Thoughts On "Bowling For Columbine"


I just saw Mike Moore's documentary and loved it. The central question he addresses is why do American in very large numbers kill each other with guns? While it's not altogether clear that he provides an answer, the movie is both thought provoking and entertaining. I saw it at a suburban 30 screen multiplex in the heart of Republican country (Henry Hyde's congressional district), yet surprisingly, at least to me, the screen was sold out. Why aren't there more overtly political movies?
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I haven't seen the documentary, so I can't comment directly on it. If it advocates gun control, then please let me know so I can avoid contributing money to the producers, by renting this film. They can talk about gun control all they want, but I don't want to help them fund their efforts.
His movies are great. Thanks for the endorsement.

Once while exiting a crowded commuter train in Perth Australia there was quite a press of people going from the platform up the escalator to exit the station. When I got to the top there stood a policeman - without a blaster. It immediately dawned on me that his job was to protect the citizens, not to kill them.
And how would that kind policeman protect the citizens, pray tell? Call for more unarmed policemen? Organize a global economic boycott of the criminal? Or maybe suggest a few "sensitivity counseling" sessions? Oh boy!
Twl, why so quick to make the gun control assumption? The filmmaker, Mike Moore, is a long time member of the NRA and an interview with Charleston Heston is one of the highlights of the film. Moore observes that in the U.S.A. on average 11,000 people a year are killed by guns which, even adjusted for population differences, is more than 10x higher that of other Western advanced economic nations. It's not a simple question and the movie doesn't treat it as such.
Sorry, that's just what it seemed like. When a question about this has a "killed by guns" attachment, and not just "killed by any means", there is an underlying agenda there. I contend that if somebody wants to kill, a baseball bat will do the job, if he has no access to a gun. However, if the victim has no access to a gun, he may not have the needed means to protect himself against a larger stronger attacker, armed with a bat, knife, or gun. This is especially true of women against a male attacker. And, as we well know, the firearm restriction laws are only followed by the law-abiding, therefore making them an easy, unarmed target for the criminal who, by definition, disregards these laws. Gun control is just providing "job safety" for criminals, by ensuring that their victims can't fight back.

I have liked other Michael Moorer movies, especially the one about the Waco massacre. I have reason to think that he would treat the subject fairly.

Does he do a breakdown of the demographics of these killings, and draw any conclusions based on population density, or gang-related activity? Or any conclusions about anything?

In general, I would be interested in the informtion regarding the motivation of these killers, and any other "reasons" or "stimulus" they may have for perpetrating these acts. This, to me, is a much more important topic than which type of implement is used to perform the act. Of course, a gun is a perfectly designed item for performing this activity, but millions of people seem to be able to control themselves, and not use them for this purpose, unless in self-defense. What makes these other people behave differently, is a key to this question, in my opinion.

Also, I would note that this has only occurred since the "Social Reform" activities that started in the 1960s, and suggest that the root of the problems rests there, and not in an inanimate object that is used for the crime.