# Americans - are you afraid of spree killers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876 "2015-06-18T18:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/61 "2015-06-19T13:36:24Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > Zero. > > My only fear is it will give the gun-grabbers another excuse to assault my 2nd Amendment rights. Yeah, the gun-grabbers. Gun grabbers! Gun grabbers! Gun grabbers! Gun grabbers! Gun grabbers! How absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/62 "2015-06-19T13:53:07Z")
No. I understand probability, and although I don’t know the exact values, I realize I’m vastly more likely to be killed some other way or to die of old age. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/63 "2015-06-19T14:05:45Z")
All my life my government has told me to be afraid, and as a good citizen I dutifully obeyed and allowed myself to be haunted by the spectre of imminent nuclear war. Then that didn’t pan out and The Cold War sort of evaporated like a storm cloud that never rained a drop. Ironically, when my government again warned me to be afraid after the incidents on September 11, 2001, I chose not to be. Well, I chose not to be afraid of the brownmen painted as The Villains. Instead I have lived in dread of my government. As a result, I’m kind of not really afraid of anything on a personal level. The odds of me dying from the stress of living as an American are far greater than me dying from the actions of a stressed out and disenfranchised American. On one level I’m sure my terror would be tempered with relief were I to see a nutter staring me down from the opposite end of a gun. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/64 "2015-06-19T14:18:51Z")
Voted a 1, mostly because I just sat through a seminar on active shooter preparation. I lived in DC when the DC Sniper was killing people, and it didn’t stress me one bit. I had a far greater risk getting killed in a car accident during my work commute than by some random dude picking off other random dude(tte)s. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/65 "2015-06-19T14:22:26Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Here in the UK we’ve had a number of similar incidents involving a gunman going on a murderous rampage, most recently up in my neck of the woods where [a madman went on a murder spree with a shotgun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings) - legally owned. That was five years ago, and while you do say that it does “happen more frequently in the US” I fear that’s a major understatement of the difference between the two countries. How many mass shootings besides the Cumbria shootings and Dunblane has the UK had in the last two decades? How many has the US had? It’s not a small difference. That said, we had a drive-by shooting in our idyllic South London 'hood a year or so ago, just around the corner from our house. Am I now worried that we are going to get shot walking down the street? No. Do I wish I could carry a gun to protect my family? No. It was one specific incident aimed at specific individuals; frankly I’m far more in danger of being killed in a terror attack than a spree shooting, and I don’t obsess about those either. I rounded up to 2 given the amount of time I spend in the US but that’s likely a circumstantial high. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/66 "2015-06-19T14:35:18Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That was five years ago, and while you do say that it does “happen more frequently in the US” I fear that’s a major understatement of the difference between the two countries. How many mass shootings besides the Cumbria shootings and Dunblane has the UK had in the last two decades? How many has the US had? It’s not a small difference. Fair point, just wanted to point out that the phenomenon is not entirely unheard of in other countries. From Wiki it looks like we’ve had essentially one every decade since the '80s; Hungerford, Dunblaine, Cumbria, so you’re quite right that the number of incidents is completely eclipsed by the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/67 "2015-06-19T14:48:47Z")
I work in a building that has been the focus of many demonstrations, and could reasonably be a target of politically-motivated violence. We have briefings on the possibility and have discussed what to do in that situation. In other words, I am quite a bit more likely than the average American to be in or near such an incident. My response to this poll? 1, if that. Any ordinary American who reports any more than that is either paranoid or a drama queen. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/68 "2015-06-19T14:49:51Z")
There was also Raoul Moat in Northumbria around the same time as the Cumbria shootings (also with a shotgun, 1 dead plus Moat and two injured) and the 1989 Monkseaton shooting (shotgun again - 1 dead, 14 injured). ---
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/69 "2015-06-19T15:55:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Apropos of recent tragic events in Charleston and the President’s comments, Obama quoted as saying “we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries”. That’s because those other countries don’t have the History the USA does with blacks. The majority of all violent racial crimes are perpetrated by blacks against whites in the United States… Blacks also rape over 30,000 white women yearly. The opposite is almost non existent… Of course not many people mention it because it’s just the way it is and if you talk about it you’re automatically a “racist” but considering the statistics its not too hard to be racist against blacks. You give and eventually you get some back… what you get back is usually based on what you’ve given. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/70 "2015-06-19T16:09:21Z")
