Europe more dangerouse than USA? (gunshots vs terror threat)

What seems to be different in the US is the level of Paranoia. Europeans dont need to fire off so many alerts because they are aware of the existence of the ETA, the IRA, and various other bad guys who they must live with..... And Paranoia it is...simply witness the change from Coast Guard into Homeland security...the term evokes paranoia.

 

Even paranoiacs have enemies. Just ask the Russians.

 

Yeah, that is why we changed The War Department to The Department of Defense and wrenched our eagle's head so that it faced the olive branches instead of the arrows.

 

Didn't know that. What I do know is that as a kid I grew up next to a Coast Guard Station. We used to hang around the station catching crabs and...dont tell mom...sneaking our first beers with the guys. The place was like a big friendly McHale's Navy episode. Not anymore...chain link fences, cctv cameras and a professional aggressive stance. I ask ...why ? and most certainly the young boys cruising the waterfront ask the same question.

 

That was before the U.S. showed its weak underbelly and its lack of resolve to defend itself. After a few embassy bombings etc. with no retaliation some on our planet got up the courage to commit even greater mayhem. Now we live like scared little lambs behind our chain link systems without the courage to go out and turn some places into glass, which would make the world a safer place for little kids near CG stations.

 

If only the problems in the world were so easy to solve that all you needed to do was confront them !!!!!

 

no, i did not say that it is the wild west. I've got some family living in california, so im not just pulling things out of my prejudices. however, when it is fairly common for people to own a gun, in order to feel safe, the risk of that gun being used by a drunk owner suddenly resolving to settle an old dispute, or burglars taking it, and then using it, etc. while the risk is low, it is still a (marginally) higher risk. of course i dont mean the average american is a gunslinging maniac, and if i'm not mistaken, it was rarley that even during the wild west.

 

If you wait to remove a tumor, it will grow to the point that it will become incurable. Turning a blind eye to a problem doesn't solve it. It gives the problem the advantage of surprise.

 

If you create a Tumor Paranoia, the whole population will be lined up at the doctors office having a bruise examined and collapsing the medical system. Instilling fear and paranoia is not a good way to achieve your objective.

 

I was making an analogy. Everybody gets a tumor if they live long enough. Some people think the brain is a tumor and fear it.

No tenga miedo.

 

And it bothers me that SECURITY has become so ingrained into American life. I suppose that its the Gov's responsibility to educate its citizens about how the world works. The first attempt, with RED, Orange alerts was a farce. Don't stand still in public European places ? is also misguided. Perhaps their future efforts will be more sublime. Perhaps soon they will actually go after the cause of these threats and solve them.

 

You can help. Don't be complacent in Europe.

 

A wise person once said that the best way to destroy your enemies is to turn them into friends. You can't do that by trying to buy them. We tried that and squandered many billions of dollars and our respectability in the effort. It is time to take a new tack.

 

On the contrary. We've bought lots of friends over the years, if you're talking about getting cooperation from other nations by making it profitable and in their best interests.

I don't think we've spent much time or money actually trying to buy off our enemies, though....

And it seems to me that mostly what Bush accomplished with his John Wayne/Dirty Harry act was to piss off countries that had been our friends and natural allies for years.

When it comes to stuff like disaster aid, I'd like to think we do that because we can - and because we think it's the right thing to do - rather than out of some vain hope it's going to make everyone love us.

 

so the spanish were so weak minded that they were overly influenced by what they considered savages?

or, were they there to rip off the native peoples?