Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 11:14:21 GMT
I've been awake watching last night's news shows rerunning, and was thinking about some of the headline stories that we here in the U.S. see almost daily. It made me wonder if other countries have the same issues we seem to have.
Guns - This has been discussed and it's known other countries don't have the gun violence we have. We can discuss it more, but this has been known to be a U.S. issue.
Gangs - Crips, Bloods, MS-13, Hell's Angels, Latin Kings and more. Do other countries have violent gangs in their countries, and how are the problems addressed and dealt with?
Drugs - Are other countries experiencing a drug epidemic? Are drugs being smuggled into other countries like here?
Immigration - Do other countries have the illegal alien numbers that we have-- +/-11 million, with demands for citizenship? How do other countries handle those in their country illegally?
Sexting - I've seen this in the headlines more and more lately, with teens having their lives turned upside down with sending and receiving inappropriate texts. Is this happening elsewhere?
I'm curious if the U.S. stands alone with these issues, or is this worldwide.
Thoughts?
***eta*** Being in the U.S., I know these issues are debated and covered here daily. I'm wondering how these same issues are handled, and discussed, in other countries. Are some or all of these problems as out of control in other countries?
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Post by pierkiss on Feb 28, 2018 11:29:30 GMT
Mexico for sure has massive problems with gangs and drugs. Not sure how they combat either problem, as I have heard their government and police force are corrupt.
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Post by miominmio on Feb 28, 2018 11:42:32 GMT
Gun violence: we have a less number of guns (but still ranked #11 last time I looked), but gun violence are rare here. Mostly because we don't have the infatuation with guns that you do. Guns are a tool used for hunting, or used for sports shooting, and I know many who are either one or both who don't even store their guns at home.
Drugs? Happens everywhere. Log into any international news site, and you will most likely find one or more articles about it on any given day.
Gangs? Same. I know we had problems 10-15 years ago, but after a shooting in a high end shopping district, the police came down hard on them, and although I am sure there are criminal organisations out there, they are now wise enough not to bother the general public. Fighting crime is an ongoing thing everywhere.
Sexting? One player on our national handball team had what the news euphemistically call "private pictures" spread far and wide. She is taking everyone who has shared them to court.
Immigration? Sorry for being sarcastic, but haven't you read international news the past 2,5 years? Have you seen the numbers of immigrants that have been pouring into Europe? They still are, but the borders are being locked down tighter every day. Based on population numbers, the US has about 3,5% of what you call illegal immigrants. Germany alone received more than a million in one year alone, with a population of 80 million.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 11:55:00 GMT
Gun violence: we have a less number of guns (but still ranked #11 last time I looked), but gun violence are rare here. Mostly because we don't have the infatuation with guns that you do. Guns are a tool used for hunting, or used for sports shooting, and I know many who are either one or both who don't even store their guns at home. Drugs? Happens everywhere. Log into any international news site, and you will most likely find one or more articles about it on any given day. Gangs? Same. I know we had problems 10-15 years ago, but after a shooting in a high end shopping district, the police came down hard on them, and although I am sure there are criminal organisations out there, they are now wise enough not to bother the general public. Fighting crime is an ongoing thing everywhere. Sexting? One player on our national handball team had what the news euphemistically call "private pictures" spread far and wide. She is taking everyone who has shared them to court. Immigration? Sorry for being sarcastic, but haven't you read international news the past 2,5 years? Have you seen the numbers of immigrants that have been pouring into Europe? They still are, but the borders are being locked down tighter every day. Based on population numbers, the US has about 3,5% of what you call illegal immigrants. Germany alone received more than a million in one year alone, with a population of 80 million. I thought I'd ask "real" people how these issues are impacting their countries.
