I'm not sure which particular studies you know of, but those I've seen generally state something along the lines of "you're X times more likely to be killed by your gun than to kill a criminal with your gun." There are two big problems with this:
1. They always include suicide by gun in the risk of death. Suicides account for the vast majority of those "killed by their own gun". Accidental deaths, and cases of guns being used against owners, are so rare as to be statistically meaningless. It's certainly a good idea to keep guns away from suicidal people, but if no one in your household is suicidal, keeping a gun doesn't increase the risk of death.
2. It assumes that a "successful" defensive gun use results in the death of a criminal. See the study I linked previously. About 0.4% of defensive gun uses result in the death of a criminal. Usually they run, sometimes they're shot and survive, very rarely do they die.
I suppose the most current reference as far as studies go would be
this, but there's several other publications of interest, if you want.
I agree that suicides should be considered separately as they only serve the purpose of further muddying the waters, which shouldn't have a place in an objective enquiry of such nature.
As for the successful defensive gun use resulting in death, that seems to be such a small blip percentually, I don't think it'll really make that much of a difference. What the studies really hinge on is the fact that just by you having a gun and making it's presence known, you are immediately attracting unwanted attention. Like you said, successful defensive gun use is often thought to result in the death of a criminal but the fact of the matter is, more often than not the good samaritan will attempt to control the situation to avoid unnecessary losses since his motivations are wholesome, which puts him at an unfair disadvantage since the criminal will be backed into a wall in such a situation and willing to go through with whatever is necessary without hesitating since his life is already on the line. Guns immediately escalate things, which is the problem. They do indeed have the potential to be used for good, but good intentions and poor reflexes are too often the problem. Simply put, if the good guy doesn't have a gun, material crimes won't be avoided but human lives end up being spared, which is the end goal. The human cost is what's important, the rest is irrelevant.
Personally I think Americans are far too complacent about safety. When I look around, I see a lot more people absorbed in their phones and oblivious to the world, than glancing fearfully over their shoulders every second.
Complacent? See this is the thing... they're really not, oblivious to the world (peril wise, not because of distractions as in your case) is how you should be and is the end goal of living in a civilizeds society. It's so funny to me to hear you dismiss my claims of you being paranoid to then have to answer this type of stuff. Safety shouldn't have to be a concern at all, there should be no such thing as too complacent about safety, it really shouldn't be consuming any of your energy. This is what I mean by what I said and I believe what she meant in her video when she said you guys don't even realize you're doing it. That's not normal, man. As in, AT ALL. Oo
Academia gets many things wrong. Have you had much personal experience with Americans, beyond the three you mentioned?
I say Academia from a historical perspective (I'm a PoliSci International Affairs Major).
Personal experience? Let's see, I have at least 6 US friends I'd consider to be close to me (wedding guest close), but I met a bunch of yous guys when I was living in London, I'd say upwards of 30, at least. One of the 6 I mentioned is actually a
US rapper living in Lisbon and making a name for himself over here in Portugal (weird as shit, I know, but he's actually built up quite a following around here and he's doing quite well these days). It's not really my jam but he's not terrible. ^^
Apart from actual human connections, I've been to Boston, NY (2x), Philly (2x), DC (2X), Myrtle Beach, Atlanta, Savannah and New Orleans. Aside from the very frst time there I always ended up using couch surfers to find shelter so I ended up meeting some great people along the way, some of whom even ended up visiting me in London, Lisbon and Berlin. Gotta repay that couch! Those weren't as problematic since obviously the couch surfer crowd is relaxed by design, ahah, mostly stoners and the like. ^^ Good people though.
Basically, wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I know quite a few Americans. Haven't met one I disliked yet, by the way. The whole paranoia thing I'm talking about isn't abrasive towards others, it merely seems like a limitation upon your own selves and is just bizarre to witness for us EUrs.
