Excaliber wrote:People aren't killed by firearms - they're killed with firearms by the people who misuse them.KD5NRH wrote:And yet, amazingly, the 1:5 chance of dying from heart disease won't get them off their butts.fecnik wrote:interesting find. People will still have anxiety from all the media hype.
Assuming a 78 year lifespan, that's 1:390 for any given year. That means your risk of dying from a heart attack this year is only slightly lower than your chance of ever being killed by a firearm. (Of course, this assumes an even distribution with regard to age; realistically, your chance of death by firearm probably peaks in the "grunt soldier" years, while your risk of heart disease continues to increase throughout your lifetime.) You're also three times more likely to die in a car wreck than to be killed by a firearm, but that won't convince them to drive more carefully.
If you think that's a small point, consider how you would react to a newspaper article that reported a death in a DWI wreck as "man killed by motor vehicle," or a stabbing victim as "woman killed by knife." If those are intellectually jarring, why is "killed by a firearm" different? Because you've been programmed to accept it by repeated and consistent exposure to the phrase in countless reports over time.
This is subtle linguistic programming that we're subjected to every day. It has a strong impact on the subconscious of folks who aren't aware of it.
There's a topic for your next barbecue that should keep conversation moving.
I never regret having taken that Logic class or having read Language, Truth and Logic and How to Lie With Statistics several times apiece.