"They get bitter. They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people..."

[WhiskeyGirl]

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Are people small towns in Pennsylvania prone to gun violence?  Gang violence?  Or, poverty?

Is it possible that in small towns and rural areas across America, that Americans use guns to feed their families?  As part of an important tradition?  "If we didn't kill it or grow it, we didn't eat it."

Help me understand what is wrong with clinging to good traditions like 'responsible gun use'?

What about the large towns like Chicago?  What makes Chicagoans cling to their guns?   What effect did Obama's gun related speech have on places like Chicago?  Are guns used responsibly in the city?

Busting criminals like Ellis is key to reducing gun violence in Chicago -- violence that is making Chicago the murder capital of the nation this year -- federal authorities say.

"He was a major figure in the Gangster Disciples and was a conduit to bringing a large number of firearms into the city of Chicago," ATF spokesman Tom Ahern said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1268993,gang-violence-silver-dollar-110808.article

Chicago sees homicide increase

November 7, 2008 at 5:11 PM | Comments (1)

Chicago's violent crime continues to rise, as police released preliminary data today that shows murders have increased more than 16 percent through the end of October compared with the same period last year.

Chicago could be battling with New York City for the most number of murders this year. Chicago was ahead of New York City recently, but new data from that city shows 441 murders through Nov. 2, making it about even with Chicago. Chicago's murder totals have outpaced at least one big city, Los Angeles, which has a total of 312 homicides this year as of Nov. 1.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/chicago-sees-homicide-increase.html

Adjusted for population, how would gun related murders in small or rural America relate to those of larger cities?

What is the harm that rural or small town people do by clinging to their guns?  Religion?  Is it about sin or the color of one's skin?

[Ree]

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Are people small towns in Pennsylvania prone to gun violence?  Gang violence?  Or, poverty?

Is it possible that in small towns and rural areas across America, that Americans use guns to feed their families?  As part of an important tradition?  "If we didn't kill it or grow it, we didn't eat it."

Help me understand what is wrong with clinging to good traditions like 'responsible gun use'?

What about the large towns like Chicago?  What makes Chicagoans cling to their guns?   What effect did Obama's gun related speech have on places like Chicago?  Are guns used responsibly in the city?

Busting criminals like Ellis is key to reducing gun violence in Chicago -- violence that is making Chicago the murder capital of the nation this year -- federal authorities say.

"He was a major figure in the Gangster Disciples and was a conduit to bringing a large number of firearms into the city of Chicago," ATF spokesman Tom Ahern said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1268993,gang-violence-silver-dollar-110808.article

Chicago sees homicide increase

November 7, 2008 at 5:11 PM | Comments (1)

Chicago's violent crime continues to rise, as police released preliminary data today that shows murders have increased more than 16 percent through the end of October compared with the same period last year.

Chicago could be battling with New York City for the most number of murders this year. Chicago was ahead of New York City recently, but new data from that city shows 441 murders through Nov. 2, making it about even with Chicago. Chicago's murder totals have outpaced at least one big city, Los Angeles, which has a total of 312 homicides this year as of Nov. 1.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/chicago-sees-homicide-increase.html

Adjusted for population, how would gun related murders in small or rural America relate to those of larger cities?

What is the harm that rural or small town people do by clinging to their guns?  Religion?  Is it about sin or the color of one's skin?

I grew up in small town PA, long before the factories closed.  We already clung to religion, because we were taught is was the right thing to do and schools were closed on the first day of hunting season, because nobody would show up anyway.  My home was near the military base where the Vietnamese refugees were housed.  They were all eventually assimilated into out towns.  If people are angry, it's because of the unions that asked for more than the companies they worked for could bear, because the Commonwealth drove the businesses to other states with lower taxes.  If they are not accepting of immigrants, it's because the jobs are scarce and many are coming in willing to work for less than a living wage.  Small town PA in the coal regions that have a mix of German, Irish, Polish, Russian, Welsh, Italian and English immigrants who get along just fine.  Joe Biden says he's from Sranton, but he hasn't lived there in many years.  I live where I do, because my husband joined the Army, because there just weren't many good jobs left.