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Post by miominmio on Feb 28, 2018 12:00:01 GMT
Gun violence: we have a less number of guns (but still ranked #11 last time I looked), but gun violence are rare here. Mostly because we don't have the infatuation with guns that you do. Guns are a tool used for hunting, or used for sports shooting, and I know many who are either one or both who don't even store their guns at home. Drugs? Happens everywhere. Log into any international news site, and you will most likely find one or more articles about it on any given day. Gangs? Same. I know we had problems 10-15 years ago, but after a shooting in a high end shopping district, the police came down hard on them, and although I am sure there are criminal organisations out there, they are now wise enough not to bother the general public. Fighting crime is an ongoing thing everywhere. Sexting? One player on our national handball team had what the news euphemistically call "private pictures" spread far and wide. She is taking everyone who has shared them to court. Immigration? Sorry for being sarcastic, but haven't you read international news the past 2,5 years? Have you seen the numbers of immigrants that have been pouring into Europe? They still are, but the borders are being locked down tighter every day. Based on population numbers, the US has about 3,5% of what you call illegal immigrants. Germany alone received more than a million in one year alone, with a population of 80 million. I thought I'd ask "real" people how these issues are impacting their countries. Then my apologies, because the way I read it, it seemed that you didn't believe these things exist outside the US. And even then, you will get widely different answers, as I'm sure you would get if you asked a group of Americans. If you live in an upscale neighbourhood, I am sure gang violence or any problems relating to immigration wouldn't affect your daily life no matter which country you live in.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 12:12:09 GMT
I thought I'd ask "real" people how these issues are impacting their countries. Then my apologies, because the way I read it, it seemed that you didn't believe these things exist outside the US. And even then, you will get widely different answers, as I'm sure you would get if you asked a group of Americans. If you live in an upscale neighbourhood, I am sure gang violence or any problems relating to immigration wouldn't affect your daily life no matter which country you live in. I don't think I was very clear in my OP. I added an ETA for some clarity I hope. For example, the drug epidemic--a pea lost 2 family members to overdoses, and a classmate of my dd died from an overdose last fall (there were other peas that have lost family and friends also). The epidemic is hitting all ages, all walks of life, all corners of the country. I wonder if it's that bad elsewhere, and how other countries are trying to deal with it.
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Post by miominmio on Feb 28, 2018 13:18:25 GMT
Then my apologies, because the way I read it, it seemed that you didn't believe these things exist outside the US. And even then, you will get widely different answers, as I'm sure you would get if you asked a group of Americans. If you live in an upscale neighbourhood, I am sure gang violence or any problems relating to immigration wouldn't affect your daily life no matter which country you live in. I don't think I was very clear in my OP. I added an ETA for some clarity I hope. For example, the drug epidemic--a pea lost 2 family members to overdoses, and a classmate of my dd died from an overdose last fall (there were other peas that have lost family and friends also). The epidemic is hitting all ages, all walks of life, all corners of the country. I wonder if it's that bad elsewhere, and how other countries are trying to deal with it. I’m sure you’ll find people who have experienced the same here, unfortunately, but my impression is that it might be even worse in the US.
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schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
Jun 28, 2014 0:26:58 GMT
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Post by schizo319 on Feb 28, 2018 13:29:18 GMT
The epidemic is hitting all ages, all walks of life, all corners of the country. I wonder if it's that bad elsewhere, and how other countries are trying to deal with it. If you're interested in this subject, I suggest you check out the book "Chasing the Scream" by Johann Hari. In the book, he discusses the drug crises in other countries and how they've responded to it. In short, the countries he mentions deal with it in a therapeutic way, providing safe places to use, counseling, and job training; instead of using the criminal justice system like we do here. I believe it was Switzerland that stood up heroin use centers that offered counseling on-site - it was fascinating to read that a huge percentage of users were able to cut down and eventually quit on their own as they were given the resources and skills to do something constructive with their lives. The entire book was really eye opening for me as someone who has a number of addicts in the family.
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wellway
Prolific Pea
 
Posts: 9,203
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Feb 28, 2018 13:35:30 GMT
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Post by gar on Feb 28, 2018 13:59:35 GMT
Guns - we’ll I’m in England so you know where we are on that. That’s not to say there aren’t any illegal guns, there are, but they rarely come out of the shadows and I’d say they’re primarily connected with gangs and drugs.
