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How do we fix societal racism? How is racism based on ignorance? I'd like some examples of this.... I think people throw that term 'ignorance' around incorrectly. Ironic ignorance? We can rarely convince people on here to take our side in regards to sports, how in the hell does anybody plan on convincing people to not be racist?

If there are racial problems within the police force of any jurisdiction, those need to be dealt with. In society however you're not going to do anything. There is nothing you can do. Giving the impression that everybody is racist because of what happened in Ferguson, or painting everybody as racist because they fly the Confederate flag is ignorant. THAT is what fans the flames of racism. When the media paints every white as racists, racial tensions fly. When blacks go around burning their cities, racial tensions fly. When whites purposely go out of their way to berate the people of Baltimore, racial tensions fly. Who do you think fans those flames? Nobody is sweeping it under the rug. But just like every situation in which one looks to move on from, if you bring it up continuoulsy you're just going to make it that much more difficult to get over.

Nobody's saying there isn't a problem. You can't stop the way somebody thinks. If somebody is racist, you're not going to change their mind. What I said is race relations, in my opinion of course based on personal observations, were improving. It has only been recently that the mainstream media has jumped at the opportunity to blow it all wide open again with their rhetoric. Most that have jumped on the bandwagon, did so ignorantly. You can't extinguish racism, but you can sure as hell fan the flames and set it back.

I included all forms of media outlets. Incidents such as Ferguson does not define all of society. I don't know where you live or what you deal with on a daily basis but society is all-encompassing......... not cherry picked incidents that help to further an agenda. I know that might seem far-fetched but the doom and gloomers might want to open their eyes an realize that Twitter, MSNBC, NBC, FOX, CNN, Rush................ they don't define society, they define entertainment and manipulation. You can choose to blindly follow what you're told to believe or you can open your eyes and see how insignificant it really is in the grand scheme of things. Granted it has gotten worse only because people are told to believe it, they have nothing more to base it on than they did 5-10 years ago, A flag, a shooting in SC, Ferguson, Baltimore........... none of that defines a society. Those define an unfortunate situation that needs to be addressed. It doesn't mean that everybody is racist. It doesn't mean racism is on the rise. You can let the media guide you down the path they've paved for you, just leave me out of it. I choose to live realistically. With numbers to back it up in the case of my gun argument (one that nobody has yet to refute with any significant data).

Just because you DO see it in the news every single day doesn't mean it's "bad". I don't base my observations of the direction the country is headed on the stories that network news decides to air. In fact it's best that most people completely avoid it at all costs. Most Americans are weak, fickle, mislead and easily manipulated people. They will believe whatever is told to them through all mediums without any critical thought process. If the news tells them there is a race problem, then of course there must be a race problem. I base my opinion on personal observations. While the South (South Florida is not the deep south by the way) is generalized as being a racist region, it only appears that way because many focus on the isolate incidents. I've been all throughout the deep south, many times over and I've found that the friendliness i much higher than where I live; racial tensions are non-existent. For the most part everybody treats each other with respect and kindness. I cannot say the same for South Florida. Just because I didn't see it on the news 5-10 years ago.............. well 5-10 years ago I didn't notice much of any racial tensions. Even in South Florida, people down here are just ###### in general. I didn't need news to tell me there wasn't racial issues, I saw it for myself. Racial tensions didn't come up until the mainstream media rammed it down our throats 24/7. It's a manufactured crisis that has whipped this country into a frenzy. Gun crimes have dropped almost every single year. Homicides have dropped almost every single year. Gun related (non-death) crimes have dropped almost every single year. And this isn't even 'per capita' numbers. This is TOTAL, even more significant considering population growth. I don't know how many more stats I need to post that completely refutes all this manufactured gun panic that the media has whipped up. Don't believe me? Look at this. http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm The left isn't blocking any texting legislation................. the left isn't doing anything about texting legislation, that's the problem. They're on a mission to control every aspect of my life that affects absolutely nobody but myself yet they completely ignore a serious issue that is 2.5X as bad as drunk driving. An issue that endangers my life every day, an issue that they won't address because it means they'll have to stop texting. Hence the double standard. "We want to control every aspect of your life as long as it doesn't affect me". If the left is on a mission to save lives by controlling what causes it, they should start on top of the list where the death rate is highest...... especially ones that are 100% preventable. Instead of focusing on guns and race.

The only racial problem we have in this country is the relentless rhetoric from both sides reminding me on an hourly basis that we have a racial problem. 5-10 years ago race relations were pretty damn good until the media and all their sheep decided it was time to create a race war by bringing it up every chance they had. Mainly by exploiting selected incidents to try and convince everybody that they were representative of the entire country, hundreds of millions of people, countless one on one encounters and relationships. Because after all, a knee jerk reaction by misinformed news outlets regarding a Ferguson shooting must mean that there are racial issues all across the country, on your street and in your backyard. It's a very similar tactic used in this gun debate. By the way, if you stop and listen to the discussion you might find the point about bringing up other items that can kill people. But we all know that we can't get the support from the left to federally outlaw texting and give them the same degree of punishment as a DUI because it impacts them. The power of the double standard trumps logic. Let's not get too crazy. :D

In my opinion it was a low-profile murder not worthy of a mention by the President. Just like ALL murders should be. By recognizing some and not others only leads to conflict. Having to draw a line only makes it worse. And yes, it was an opportunity for the right to trash Obama.