Fear isn’t a factor any more than I fear being in a automobile accident or having a heart attack walking down the hallway. These are low probability events, but even so, I take reasonable precautions against their happening. I have collision insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and a bundle of other policies against things that can, but are unlikely to, happen. If I am out in public I am probably carrying a concealed weapon. Not out of fear, but simply as a precaution against yet another low probability event. I am quite happy not having to take advantage of any of the preparations I have in place against unlikely events. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/71 "2015-06-19T16:19:16Z")
> [@perc\_1](#): > > The majority of all violent racial crimes are perpetrated by blacks against whites in the United States… Blacks also rape over 30,000 white women yearly. The opposite is almost non existent… Cite? ---
**Author:** ![perc\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@perc\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perc_1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/72 "2015-06-19T16:23:41Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Cite? FBI crime statistics ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/73 "2015-06-19T16:40:54Z")
Since you are to stupid and lazy to back up your claims, [here](https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2013) are the FBI’s hate crime statistics for 2013 (the last complete report), please point to me where it says: **‘Blacks also rape over 30,000 white women yearly. The opposite is almost non existent…’**. ---
**Author:** ![CinnamonBabka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@CinnamonBabka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CinnamonBabka)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/74 "2015-06-19T16:45:19Z")
> [@Clark\_Cello](#): > > Why would you use a logarithmic scale for this? This doesn’t seem to me to be useful for this type of situation. I haven’t run the calculations, but I would think that using your methodology pretty much anything would fall between 4 and 6, which doesn’t seem to produce very meaningful results. It was the best-fit curve Excel spit out of the 3 data points I had. [(0,0), (.0001, 5), (1, 10)] is a pretty front-loaded data set. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/75 "2015-06-19T16:48:33Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Since you are to stupid and lazy to back up your claims, [here](https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2013) are the FBI’s hate crime statistics for 2013 (the last complete report), please point to me where it says: **‘Blacks also rape over 30,000 white women yearly. The opposite is almost non existent…’**. I’ve seen these statistics going around on Twitter in the past few days but strangely only from people using the #WhiteGenocide hashtag. They also did not provide cites, so I would be most interested in reading the details for that statistic in order to better discuss it with those people. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/76 "2015-06-19T17:02:24Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Since you are to stupid and lazy to back up your claims, [here](https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2013) are the FBI’s hate crime statistics for 2013 (the last complete report), please point to me where it says: **‘Blacks also rape over 30,000 white women yearly. The opposite is almost non existent…’**. Not to support the ridiculous claim in any way, but this is hate crime stats, not rape stats. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/77 "2015-06-19T17:27:43Z")
Those are the only FBI crime stats that are broken down by race and gender and they include rape under the victims tab. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/78 "2015-06-19T17:45:00Z")
Oops, I was wrong. The [crime statistics](https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013) are broken down by race and gender, but they still don’t say what he says they do. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/79 "2015-06-19T17:58:38Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Oops, I was wrong. The [crime statistics](https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013) are broken down by race and gender, but they still don’t say what he says they do. Am I reading Table 43 correctly in that the total number of black people arrested for rape in 2013 is 4,229? Of course, this whole tangent is stupid because the implication is that the victims of the Charleston shooting spree (who, let us remember, were in a _Bible study class_) were somehow at fault due to something some other unspecified black people somewhere may have done to someone else sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876/80 "2015-06-19T18:13:38Z")
That’s the way I read it. Also notice the total number of white people arrested for rape was more than double. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-are-you-afraid-of-spree-killers/722876.md?page=5)