Is the world going to the dogs? (Page 1 of 3)

I am sorry to say that it has always been that way since the beginning of mankind.  We just find out about it quicker, now.

I too, find it horrifying.  I only try to look for the good and praise it.

MuchLove
BigJeff

Thanks for the offer Jane, but I'm well served for 'decent' sources of news here, even though they may be largely 'mainstream'. The only online US resource I use is CNN, mainly because I have CNN International on the tv here and because they tend to summarize the main stories from around the world and because I can set their homepage to show me Cathy's weather!

I generally consult the BBC or the NOS (Dutch equivalent) online. I also look at what I consider to be quality newspapers online, The Guardian from England, the Washington Post or NY Times, (yeah, I know, 'conservatives' will shudder ) one or two Dutch papers - I also have Euronews, Skynews and BBC World on the cable, as well as the Dutch, German and Belgian national broadcasters. I also look at other sites for more specific purposes. I wouldn't go near the sources many US readers here would consider to be their best sources. Enough about that.

(P.S. You were doing so well after your 'grammar' excursion, Jane. What happened? )

Oh my, Eva - you poor thing. Bin froh, dass du ok bist!!!

The death toll is up to 17 now, including the gunman.

Two days ago I saw the new Clint Eastwood movie, Gran Torino. It deals with issues like (self-)hate and compassion, the old Virtues and "modern times" in a very touching way, of course without giving us a solution.( Maybe the development C.E. himself was going through is hinting at a solution.)
Günter

Is the world going to the dogs?

YES!

Prayers to all the Familie´s

Jane, Jeff, Duncan, Roy - you're all missing the point, I'm afraid.

I know about the history of Man, I also took a degree in history. I know about wars, barbarism and Man's capability for institutionalized inhumanity. I am also aware that all sorts of crazy stuff probably went down in the past that few people ever found out about due to the limitations on communication.

Certainly, we simply find out 'more' about everything nowadays due to the nature of modern news gathering and dissemination. I wasn't intending any kind of comparison between these horrors and any other major horrors like Darfur, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe or anywhere else, where either governments or organized armed 'groups' are responsible for perpetrating 'crimes against humanity'.

I was simply expressing my helpless outrage at three particularly horrific examples of individual aberrations, where one (or a few) 'men' so completely lose control that they become capable of committing senseless outrages like these.

I could just have gone to the scream topic.

Nah point well made and well taken.  As a grown man, it's not often I feel inadequate.  The term you used "helpless outrage" is as good as any, maybe better, to describe the feeling.

So I rationalized.  Please excuse.  I guess the only one of them that I can make sense of, is the drug trade in Mexico.  Horrific nonetheless.

The Mexican story is just business as usual as nobody gets in the way of the Cartel. I didn't even read or hear about this story, but I'd wager that it happened near Juarez. The Alabama shootings are sad, but this happens continually here in the states. Remember, guns don't kill people, people kill people, so guns are always available for people who want to kill people, hash that one out yourselves. The shooting in Germany is what I find disturbing mostly due to the fact the student used one of his fathers 15 guns, the only one that wasn't locked up. When I was a kid we resolved our issues with a usually short lived one-two punch fight behind the gym after school, unfortunately kids today have taken it to a whole different deadly level. When the hell did the value of a human life diminish?

                                                                           Think Peace, Love, & Happiness

                                                                           J Dawg

I agree with gsj to an extent here.  One of the earliest school shootings I was aware of was here in Scotland, nearly 13 years ago in Dunblane. As quoted from the BBC headline:
Thomas Hamilton kills 16 five- and six-year-old children and their teacher during a three-minute killing spree in a primary school gymnasium before shooting himself dead. The attack sparks a huge outcry in the UK and leads to laws making it illegal in the UK to buy or possess most types of handguns.

While there are clearly underlying mental problems with the people concerned and family issues in each individual case, the change of gun laws has so far prevented a repeat in this type of tragedy in the UK.  Sadly this has happened previously in both Germany and the USA.  Seems to me, the best form of protection is not to own a gun, but to make sure noone else does...