Sunday, May 14: Guns Are the Problem
It's hard to be safe when the entire country is gun-obsessed
A new Journal of the American Medical Association study found that more than half of all Chicagoans will witness a shooting by age 40. Researchers found that numbers are even starker when broken down along racial barriers, with over half of all Black and Latino study participants by that age having already witnessed such an occurrence, compared to a quarter of all white participants.
The study tracked more than 2,000 Chicagoans over 25 years, from childhood and adolescence in the 1990’s to the start of middle age, with individuals who moved away from the city continuing to be tracked and the overwhelming majority of the witnessed gun violence incidents taking place on city streets. I assure you dear reader, it doesn’t have to be like this.
Researchers said the average age for witnessing a shooting was 14 years old, with women slightly less likely than men to have undergone such a dark experience. Data also shows men were much more likely to be gunshot victims. Beyond the immediate danger of witnessing gun violence, there’s obviously the lasting trauma that so many are forced to live with.
“We expected levels of exposure to gun violence to be high, but not this high. Our findings are frankly startling and disturbing. A substantial portion of Chicago’s population could be living with trauma as a result of witnessing shootings and homicides, often at a very young age.”
Charles Lanfear, assistant professor at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology
Side Items
Kenyan Doomsday Cult: The death toll linked to a doomsday cult in Kenya hit 201 this weekend after police exhumed 22 bodies, most of them bearing signs of starvation. The bodies are believed to be those of followers of a pastor based in coastal Kenya named Paul Mackenzie. Mackenzie is alleged to have ordered his congregants to starve to death in order to meet Jesus. More than 600 people are still missing. Mackenzie was arrested last month and remains in police custody, as they prepare to charge him with terrorism-related offenses. Hundreds of bodies have been dug up from dozens of mass graves spread across his 800-acre property, located in the coastal county of Kilifi
Fundraising for a Subway Killer: A fundraiser for Daniel Penny, the subway killer who choked the life out of a living human being just a few days ago, has already surpassed a million dollars. If you’re ever looking for a quick way to become wealthy and popular with all the worst people on the planet, killing a homeless person in the midst of a mental health emergency seems to work wonders
Who Asked for This?: Joseph, Kevin and Nicholas Jonas have decided (against the wishes of so many millions) to release their sixth studio record, cleverly naming it “The Album”. The Joe Bro’s will be embarking on a broad tour of the US beginning in August. Nick says the band of brothers are putting themselves in new positions so they can feel “butterflies and excitement” before stepping onstage. No word yet on who thought this was a good idea