You know damn well the 7 years leading up to it it leveled off. From 2000-2007 it dropped 12%. From 2007-2014 it dropped 34%. My evidence is quite clear, I can't help you decide to ignore it. I have yet to hear a valid argument from the anti-gun crowd, with statistics, to support why banning guns would change anything. I agree with stronger background checks, but there is no valid argument for bans. If crime keeps on dropping, I guess we don't need gun legislation, do we? :angel:

Yes, the first full year. When the law was being implemented, when people were figuring out how it works. Some got the impression they could just shoot anybody and got busted for it, hence an increase. When people found out it was actually being enforced as a self-defense law ALL violent crimes dropped....... many did so drastically...... most of them continue to drop. Why focus on on year when there are 9 more following it? It must be that everybody in Florida just got really nice. The law was passed in late 2005. Here are the violent crimes per 100,000 by year: 2006-705.8 2007-705.5 2008-670.3 2009-604.9 2010-542.9 2011-519.3 2012-492.6 2013-476.2 2014-466.8 That's a 34% drop in 9 years........... that's rather significant.

Since the middle to late 2000's every violent crime has dropped. Violent crimes have gone from 705 per 100,000 to 466 per 100,000.

Looking at this chart, can anybody take a guess about which year 'stand your ground' took effect in Florida? https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/FSAC/Menu/Crime-Trends/Violent-Crime.aspx

I haven't compared guns to cars, I've compared gun bans to texters. Many (not all) have talked about gun bans because they are the means by which homocides and mass shootings are taken out. The argument from the left is if we get them out of the hands of everybody then they can't shoot anybody; it is a preventable crime if you just eliminate the gun. Guess what else is much more dangerous to each and every person that leaves their house? A cell phone. Vehicular homocide is a preventable crime if you just eliminate the phone or the car. The problem is, half the country willfully endangers my life every day with their phones......... I can't say half the country takes shots at me. Sound ridiculous? Of course it does, but I guess that goes both ways. It seems the popular solution for dealing with isolated incidents is to punish everybody, so why not ban cars so texters can't kill us? The left wants regulation in every aspect of my life to the point where we'll just live in a completely sterile environment. My point with all of this the entire time is: If the left is so obsessed with saving lives, why aren't they directing their efforts where it is most needed? Focusing on gun bans while there are thousands of distracted driving accidents every day is ridiculous. Especially when you consider that in most states texting isn't even a primary offense. (We can save the DUI argument for another time). :flirt: Sounds like they were obeying the law and leaving their guns home while they watched a movie in a gun-free zone.

Not sure if it's Federal. When I got some sinus medicine down here they just took my name and checked ID. Didn't do any checks. They probably recorded my name for future use if I ever came up in some meth bust. When I bought some in SC this was just a couple of years ago. No check there.

It differes by state. In South Carolina you can buy all the Sudafed you want. Down here you need to show ID and fill out a short form.

Neither are drugs.

Nah, can't take credit for it. My friend calls him that all the time and I thought it was kinda clever..... and very fitting.

I guess Napoleon wasn't happy with the results of the applicants. It's quite apparent who he wants in the league, if he's going to push to try and get Seattle to join and I were Quebec, I would pursue a lawsuit to get my $2,000,000 back. http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/798068

Apples vs. oranges, when talking about detailed situations you need to break down the stats into detailed situations. Having lunch at a Chipotle sitting next to somebody that's carrying for their defense isn't quite the same as living in the ghetto spending every day fighting with gang members. But, if you want to use the all inclusive numbers then traffic deaths are two and a half times that of our homicide rate...........so lets ban cars. If you want to feel safe, don't go to those gun-free zones because that's where most of the shootings happen. ;)

I don't think you can take the overall numbers as a basis for this argument because we were referring to your average Joe Schmoe that goes into a Chipotle, carrying for defense. This, and any other similar situations in a public place, are rarely the culprit. According to this, there have been 547 deaths in mass shootings over the last 30 years yet the homicide count is between 14,000-15,000 per year. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/18/11-essential-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/ Traffic deaths average around 33,000 per year with about 6,000 of those involving texting. http://investorplace.com/2014/06/texting-driving-statistics-2014/

If carrying a firearm is pointless because likelihood dictates necessity, that implies little to no likelihood anybody will use that firearm. If there is little to no likelihood then why fear it and say it's not your idea of freedom? Although I wish it worked that way because there is a dire need to place texters on the same level as drunk drivers because the likelihood of them endangering my life is far greater than a gun owner, and on the same level as drunks. And here we are with most states still classify it as a secondary infraction. Importance is subjective. ;) However, death rates aren't.

Why is it pointless?

If we base infringement of freedom on the level of risk, there would be no freedom. Where does it stop, do we prevent people who are sick from being in public? Do we prevent people who haven't taken their daily psych medication from being in public? My idea of freedom is being able to drive on a street and not have to fear for my life because half the drivers have the heads pointed at the laps staring at the their phones. You're far more likely to be affected negatively by all three of those scenarios than a person carrying a gun to defend themselves yet the focus is on guns? In the case of texters, FAR FAR more likely..... If the Sabres are having problems winning games because they can't score, do you trade for a goaltender?

Apparently so is the definition of 'news'.

Exactly. Trump shouldn't be relevant and Jenner shouldn't be headline news for days on end. There are WAY too many important issues that are being ignored and way too many important news stories that are being thrown in the back seat. Has Trump even been challenged with the issues of today?

It was a rhetorical question, he shouldn't be relevant.