We certainly have drugs issues here. Very easily available in schools so I’m told and is seems to be rampant in some areas too. It’s a scourge on society and I’m not sure if we are dealing with it effectively at all on the whole. It’s like trying to hold back the tide.
Sexting- yes it’s a thing. Mostly I see that schools etc are trying hard to educate the youngsters on the possible outcomes and to be aware.
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,919
Aug 29, 2015 2:39:19 GMT
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Post by lizacreates on Feb 28, 2018 15:56:20 GMT
Guns - we’ll I’m in England so you know where we are on that. That’s not to say there aren’t any illegal guns, there are, but they rarely come out of the shadows and I’d say they’re primarily connected with gangs and drugs. We certainly have drugs issues here. Very easily available in schools so I’m told and is seems to be rampant in some areas too. It’s a scourge on society and I’m not sure if we are dealing with it effectively at all on the whole. It’s like trying to hold back the tide. Sexting- yes it’s a thing. Mostly I see that schools etc are trying hard to educate the youngsters on the possible outcomes and to be aware. How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!)
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Post by gar on Feb 28, 2018 16:07:00 GMT
Guns - we’ll I’m in England so you know where we are on that. That’s not to say there aren’t any illegal guns, there are, but they rarely come out of the shadows and I’d say they’re primarily connected with gangs and drugs. We certainly have drugs issues here. Very easily available in schools so I’m told and is seems to be rampant in some areas too. It’s a scourge on society and I’m not sure if we are dealing with it effectively at all on the whole. It’s like trying to hold back the tide. Sexting- yes it’s a thing. Mostly I see that schools etc are trying hard to educate the youngsters on the possible outcomes and to be aware. How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) As with everything it isn’t black and white obviously. I agree there are certainly sectors of the population that feel that immigrants are taking their jobs, swindling the state for benefits, taking the piss out of our NHS and so on. Similarly there are certainly immigrants who have no desire to become part of our communities, who live in close proximity to each other, don’t want to learn English or work honestly etc etc. But overall I don’t think that’s the majority or the overall way it is here. We have huge numbers of Polish immigrants for example, our supermarkets now have a Polish foods section, I hear Polish spoken quite regularly but i’m sure the majority work hard, are good family people and aren’t scamming the system. We certainly have a housing problem but it isn’t because of immigration it’s because of years of under investment as are many of the problems with our over stretched NHS.
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Post by ntsf on Feb 28, 2018 16:20:51 GMT
well the rest of the world has access to health care.. and we let people have no access to health care and they die in the streets or in jails.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 16:57:04 GMT
I've been awake watching last night's news shows rerunning, and was thinking about some of the headline stories that we here in the U.S. see almost daily. It made me wonder if other countries have the same issues we seem to have. Guns - This has been discussed and it's known other countries don't have the gun violence we have. We can discuss it more, but this has been known to be a U.S. issue. Obviously being in the UK makes a huge difference and no, we don't have the day to day gun violence here. There are illegal guns here for sure but they are more involved with drugs which leads to gangs or cartels whatever one wants to call drug pushers. Gun laws are very strict here and if caught you're in a whole load of trouble. I think maybe the big difference here is that " ordinary" folks also think that being in possession of a gun is the ultimate crime for want of a better description. Like all countries we do have hardened criminals but even some of them would balk at the thought of carrying a gun.Gangs - Crips, Bloods, MS-13, Hell's Angels, Latin Kings and more. Do other countries have violent gangs in their countries, and how are the problems addressed and dealt with? Yes, we do have gangs here but I don't think they are anywhere near the " size" of your gangs or as violent and are more local to each individual area rather than being a country wide association such as MS-13 type gangs. But you also have to take the size of the populations of the UK to the US.
