At the risk of starting a huge debate, let me just note that homogeneous societies like Switzerland and Japan have very low rates of violence, including gun crimes. Heterogeneous societies like the U.S., India, Israel and any number of others have much higher levels of violence. People seem reluctant to hurt others "like them," but much more willing to attack people regarded as different. Access to weapons is just a tiny part of a much larger picture. But none of this is particularly relevant to flyertalk, and I hope that it doesn't generate a huge rant from somebody.

Bruce


[This message has been edited by bdschobel (edited 12-28-2000).]