The gun example suffers from a lack of nuance in risk quantification. Anyone who owns a gun is putting their own life at risk, because “basically zero” is not “zero.” So the statement is “If you own a gun, you are putting your life at risk” is technically true, it’s just not very useful.
The way to overcome this is to start with the average risk and subtract from it by naming specific mitigations that must be in place to reduce risk. Unfortunately, it seems that in the US, there isn’t a voice of “responsible gun owners” in the conversation. There are only two voices: those who would ban them outright and those who would make any restriction illegal.
By the way, the largest victim of gun violence in the US is gun owners due to suicide. It’s unclear what mitigations one could put in place to prevent that.
> By the way, the largest victim of gun violence in the US is gun owners due to suicide. It’s unclear what mitigations one could put in place to prevent that.
The mitigations probably are: free and accessible mental health counseling, shifting societal views of acceptable emotional openness, and normalizing conversations about depression and other struggles.
I agree and also better gun laws. States with stricter gun laws have fewer gun suicides.
Just to make it clear how much I agree: everyone reading this, talk to your friends, especially male friends, about what you are going through and ask them what they are going through. Be there for them. Everyone needs this.
> Million ways to kill oneself that are easily accessible.
A key factor to look at when someone is experiencing suicidal ideation is to evaluate whether they have a concrete plan. Someone is much more likely to succeed or even attempt suicide if they have a thought out plan of actionable steps.
Most non-gun methods I can think of off the top of my head come with risk factors that would require more complex planning. But, with easy access to a firearm, the planning becomes much simpler in many ways.
The way to overcome this is to start with the average risk and subtract from it by naming specific mitigations that must be in place to reduce risk. Unfortunately, it seems that in the US, there isn’t a voice of “responsible gun owners” in the conversation. There are only two voices: those who would ban them outright and those who would make any restriction illegal.
By the way, the largest victim of gun violence in the US is gun owners due to suicide. It’s unclear what mitigations one could put in place to prevent that.