Kinsella Misses

In light of a recent discussion about why I blog and how I try to straddle the American-Canadian line, this article by Warren Kinsella is the perfect reason to explain why I blog. Some may mistake my positions as "pro-American" and "anti-American" when nothing can be further from the truth. I just pluck out opinions in our nation's discourse I consider to be puerile and of little worth in contributing to our national intelligence. I mention the U.S. because our commentators seem to remain slaves to the "let's compare ourselves to prove our worth" navel-gazing narrative. It's annoying at this point.

It's exactly this sort of logic that makes me want to scream.

"Why do these things happen? Because, in some ways, America’s heart is sick, too. Because – unlike up here – Americans make guns far more available than they should. And they make guns more readily available to sick young men such as Loughner.


That, mostly, is why these things keep happening."

Specious and, dare I say with a hint of unnecessary and unfounded smugness.

Just a couple off the top of my head remarks:

-Crime - murder in particular - has in fact been decreasing in the United States (according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics from a peak of 10 per 100 000 in 1974 to five where it stands today) whereas in Canada, (the link goes to Stats Can. I called them to ask them a question and one thing I learned is the way they collect data is by culling all reports from police forces across the country) despite some increases, has stabilized since the 1980s.

On that fact alone, Kinsella's "sick" assertion is bogus. It's an empty piece of thought. How does one even measure the "sickness" of a nation? Sheesh.

-On a general level, let's take Montreal. My city has witnessed two major tragic school shootings in the last 20 years - Univeristy de Montreal and Dawson College. I would like to see how many major cities on the continent had as many. Did Canadians ask why we were so "sick?" Did they wonder if their moral fiber was in jeopardy when they discovered Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo, Karla Homolka (who was set free), Robert Pickton and the gruesome decapitation of a young man on a Grey Hound bus were Canadian killers?

Of course not. We dismissed them as isolated incidences and not as some proof of the degredation of Canada.

However, they're sad reminders and facts of reality. No amount of legislation will ever rid us of this predictable part of our DNA.

-"Why they keep happening?"

Well, aside from the fact he doesn't support statistical facts, it would be best to separate the fact from the perception. Again, as I mentioned in an earlier post, America has 310 million people. It's a numbers game. The question is, if America is so sick, then why isn't this happening more frequently? For now, they remain pretty isolated.

I would not be surprised if such a stat exists, to find that the typcial American is as safe as any Canadian.
For a lawyer, I'd expect him to come up with far stronger facts to support his claims.

Can we once and for all knock off the bull shit about Americans "being sick" and Canadians being so lucky?