# Have mass shootings ever affected how you live or think? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464 "2019-08-10T17:51:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/61 "2019-08-12T15:27:42Z")
I work in a store owned by Orthodox Jewish people. after the Wal\*Mart incidence, I gave an impromptu talk about what to do if someone starts shooting. The main thing is to go out an emergency exit, which will sound the alarm and bring the Fire Dept here in about a minute, they being two buildings away. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/62 "2019-08-12T16:08:11Z")
I haven’t personally known anyone who has been involved or present at an active shooter situation, but I HAVE personally known two people who were murdered (in separate incidents) on the Alaska Highway. The recent events there had a much ore chilling eggect on me than the recent mass shootings. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/63 "2019-08-12T18:04:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Serious. So you think people everywhere in the world except the US feel safe in their countries. I certainly disagree with this. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/64 "2019-08-12T18:43:50Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > So you think people everywhere in the world except the US feel safe in their countries. I certainly disagree with this. He might have meant only Dopers. But we have Dopers who live in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East or South/Southeast Asia, I believe. Not sure how they feel. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/65 "2019-08-12T19:03:34Z")
Not as it relates to my personal safety. But, as it relates to how we as a society create people who believe that reacting in this manner is a solution, it makes me wonder how we parent, how we govern, how we teach, etc. can be altered in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/66 "2019-08-12T19:53:17Z")
To answer the OP: yes, it has affected me. We now think very hard about whether to visit the US or go elsewhere for family vacations. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/67 "2019-08-12T19:56:40Z")
Didn’t some Americans go to Canada recently on vacation and get killed there? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/68 "2019-08-12T20:17:49Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Didn’t some Americans go to Canada recently on vacation and get killed there? Yes. Shot to death even. One of the victims was from Australia, if that helps ease anyone’s fear of traveling to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/69 "2019-08-12T20:40:59Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > He might have meant only Dopers. But we have Dopers who live in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East or South/Southeast Asia, I believe. Not sure how they feel. Yeah, I meant just Dopers. We do have one from South Africa too. I didn’t realize about Qatar. So, I spoke too soon… ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/70 "2019-08-12T21:36:43Z")
zero change, I know the odds are so small as to be beneath notice. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/71 "2019-08-12T22:05:49Z")
Before I merely thought that we should repeal the second amendment and ban private gun ownership for rational safety reasons. Now I have concluded that people who wish to preserve private gun ownership don’t mind if everyone else but themselves dies. So that’s a change. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/72 "2019-08-12T22:13:53Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Now I have concluded that people who wish to preserve private gun ownership don’t mind if everyone else but themselves dies. That’s unfair. They don’t mind if they die too, as long as they do so with their gun in their hand. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/73 "2019-08-12T22:23:47Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > That’s unfair. > > They don’t mind if they die too, as long as they do so with their gun in their hand. No, I prefer to be fair and honest. These people really do believe that by having a gun in their hand they can protect themselves and the handful of people they truly care about. (Especially since merely owning a gun makes you both a crack shot and also bulletproof.) They honestly consider that perceived increase in personal security to be more important than the thousands of other people that are dying because of legalized private gun ownership. It’s worth noting that this isn’t particularly _surprising_ - it’s well known that people generally have a bias for only giving a shit about the people they know personally, while everyone else is just a statistic. This is of course a thing that many people grow beyond. Gun owners are a subset of those who haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/74 "2019-08-12T23:05:54Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > It is entirely a math problem, my friend. Just as so many things are when you look at them properly. > > Death by mass shooting in the US: 1[196 killed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/mass-shootings-in-america/) (2018 data) > > So the incidence there becomes: 1196 divided by 327.2 million (2018 US population, [US Census](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=us+population+2018)) > > Incidence of death by mass shooting? 0.0036553% > > Or three-one thousandth of a percent. So do you think one has to be killed to be affected? Three people were killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. But I would imagine most of the tens of thousands of people who attended the festival were pretty shaken up at the very least – not to mention the hundreds who witnessed the shooting and fled in panic. The thought of “It could have been me” comes with its own kind of trauma, and the more shootings that happen, the more likely one will have occurred at a place you’ve been and are familiar with. (For me it was when somebody shot up a lecture hall at my old college.) That feeling can range from mildly disturbing to downright terrifying, and most of us aren’t so cavalier about running the numbers and bypassing our emotions. To answer the OP’s question - I currently have two jobs, and both of them are at venues where large numbers of people gather. Active shooter scenarios enter my thoughts on a daily basis; I continuously check my surroundings for escape routes and shelter sites just in case, and I scan the crowds for unusual behavior much more than I used to, just as a matter of course going about my day. So yeah, I guess you could say it’s affected my life. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/75 "2019-08-13T01:14:45Z")
Now that I don’t work in an office building it doesn’t cross my mind like it used to. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/76 "2019-08-13T02:13:03Z")
I had mandatory active shooting training a few weeks ago. The Virginia Beach shooting is still fresh on everyone’s minds here. Sometimes I catch myself imagining what I would do if an active shooting happened in the workplace. My plan is to hide in the unisex bathroom, which has a door that locks. But I would not say mass shootings have affected me. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/77 "2019-08-13T02:43:08Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Didn’t some Americans go to Canada recently on vacation and get killed there? An Aussie & an American, if we’re thinking of the [same murders](https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article233610767.html); the likely murderers were found dead last week. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/78 "2019-08-13T03:03:11Z")
The only time I’m more mindful is when I attend protest rallies. We’ve endured [more than one mass shooting](https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2015/10/mass_shootings_in_oregon_a_lis.html), we’re an open carry state and sadly, we have an active population of rabid librul haters. Won’t stop me going, but I keep a sharp eye. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/79 "2019-08-13T15:43:23Z")
Mass shootings don’t affect my daily life in the least. I have a general dislike of large crowds but that pre-dated all the mass shooting media frenzy. While mass shootings are terrible because they are intentional murders, the odds are very very low of being in a mass shooting. There are 327,000,000 people in the USA and 273 have died from mass shootings this year. I have a far greater chance of drowning (3,500 per year), dying due to a hospital error (at least 250,000 per year!), or vehicle accident (40,000 per year.) Cites: Mass shooting deaths 2019 so far: [This Is The Number Of U.S. Mass Shootings So Far In 2019 | HuffPost Latest News](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/number-us-mass-shootings-2019_n_5d4849d9e4b0aca34121ad19) Drowning deaths per year: [https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html](https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html) Medical error deaths: [https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html) Vehicle accident deaths: [Addressing Roadway Risks - National Safety Council](https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/fatality-estimates) ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464/80 "2019-08-13T17:17:17Z")
I was like everyone else who just thought shootings were a sad and terrible statistic but didn’t feel like they impacted me directly. Then we had the DC Snipers a few years ago and I was genuinely afraid of going to put gas in my car. It made me realize that yeah, it’s actually really easy for a psycho to go around sniping innocent people. Anyway, having grown up in a rural environment, I’m not inherently anti-gun. But every time we have another shooting incident I get closer and closer to strongly feeling like the time has passed for the 2nd amendment. I’m sorry if that triggers people. I’m honestly not trolling. I’m just really sick of people being killed and nothing being done about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-mass-shootings-ever-affected-how-you-live-or-think/838464.md?page=5)