The head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says he fears that a drumbeat of mass shootings and other gun violence across the United States could make Americans numb to the bloodshed.

The head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says he fears that a drumbeat of mass shootings and other gun violence across the United States could make Americans numb to the bloodshed, fostering apathy to finding solutions rather than galvanizing communities to act.

Director Steve Dettelbach’s comments to The Associated Press came after he met this past week with family members of some of the 18 people killed in October at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine by a U.S. Army reservist who later took his own life.

He said people must not accept that gun violence is a prevalent part of American life.

  • force@lemmy.world
    51·
    10 months ago

    One time I had a seizure and almost died, apparently I was screaming extraordinarily loud while convulsing. I called 911 while I was losing awareness because I thought I was having a stroke. So a fuck ton of cop cars arrived because I allegedly specifically asked for a police to come pick me up ::: spoiler (I didn’t ask for an ambulance because it’d be outrageously expensive, I ended up being transported by ambulance and then helicopter anyways, the ambulance bill was almost $1000 for a ~10-15 minute ride and the helicopter bill was multiple tens of thousands for a 10 minute ride, lol I almost died to avoid this) spoiler :::.

    My friend told me after all this that, while the fuck tons of cop cars are pulled up on my lawn and I’m being carried out with makeshift bondage in a stretcher convulsing/screaming, my old ass neighbour (I’d have to guess like in his 70s) came out with a whole ass ARSENAL strapped all over his body, a rifle attached to his back, pistols and ammo around his hip, everything. And he just walks out of his house, up to the cops, and starts asking about what’s happening. I didn’t even KNOW this dude had guns, but apparently he’s a super conservative gun-owning ““enthusiast”” and he found it appropriate to flaunt what I can only presume he perceives as “badassery” to this sea of cops including the local chief.

    Maybe if I wasn’t a dumbass and just asked for EMTs instead, that wouldn’t have happened haha…

    This isn’t very relevant to your comment but it just reminded me of that situation for some reason lol.