Drugs - Are other countries experiencing a drug epidemic? Are drugs being smuggled into other countries like here? I think one has to define the word epidemic first before comparison. Yes, drugs are a problem here. I personally, with two daughters still at school, have not experienced any problems at their school or other local schools but that doesn't mean that it's not a problem in other schools. Schools here, mostly, have a serious non tolerance of drugs. and the police are usually called in immediately and the pupil suspended. Suspension usually means that child does not return to the same school. The police are very active in going into schools and holding anti drug workshops as well as cyber protection workshops mainly for grooming/cyber bullying etc. What I do think is a problem here is the music festivals and the availability of things like ecstasy tablets. I can only go by from what I read on prescription drugs and say I don't think we do have the same problem as you do. Mainly because every person in the UK is registered with a family doctor who knows all of the patients medical history. In that respect it's far easier to monitor who has what and for how long.
Immigration - Do other countries have the illegal alien numbers that we have-- +/-11 million, with demands for citizenship? How do other countries handle those in their country illegally? I have no idea how many illegal aliens we have here because being illegal how can anyone know who they are? That makes it impossible to actually know how many. If one knows that they are illegal or are caught then they get arrested and the employer is prosecuted and the aliens usually deported. We also have a similar department to your ICE. I class the boat people from Europe as refugees rather than illegal aliens.IMO there's a big difference. Having said that though, being an island we probably haven't received as many of these refugees on mass that have arrived in mainland Europe.
Sexting - I've seen this in the headlines more and more lately, with teens having their lives turned upside down with sending and receiving inappropriate texts. Is this happening elsewhere? Yes, I have no doubt it does, teens are teens.If you are that way inclined a teen will do it whatever their nationality is.Not knowing anyone that has participated I have no idea if it's a crime here like it is in the US teens to teens, I doubt it.IMO doing so would need guidance and advice about the perils of doing so rather than prosecution. If it was a teen to an adult then I have no doubt it would be classed as grooming and the adult would be prosecuted.
I'm curious if the U.S. stands alone with these issues, or is this worldwide. Thoughts? ***eta*** Being in the U.S., I know these issues are debated and covered here daily. I'm wondering how these same issues are handled, and discussed, in other countries. Are some or all of these problems as out of control in other countries?
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 17:05:25 GMT
The epidemic is hitting all ages, all walks of life, all corners of the country. I wonder if it's that bad elsewhere, and how other countries are trying to deal with it. If you're interested in this subject, I suggest you check out the book "Chasing the Scream" by Johann Hari. In the book, he discusses the drug crises in other countries and how they've responded to it. In short, the countries he mentions deal with it in a therapeutic way, providing safe places to use, counseling, and job training; instead of using the criminal justice system like we do here. I believe it was Switzerland that stood up heroin use centers that offered counseling on-site - it was fascinating to read that a huge percentage of users were able to cut down and eventually quit on their own as they were given the resources and skills to do something constructive with their lives. The entire book was really eye opening for me as someone who has a number of addicts in the family. Thanks so much for the suggestion, it sounds interesting!
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 17:06:15 GMT
What a great and informative article. As I was reading about the decline in prisoners, it made me wonder if we'd ever have that here.
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Post by lucyg on Feb 28, 2018 17:07:53 GMT
Guns - we’ll I’m in England so you know where we are on that. That’s not to say there aren’t any illegal guns, there are, but they rarely come out of the shadows and I’d say they’re primarily connected with gangs and drugs. We certainly have drugs issues here. Very easily available in schools so I’m told and is seems to be rampant in some areas too. It’s a scourge on society and I’m not sure if we are dealing with it effectively at all on the whole. It’s like trying to hold back the tide. Sexting- yes it’s a thing. Mostly I see that schools etc are trying hard to educate the youngsters on the possible outcomes and to be aware. How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) Welcome back! I'm so glad to see you posting again.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 17:11:50 GMT
I've been awake watching last night's news shows rerunning, and was thinking about some of the headline stories that we here in the U.S. see almost daily. It made me wonder if other countries have the same issues we seem to have. Guns - This has been discussed and it's known other countries don't have the gun violence we have. We can discuss it more, but this has been known to be a U.S. issue. Obviously being in the UK makes a huge difference and no, we don't have the day to day gun violence here. There are illegal guns here for sure but they are more involved with drugs which leads to gangs or cartels whatever one wants to call drug pushers. Gun laws are very strict here and if caught you're in a whole load of trouble. I think maybe the big difference here is that " ordinary" folks also think that being in possession of a gun is the ultimate crime for want of a better description. Like all countries we do have hardened criminals but even some of them would balk at the thought of carrying a gun.Gangs - Crips, Bloods, MS-13, Hell's Angels, Latin Kings and more. Do other countries have violent gangs in their countries, and how are the problems addressed and dealt with? Yes, we do have gangs here but I don't think they are anywhere near the " size" of your gangs or as violent and are more local to each individual area rather than being a country wide association such as MS-13 type gangs. But you also have to take the size of the populations of the UK to the US.
