This is a serious question, but how do Americans cope with the knowledge that at any point in time thereâs a possibility they could become a victim of a lunatic with a gun?
Whatâs coping? No but honestly my only way of coping is to be on edge for most of the time when Iâm in places that have had shootings happen (ie. tense in movie theaters now). Just always be on edge and prep an escape plan as soon as Iâve entered someplace. Itâs not that great a strategy but well. If the government isnât doing shit than Iâll have a escape strategy until they do (which is never)
My dude I am literally so sorry you have to go about your life living like that.
Thatâs almost a war mentality.
My parents grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles (a period of civil war that lasted from the 60s to 1998).
They studied at university in Belfast- which was basically ground zero- during the early 80s, and they describe constantly being afraid of being caught up in a bombing, or a terrorist execution, or caught in the crossfire between rival terrorist faction shoot outs or army raids.
They always describe doing things like that.
Like if they wanted to travel between any two points in a given region theyâd meticulously plan their route beforehand to avoid the worst areas and minimise the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Or how they would be on the lookout at all times while they were going about their daily business, for things like strangely parked cars or abandoned bags or people acting suspiciously.
When they talk about it with people who arenât from N. Ireland, it always blows their minds how casually they discuss these things. Like checking the news and seeing that a bomb has detonated in the city centre, and being pissed off because now security will be tight and theyâll be late for work because of the traffic. They talk about bombs and shootings as if it was just a minor inconvenience⌠But it was routine and normal for them, they were so desensitized to all the violence that they didnât even consciously care about it that much.
But I think it did affect them, even though they werenât consciously aware of it at the time. You canât live under constant stress like that and not be affected by it. Northern Ireland to this day has the some of the highest rates of PTSD, depression and substance abuse in Europe even though the conflict ended 20 years ago.
So I guess what Iâm getting at is that your description of living as an American under the constant threat of gun violence, reminds me of my parentsâ descriptions of living in Belfast Northern Ireland during the peak of The Troubles
Not gonna lie that does sound eerily similar. Especially when youâve said that it was discussed casually. Because thatâs just how it is. Overtime I think that many of us living in America have become so numb to everything, desensitized to it. Itâs another news story that may get brought up but really itâs just something that occurred on whatever day. We grieve for those whoâve lost, we fight for better legislation, but all in all we know the likelihood that thereâs change coming is slim to none. So we move on and make a note somewhere in our mind that now we need to be cautious when going to some other place
This is exactly everything I feel today
