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Stephen Sondheim's 'Assassins' lays bare the bizarre role of guns in American culture

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By Jennifer Tucker and Peter Rutland

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More Politics in Show business, just what Americans need. Thank you for your contribution.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim was sounding the alarm about the role of guns in American culture.

It seems that gun culture is the only "culture" that exists..

0 ( +6 / -6 )

More Politics in Show business, just what Americans need. Thank you for your contribution.

“Great playwrights have always used the theater to narrate and interrogate the history of their society.

William Shakespeare used his more speculative plays to comment on oppression within his own society, at a time when the Protestant Queen Elizabeth was harshly persecuting Catholics. Shakespeare couldn’t write a play criticizing the Queen, so he wrote a play about killing a tyrant in ancient Rome.”

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Touche':

0 ( +0 / -0 )

To Sondheim, assassins, like everybody else, are in pursuit of the American dream

A twisted American dream. As a young lad arriving in America, I didn't aim to be an assassin. If you remove guns, it becomes much much harder to kill a president. That said, I do agree that culture plays a great part in all of this but people all around the world see American culture - from action movies to rap music to denim jeans to hamburgers to the legal and illegal drug scene - and don't imitate the bad part of it so much. What America has is a mindset problem. We have to change the way people look at killing and violence. People accept that as a natural way of life: You look at me wrong or if I feel threatened or if we don't see eye to eye, etc, just use your gun and kill the other person. There is very little respect shown for the lives of people we don't care about or with whom we aren't related. That kind of warped thinking needs to change along with the lax gun laws prevalent around the country. Guns, and the easy availability of them, combined with the mindset is what is one of the great scourges afflicting the nation.

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Are you saying American cinema doesn't glorify guns and killing? Or just that you think this information shouldn't be spoken about?

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Think you’ve more closely narrowed it down @Mocheake 12:20pm: [*To Sondheim, assassins, like everybody else, are in pursuit of the American dream**] *

“A twisted American dream. ..What America has is a mindset problem. We have to change the way people look at killing and violence. [Some] People accept that as a natural way of life: You look at me wrong or if I feel threatened or if we don't see eye to eye, etc, just use your gun and kill the other person. There is very little respect shown for the lives of people we don't care about or with whom we aren't related. That kind of warped thinking needs to change along with the lax gun laws prevalent around the country. Guns, and the easy availability of them, combined with the mindset is what is one of the great scourges afflicting the nation.

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That's precisely the problem in USA is that everyone is a gun owner so you need to own a gun just to protect yourself .

And then there's the government and law enforcement and other corrupt entities.

Life is more enjoyable and safe in Japan.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

That's precisely the problem in USA is that everyone is a gun owner so you need to own a gun just to protect yourself .

If I lived there, I would own a gun.

Which is the reason I have no interest in living there.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

If I lived there, I would own a gun.

In NY, no doubt in Montana, South Dakota people probably don’t even lock their doors

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

In NY, no doubt in Montana, South Dakota people probably don’t even lock their doors

Sure, they just let all those meth heads stroll right in. Maybe it’s New Yorkers on holiday.

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In NY, no doubt in Montana, South Dakota people probably don’t even lock their doors

And yet Montana has the highest rate of gun ownership in the USA and South Dakota the 9th highest. New York has one of the lowest rates. (Not sure what that means.)

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/gun-ownership-by-state

The first recorded assassination of a political leader with a gun was the Earl of Moray, who was felled by a musket shot in Scotland in 1570.

I don't this fits the pattern of Sondheim's assassins. The Earl of Moray's assassination was during a very violent political dispute of the time and he was killed by a supporter of "the other side".

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Sure, they just let all those meth heads stroll right in. Maybe it’s New Yorkers on holiday

Sadly, you have meth heads everywhere. But like I said, Montana, SD you don’t have to worry about gun violence. Safer and less political.

https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/meth-addiction/meth-capital/

And yet Montana has the highest rate of gun ownership in the USA and South Dakota the 9th highest. New York has one of the lowest rates. (Not sure what that means.)

It would mean, crime is low and safety is up. And that’s a great thing. No PC madness there.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-dakota

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Sadly, you have meth heads everywhere. But like I said, Montana, SD you don’t have to worry about gun violence. Safer and less political.

So if everyone has guns and leaves the politicking out it’s safe?

Every time there is a mass shooting you blame mental health or Democrats.

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God Created Man; Smith & Wesson made them Equal.

No truer words, anywhere in this INFECTED World

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So if everyone has guns and leaves the politicking out it’s safe? 

In Montana and SD they seem to be.

Every time there is a mass shooting you blame mental health or Democrats

Yes, because Democrats want to make it only about guns, it’s just black and white and never a grey area, never any other reason or motive and if the person is found to have a mental issue, then it’s just glossed over dismissed and the argument goes right back to the guns. We get it, the left hates the 2nd amendment and wants to rid the country of guns, but wants their security to have them for some reason, but the rest of the vulnerable Americans that followed all the rules and laws are left to the out of control crime that Dems likewise seem to ignore. The only thing that seems to occupy this administration is Jan 6 or the $1.3 trillion stimulus and that’s it and then they are shocked about the red tsunami coming their way next year. smh……..