Drugs - Are other countries experiencing a drug epidemic? Are drugs being smuggled into other countries like here? I think one has to define the word epidemic first before comparison. Yes, drugs are a problem here. I personally, with two daughters still at school, have not experienced any problems at their school or other local schools but that doesn't mean that it's not a problem in other schools. Schools here, mostly, have a serious non tolerance of drugs. and the police are usually called in immediately and the pupil suspended. Suspension usually means that child does not return to the same school. The police are very active in going into schools and holding anti drug workshops as well as cyber protection workshops mainly for grooming/cyber bullying etc. What I do think is a problem here is the music festivals and the availability of things like ecstasy tablets. I can only go by from what I read on prescription drugs and say I don't think we do have the same problem as you do. Mainly because every person in the UK is registered with a family doctor who knows all of the patients medical history. In that respect it's far easier to monitor who has what and for how long.
Immigration - Do other countries have the illegal alien numbers that we have-- +/-11 million, with demands for citizenship? How do other countries handle those in their country illegally? I have no idea how many illegal aliens we have here because being illegal how can anyone know who they are? That makes it impossible to actually know how many. If one knows that they are illegal or are caught then they get arrested and the employer is prosecuted and the aliens usually deported. We also have a similar department to your ICE. I class the boat people from Europe as refugees rather than illegal aliens.IMO there's a big difference. Having said that though, being an island we probably haven't received as many of these refugees on mass that have arrived in mainland Europe.
Sexting - I've seen this in the headlines more and more lately, with teens having their lives turned upside down with sending and receiving inappropriate texts. Is this happening elsewhere? Yes, I have no doubt it does, teens are teens.If you are that way inclined a teen will do it whatever their nationality is.Not knowing anyone that has participated I have no idea if it's a crime here like it is in the US teens to teens, I doubt it.IMO doing so would need guidance and advice about the perils of doing so rather than prosecution. If it was a teen to an adult then I have no doubt it would be classed as grooming and the adult would be prosecuted.
I'm curious if the U.S. stands alone with these issues, or is this worldwide. Thoughts? ***eta*** Being in the U.S., I know these issues are debated and covered here daily. I'm wondering how these same issues are handled, and discussed, in other countries. Are some or all of these problems as out of control in other countries? Thanks so much for sharing. When I hear and read stories about these issues we have in the U.S., they seem too large to ever get under control. I wonder how did we even get to this.
