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Monday, August 8, 2022

Bob Jones: Madness


In the USA in 2021 over 45,000 citizens were killed by gunshots, including over 1,500 children.

In total there were 692 mass shootings in supermarkets and the like (defined as 4 or more victims).

Yet here’s the madness. Current polling shows only a tiny majority of Americans favour gun restrictions, albeit the trend is rising from 20% in favour three decades back. Ironically, but perhaps understandably, every fresh mass shooting, on average one every 4 days, sees a surge in gun sales with people viewing them as essential protection.

They have a point mind you, when one looks at New Zealand. After the mosque massacre the government brought in strict gun controls. Yet seemingly daily there are reports of shootings, mostly in Auckland involving maori gangs. So much for our vaunted gun controls.

To solve this gang problem, or at least diminish it, we could emulate El Salvador, a crazy badly governed small nation. I’ve had a few laughs there, in my younger days.

When gang members committed crimes they were jailed all together in the same prison. This resulted in them setting about murdering one another. The army, such as it is, always waited outside, pretending it was too dangerous to enter.

The last such occurrence, from memory about a year back, saw an international outcry when the death toll surged passed 130 after a few days.

In lieu, the government has substituted a highly onerous treatment of them which should ensure a desirable outcome when released, to ensure no further offending.

It will ring a bell for New Zealanders when I point out that El Salvador’s recent years growth in criminal gangs, largely comprised El Salvadorians expelled from the USA for criminal activities.

All of this is a vastly different New Zealand from my early days. Urbanisation is a factor but the most critical difference was EVERYONE worked, which is hardly the case today.

Instead our welfare society has resulted in a sponger sector sustained by a taught sense of entitlement.

Sir Bob Jones is a renowned author, columnist , property investor, and former politician, who blogs at No Punches Pulled HERE.

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