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

Random rant…check

Massive hypocrisy…check

Predict a future reckoning…check

Wait, are you Q?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

It would mean, crime is low and safety is up. And that’s a great thing. No PC madness there.

And yet the rate of gun deaths is far higher in Montana and South Dakota than in New York.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm

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In Montana and SD they seem to be.

They seem not to be actually. In fact, not ‘seem’. I was being polite. They just aren’t. You are wrong.

Before talking about ‘PC madness’ and ‘safety’ you should check the data for gun deaths in Montana vs New York.

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They seem not to be actually. In fact, not ‘seem’. I was being polite. They just aren’t. You are wrong. 

Not according to the stats.

Before talking about ‘PC madness’ and ‘safety’ you should check the data for gun deaths in Montana vs New York.

I did. So gun rates, you have a point and there are many reasons, NY on the other hand is primarily homicide and given the fact people are fleeing that State faster they can down a slice of pizza would indicate something is not right.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/301603/murder-involving-firearms-us/

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-city.pdf

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I did. So gun rates, you have a point and there are many reasons, NY on the other hand is primarily homicide and given the fact people are fleeing that State faster they can down a slice of pizza would indicate something is not right.

Wrong again. Stop using ‘seem’ and ‘indicate’ in the same sentence as ‘fact’.

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Wrong again.

Not me, the stats, blame them.

Stop using ‘seem’ and ‘indicate’ in the same sentence as ‘fact’.

I think you need to calm down, just look and read the stats by the NYPD and see for yourself, there’s a reason why people are fleeing States like NY and CA! Crime and homelessness is out of control and who could blame them. They’ve all become rat sewers of filth and crime.

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Funny we get all these US anti-gun MSM campaign pieces on here, but never any anti-war or stories about the mass amounts of cash (1’s & 0’s these days) it takes every hour to police the planet. Of course we do get the fake news “Russia bad” propaganda.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

NY on the other hand is primarily homicide

Your statista link shows the firearm murder rate in Montana almost identical to that of New York.

New York: firearm murders: 517, population: 19,299,981 (1 per 37,330)

Montana: firearm murder: 28, population: 1,085,004 (1 per 38,750)

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Your statista link shows the firearm murder rate in Montana almost identical to that of New York.

New York: firearm murders: 517, population: 19,299,981 (1 per 37,330)

Hardly

For the month of October 2021, the number of murders and shooting incidents continued to decline in New York City compared to last year. Murder decreased by 9.8% (37 v. 41) while shooting incidents decreased by 4.4% (129 v. 135). There were 382 gun arrests for the month of October 2021, bringing the total number of gun arrests in 2021 to 3,808 – a 13.9% increase compared to 3,343 gun arrests year-to-date in 2020.

Overall index crime in New York City increased by 11.2% in October 2021, compared with October 2020 (10,118 v. 9,095). While Burglary saw a 13.7% decrease for October 2021 (1,231 v. 1,427), Robbery increased by 15.8% (1,450 v. 1,252) and Felonious Assault increased by 13.8 % (2,123 v. 1,865). Through October, overall index crime year-to-date has increased by 1.3% compared to 2020 (80,801 v. 79,772).

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/pr1103/nypd-citywide-crime-statistics-october-2021

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Love the US or hate it. At least I can live here and not live in a bubble. For all of you who don’t live in your own perspective countries you are in another country because you couldn’t find or obtain what you desired in your birth country. Yes Americans have guns people kill not guns. I know many people who have guns never used them just bought them for protection. There are just as many knives in Japan as there are guns in the US. People kill not the weapons they use. I read these post and is mostly foreigners crying or complaining about what they don’t or can’t understand about Japan and it’s culture. If in Japan there were guns you would read about just as many people being killed with knives. Regardless murder is murder you or knife or poison. The end result is the person in control. I have guns but does that make me a dangerous person. If that’s the case everyone in Japan should be on the lookout for a knife welding citizen because everyone in Japan has knives. I’m not saying everyone is dangerous but when you read about a victim being killed it’s with a knife.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

One statistic about violence is never reported, but is recorded in the FBI yearly crime statistics. The most violent demographic is Black males. Black males, 6.5 % of the population, commit 56% of the murders in the US. The percentage is rising every year.

The greatest threat to Black lives is the Black male. 89% of Black murder victims were killed by Black males.

The fact that the statistic is neither reported, nor allowed to be reported or mentioned for fear of offending someone means that the problem is not addressed. If you can't tell the truth, you can't define or fix any problem.

The FBI report is here:

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

New York can easily deal with their murder problem by banning guns following the methods of Texas (abortion ban) and California (gun ban).

