An Undiscussed Pandemic As Likely As COVID

[Mountaineer]

Also somewhat anecdotal, but I believe violence was less in the ‘wild west’ of the late 1800s when most people were armed than today with all the gun regulations.

[vnatale]

Also somewhat anecdotal, but I believe violence was less in the ‘wild west’ of the late 1800s when most people were armed than today with all the gun regulations.

I could not accept that belief without some facts being presented.

My belief is that life was definitely far more brutal in the "wild west" then than it is now in the same geographic areas. But my my own just stated standards you are free to reject my belief absent me presenting any actual facts.

Vinny

[Mountaineer]

Also somewhat anecdotal, but I believe violence was less in the ‘wild west’ of the late 1800s when most people were armed than today with all the gun regulations.

I could not accept that belief without some facts being presented.

My belief is that life was definitely far more brutal in the "wild west" then than it is now in the same geographic areas. But my my own just stated standards you are free to reject my belief absent me presenting any actual facts.

Vinny

.

I know that is the popular myth, probably due to all the western movies we have seen. You can do the research if you like, or continue believing the myth. I once researched it but can’t find it now.

[vnatale]

Also somewhat anecdotal, but I believe violence was less in the ‘wild west’ of the late 1800s when most people were armed than today with all the gun regulations.

I could not accept that belief without some facts being presented.

My belief is that life was definitely far more brutal in the "wild west" then than it is now in the same geographic areas. But my my own just stated standards you are free to reject my belief absent me presenting any actual facts.

Vinny

.

I know that is the popular myth, probably due to all the western movies we have seen. You can do the research if you like, or continue believing the myth. I once researched it but can’t find it now.

Just did a quick "Bing" search and came up with:

https://history.howstuffworks.com/ameri ... d-west.htm

Among other things it covered it did CLEARLY state: "....most people didn't carry around a loaded six-shooter. In fact, few people carried sidearms at all. Many western towns, such Dodge City, prohibited the carrying of firearms altogether."

Vinny

[doodle]

Also somewhat anecdotal, but I believe violence was less in the ‘wild west’ of the late 1800s when most people were armed than today with all the gun regulations.

Yes, guns were ubiquitous...except when you came into town you had to leave them at home or check them in with the constable...yeeee haw

Btw, US violent crime rates are at 30 year lows.

[Mountaineer]

https://extranosalley.com/homicide-rate ... -old-west/

Comparing the United States to the rest of the world, we should be in 109th place for homicide; and 116th place for murder. That would appear to mean we have very low homicide and murder rates. But our current murder rate is up to five times higher than that of the “Wild West.”

https://www.independent.org/publication ... asp?id=803

[Lonestar]

Yet, liberals hate guns, they represent freedom, they represent independence, and as we've seen many liberal arguments go against people taking care of themselves, because it violates the social contract of taking care of everyone else.

By eliminating the ability of folks to take care of themselves, you also create a shortage of "Victims". Liberals thrive on Victims. Without them, the message of the left would be meaningless. Caretakers absolutely have to have someone to take care of.

[Libertarian666]

https://extranosalley.com/homicide-rate ... -old-west/

Comparing the United States to the rest of the world, we should be in 109th place for homicide; and 116th place for murder. That would appear to mean we have very low homicide and murder rates. But our current murder rate is up to five times higher than that of the “Wild West.”

https://www.independent.org/publication ... asp?id=803

Here is an excerpt from that article:

"In a thorough review of the “West was violent” literature, Bruce Benson (1998) discovered that many historians simply assume that violence was pervasive—even more so than in modern-day America—and then theorize about its likely causes. In addition, some authors assume that the West was very violent and then assert, as Joe Franz does, that “American violence today reflects our frontier heritage” (Franz 1969, qtd. in Benson 1998, 98). Thus, an allegedly violent and stateless society of the nineteenth century is blamed for at least some of the violence in the United States today.

"In a book-length survey of the “West was violent” literature, historian Roger McGrath echoes Benson’s skepticism about this theory when he writes that “the frontier-was-violent authors are not, for the most part, attempting to prove that the frontier was violent. Rather, they assume that it was violent and then proffer explanations for that alleged violence” (1984, 270).

"In contrast, an alternative literature based on actual history concludes that the civil society of the American West in the nineteenth century was not very violent. Eugene Hollon writes that the western frontier “was a far more civilized, more peaceful and safer place than American society today” (1974, x). Terry Anderson and P. J. Hill affirm that although “[t]he West . . . is perceived as a place of great chaos, with little respect for property or life,” their research “indicates that this was not the case; property rights were protected and civil order prevailed. Private agencies provided the necessary basis for an orderly society in which property was protected and conflicts were resolved” (1979, 10).

"What were these private protective agencies? They were not governments because they did not have a legal monopoly on keeping order. Instead, they included such organizations as land clubs, cattlemen’s associations, mining camps, and wagon trains."