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<p>Jochen -</p>
<p>My reflections on "how would Jochen see this?" during my
cross-country trip this summer wasn't intended to diminish your
concerns about gun safety/violence in the US... if anything I was
seeing my own "backyard" through the eyes of others (yours) who
have not been innured to the (threat of) violence that is quite
widespread here in the US across many regions and demographics.
If there is a point to be made it is that our "casual" and
onesey-twosey shootings, including those initiated by our law
enforcement is at least as much of a problem as the
multiple-shootings that seem to come with various expressions of
intolerance (racism, homophobia, etc.) and general
frustration/desperation (caused by an otherwise
dysfunctional/disaffected society for many).</p>
<p>The wide availability (and dissemination) of "weapons of war"
(and the ammunition for them as well as semi-auto handguns with
significant clip capacity) in this country is a huge problem in my
opinion... not just because of how often they get used
(inappropriately by their nature) but because of the general
posture and tenor of interpersonal (and civic) relations. Law
enforcement has to be more suspicious of individuals in public
encounters given that any given citizen might well be carrying a
(highly) deadly weapon equal to or exceeding the capability of
their own (on their hip, or in their car). Similarly, the
average citizen must also consider the possibility that a given
disagreement could abruptly escalate to a shooting incident. It
wasn't that long ago (decades?) that interpersonal gun violence
was mostly restricted to the execution of a financial crime
(including drug deals) or (sadly) domestic disputes (often spouses
but sometimes parent/child or sibling/sibling), but now it seems
that political differences have become equally popular reasons for
shooting one another. <br>
</p>
<p>A really good (bad) example of this is fresh in our area:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/conquistador-onate-albuquerque-new-mexico-unrest.html"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/conquistador-onate-albuquerque-new-mexico-unrest.html</a></p>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/09/us/conquistador-statue-stirs-hispanic-pride-and-indian-rage.html"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/09/us/conquistador-statue-stirs-hispanic-pride-and-indian-rage.html</a></p>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/world/as-a-sculpture-takes-shape-in-mexico-opposition-takes-shape-in-the-us.html"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/world/as-a-sculpture-takes-shape-in-mexico-opposition-takes-shape-in-the-us.html</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The most recent event of less than a week ago seemed to involve a
?concealed? handgun produced and fired by a counter-protestor who
had been haranguing the (mostly) Native American "protestors" who
were rather *celebrating* a delay in placing the Onate statue.
(the shooting victim is recovering but was in critical condition
after being shot in the abdomen at point blank range). No
specific mention is made of whether the shooter had been
displaying the weapon or keeping it entirely concealed during the
ongoing confrontations. My personal observation of the videos at
the moment of shooting suggests it was specifically concealed in
his waistband *under* a hoodie. The local law enforcement had
been present earlier and I believe had intervened in earlier
altercations he had generated... it seems unlikely they would have
left the scene had he been openly displaying a weapon at that
time... but who knows? Also likely that those he claimed
"threatened him" would not have been as aggressive had he been
displaying a weapon (for better or worse)...<br>
</p>
<p>The statue in question had been removed from a nearby location
after the 2020 conflict over a similar statue in Albuquerque where
another anti-Onate protestor was shot by a "counter
protestor". The very same statue was vandalized in 1998 not
long after it was first installed by removing the right foot of
Onate who is infamous for many atrocious acts during his time as
Conquistador/Governor in the area which included cutting off<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoma_Massacre"> the right
foot of Native men</a> that were not massacred during his
bloodiest act among many. It isn't clear if the shooter (with an
Hispanic surname) had a specific "Hispanic Pride" motive in
confronting the Native protestors, there is plenty of online
evidence that he is a proud MAGA guy and previously been "talked
to" by the FBI for threats he had made (online?)...<br>
</p>
<p>There is a battle underway between our Democrat Governer and a
large contingent of pro-gun legislators, industry and citizens
after she tried to supercede the State laws allowing "open carry"
of firearms in *most* public venues. She issued a <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-mexico-mayor-calls-legislative-debate-after-gun-ban-2023-09-13/">temporary
order trying to limit such</a> in one county after several
children were killed in the Albuquerque by stray gunfire... as the
linked article indicates it was overturned by a federal judge
based on "2nd amendment rights". <br>
</p>
<p>So *yes*, the US, even/especially this sleepy little corner of
the country has a gun problem which is evidenced by the amount of
shooting going on. "Breaking Bad" might well exaggerate or
hyperbolize the drug-related violence we have in this region but
it isn't completely off-base either.</p>
FWIW, there has been a significant outpouring of (financial) support
for the victim.<br>
<p> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting</a></p>
<p>I will also admit that most all I know of violence on individuals
in modern Europe comes from watching Kubrick's Clockwork Orange
and books/movies about Nazi Germany and Stalinist-Era eastern
Europe... <br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 9/4/23 3:13 PM, Jochen Fromm wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:202309042114.384LEffl025445@ame1.swcp.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="auto">Yes, the mass shooting in Norway was devastating
and very painful. We have mass shootings here in Europe too.