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Not after November next year.

Oh, it will get ripped apart further, no matter what team wins.

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Your statista link shows the firearm murder rate in Montana almost identical to that of New York.

New York: firearm murders: 517, population: 19,299,981 (1 per 37,330)

Hardly

For the month of October 2021, the number of murders and shooting incidents continued to decline in New York City compared to last year.

What's Montana's excuse? I assume they are just more murderous people.

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The fact that the statistic is neither reported, nor allowed to be reported or mentioned for fear of offending someone means that the problem is not addressed. If you can't tell the truth, you can't define or fix any problem.

The FBI report is here:

This information is hidden and not allowed to be reported" he says, while liking to a public website maintained by a government agency that is in charge of controlling murder in America.

Do you even read what you're writing?

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Oh, it will get ripped apart further, no matter what team wins.

Yeah, they said that about NYC until Giuliani took over.

What's Montana's excuse? I assume they are just more murderous people.

And yet, people are fleeing NYC like there's no tomorrow.

This information is hidden and not allowed to be reported" he says, while liking to a public website maintained by a government agency that is in charge of controlling murder in America.

He's says nothing, I didn't write the article in the paper.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

The greatest threat to Black lives is the Black male. 89% of Black murder victims were killed by Black males.

The fact that the statistic is neither reported, nor allowed to be reported or mentioned for fear of offending someone means that the problem is not addressed. If you can't tell the truth, you can't define or fix any problem.

Bingo, exactly and the left for over 60 years has done absolutely nothing to fix this tragedy and yet, they do want and need their votes.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Yeah, they said that about NYC until Giuliani took over.

No.

And yet, people are fleeing NYC like there's no tomorrow.

No.

He's says nothing, I didn't write the article in the paper.

No.

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No.

You can't change history even though the left in the US and abroad want that, thank God for records.

No.

Why do Liberals hate facts?

https://nypost.com/2020/11/21/where-people-leaving-new-york-are-moving/

No.

Relax Strange

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Hardly

@bass, my numbers were comparing Montana state with New York state. I'm sure numbers for New York City are quite different, as for most major cities.

Yes Americans have guns people kill not guns.

But for people without guns, it's a tad more difficult to kill someone. Which is why I prefer people around me not to have guns.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

But for people without guns, it's a tad more difficult to kill someone. Which is why I prefer people around me not to have guns.

Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez didn't use guns, I get your point, but when someone wants to kill you, they will find a way and that has been going on for thousands of years and won't stop. Look at the guy that drove his car in the parade and killed all those people. When you have a crazy murderous streak within you, you will use anything to fulfill that desire. Again, I get your point, but where I live in Texas, everyone has a gun and there hasn't been a death in this town in over 60 years.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

When it comes to guns America shoot itself in the foot.

Ok....and the point of that strange statement was what?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

You can't change history even though the left in the US and abroad want that, thank God for records.

Calm down, it doesn’t help your argument.

Why do Liberals hate facts?

Says the guy who is allergic to the fact that Republicans have been responsible for every mass shooting death since 2015?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Yeah, but you're still in Texas, which is like death itself.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yeah, but you're still in Texas, which is like death itself.

Hasn't been in 22 years, the only thing that is without a doubt a death sentence is the blistering heat.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

but when someone wants to kill you, they will find a way 

I agree. But living with the fear that someone wants to kill you is a little bizarre. And if they really want to kill me, I suspect having a gun, or landmines in the garden, or whatever, won't really help. It's the accidents, and casual killings, and people having easy access to guns when they're in a killing mood that are much more scary. I think we've probably all been in a killing mood from time to time.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Living in Texas some of the time, maybe. Must be the only place in America where no one has died in what 60 years.

I never said, nor implied that, but that was one of the reasons I moved here, it’s safer, a lot safer, quieter and peaceful.

Without citing we only have your word.

Yes.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

In 2020 just 17 incidents involving guns. Less than 10 deaths. Guess the whole country is safe.

It's not that Japan is safe, it's that Japanese people are not murderous like Americans. If Japanese were as murderous as the Americans, they would find other ways to commit murder at the same rate as Americans. It's not the availability of guns that make Americans murderous - guns don't kill people - it's the murderous desires of the American culture - people kill people. So clearly Japanese people are less murderous than Americans, or we'd see a much higher rate of stabbings and other types of murder per capita in Japan than we do.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

It's not that Japan is safe, it's that Japanese people are not murderous like Americans.

Painting kind of a broad brush aren’t we?

If Japanese were as murderous as the Americans, they would find other ways to commit murder at the same rate as Americans. It's not the availability of guns that make Americans murderous - guns don't kill people - it's the murderous desires of the American culture - people kill people. So clearly Japanese people are less murderous than Americans, or we'd see a much higher rate of stabbings and other types of murder per capita in Japan than we do.

When you talk, you just tend to say whatever, heaven knows why…..odd….

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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