other countries.