Thanksfully less frequent than in the U.S. </div>
<div dir="auto"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2023">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2023</a></div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">Overall the number of weapons and especially of
automatic weapons like the AR-15 is lower here too. Most
European countries have very strict gun laws and make it
difficult to buy and own weapons. I don't have one, and I don't
know anyone who owns one, except the police maybe.</div>
<div dir="auto"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://time.com/6278608/ar-15-rifle-assault-weapons-uvalde/">https://time.com/6278608/ar-15-rifle-assault-weapons-uvalde/</a></div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">For me personally the gun problem is one reason
why I don't feel safe traveling to the US. I must admit there
are even in my own city Berlin parks which do not feel safe
because they are known for drug dealers and crimes. Therefore it
is a bit unfair to say that a whole country has a gun problem
while some areas are much more affected than other. Santa Fe for
instance seems to be a nice place to live. </div>
<div dir="auto"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/08/us/americans-living-near-mass-shootings-statistics-dg/">https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/08/us/americans-living-near-mass-shootings-statistics-dg/</a></div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">-J.</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto" style="font-size:100%;color:#000000" align="left">
<div>-------- Original message --------</div>
<div>From: Frank Wimberly <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:wimberly3@gmail.com"><wimberly3@gmail.com></a> </div>
<div>Date: 9/4/23 5:13 AM (GMT+01:00) </div>
<div>To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:friam@redfish.com"><friam@redfish.com></a> </div>
<div>Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Science Fiction Books </div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
<div dir="auto">I had posted a link to an article about a mass
shooting in Norway in response to a claim that most mass
shootings occur in the U.S. I can't find that post so I'll
repeat it. This was only one attack but 77 people were killed.
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
<a
href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anders-behring-breivik-appeal-european-court-of-human-rights-norway-massacre/"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anders-behring-breivik-appeal-european-court-of-human-rights-norway-massacre/</a></div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
<div dir="auto" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">---<br>
Frank C. Wimberly<br>
140 Calle Ojo Feliz, <br>
Santa Fe, NM 87505<br>
<br>
505 670-9918<br>
Santa Fe, NM</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">On Sun, Sep 3, 2023, 11:13 AM
Jochen Fromm <<a href="mailto:jofr@cas-group.net"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">jofr@cas-group.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc
solid;padding-left:1ex" class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">I have read "Highway of Eternity" from
Clifford D. Simak this weekend, one of the books from the
golden age of science fiction which is comparable to "The
city and the Stars" from Arthur C. Clarke and "The end of
eternity" from Isaac Asimov. Both belong to my favorite
books. Modern authors don't write like this anymore. Their
books are often gloomy and depressive, and do not span
millions of years. What is your favorite science fiction
book? Will the AI breakthrough in large language models
lead to more optimistic science fiction books again? </div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">-J.</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
</div>
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