The Non-Crime Wave

Texas' Gun Culture and Politics Made Dallas Shooting Inevitable - Rolling Stone:

...In the intervening decades, violent crime has plummeted around the country: Most Americans are less likely than ever before in their lives to be a victim of any kind. But guns, and the cult of self-defense, play a more prominent role in American life than ever before. As the intense psychodrama and horror of the mass shooting has become more and more embedded into American skulls, more people look to guns as a shield. For them, guns represent life, not death. Carrying a gun gives the bearer an immense feeling of power and privilege, a feeling of agency. When the end comes for me, the feeling goes, I'll be ready...