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Post by delilahtwo on Feb 28, 2018 17:16:22 GMT
I've been awake watching last night's news shows rerunning, and was thinking about some of the headline stories that we here in the U.S. see almost daily. It made me wonder if other countries have the same issues we seem to have. Guns - This has been discussed and it's known other countries don't have the gun violence we have. We can discuss it more, but this has been known to be a U.S. issue. Yeah, this is an American problem. There were 2 recent high profile incidents, one in SK and one in AB, property owners shooting possible thieves. But it's a US problem.Gangs - Crips, Bloods, MS-13, Hell's Angels, Latin Kings and more. Do other countries have violent gangs in their countries, and how are the problems addressed and dealt with? Yes there are gangs but they don't hit the news as much, at least not where I live.Drugs - Are other countries experiencing a drug epidemic? Are drugs being smuggled into other countries like here? Yes. We are handing out naloxone kits like candy and implementing safe injection sites. Yes they are being smuggled in. Lots of deaths from overdose.Immigration - Do other countries have the illegal alien numbers that we have-- +/-11 million, with demands for citizenship? How do other countries handle those in their country illegally? I don't think that's as big a problem in Canada but we do have people coming in illegally. It's actually a bigger problem in Europe.. Sexting - I've seen this in the headlines more and more lately, with teens having their lives turned upside down with sending and receiving inappropriate texts. Is this happening elsewhere? I'm curious if the U.S. stands alone with these issues, or is this worldwide. Thoughts? ***eta*** Being in the U.S., I know these issues are debated and covered here daily. I'm wondering how these same issues are handled, and discussed, in other countries. Are some or all of these problems as out of control in other countries?
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 17:27:21 GMT
Guns - we’ll I’m in England so you know where we are on that. That’s not to say there aren’t any illegal guns, there are, but they rarely come out of the shadows and I’d say they’re primarily connected with gangs and drugs. We certainly have drugs issues here. Very easily available in schools so I’m told and is seems to be rampant in some areas too. It’s a scourge on society and I’m not sure if we are dealing with it effectively at all on the whole. It’s like trying to hold back the tide. Sexting- yes it’s a thing. Mostly I see that schools etc are trying hard to educate the youngsters on the possible outcomes and to be aware. How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) I also, same as gar don't think it's as back and white as it is made out to be. As for Brexit, there's no doubt that some did vote for leaving with immigration being the main reason but for many many others it was also to regain autonomy from the bureaucrat of Europe on many things apart from immigration or the free movement of people. Technically they are not immigrants from Europe at the moment....it's the free movement of people in the same way as we are allowed to enter any EU country and work. Immigration will continue after Brexit in the same way it had before, years ago.It's just that citizens of countries within the EU will have to apply to come here and be issued with a working visa same as any non EU country now. I do think that each country has the right to put a ceiling on the number of immigrants allowed in wherever they are from. Allowing mass immigration into a country that don't have the infrastructure to cope with it IMO is short sighted and cause far more problems both for the immigrants and the citizens. If you don't have the schools, jobs, health care, housing among other things to offer them then everyone suffers. That isn't to say that I am against immigration, not at all, but it has to be looked at and sensible numbers have to be found.
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Post by miominmio on Feb 28, 2018 17:35:53 GMT
Guns - we’ll I’m in England so you know where we are on that. That’s not to say there aren’t any illegal guns, there are, but they rarely come out of the shadows and I’d say they’re primarily connected with gangs and drugs. We certainly have drugs issues here. Very easily available in schools so I’m told and is seems to be rampant in some areas too. It’s a scourge on society and I’m not sure if we are dealing with it effectively at all on the whole. It’s like trying to hold back the tide. Sexting- yes it’s a thing. Mostly I see that schools etc are trying hard to educate the youngsters on the possible outcomes and to be aware. How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) I have a childhood friend who married an Englishman 25 years ago, and they started a family and have lived there ever since. After Brexit, she experiences hostility daily, only because she is a foreigner. It has gotten so bad that they are planning on moving to Norway because they are afraid of her safety.
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,919
Aug 29, 2015 2:39:19 GMT
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Post by lizacreates on Feb 28, 2018 17:36:58 GMT
How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) Welcome back! I'm so glad to see you posting again. I'm glad to be back! I honestly love talking politics here at 2PR.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 17:52:04 GMT
Thanks so much for sharing. When I hear and read stories about these issues we have in the U.S., they seem too large to ever get under control. I wonder how did we even get to this. I think there's possibly an element of truth in that. There's a lot of wisdom in strike while the iron is hot so to speak. Leaving things to grow does make the problem harder to deal with. This is in no way disparaging to the way you do things or that our way is better it's just an example of how it's done here. Take knives as an example. We started to have a problem with stabbings it was only allowed to go so far before it was at a point of enough is enough and legislation was brought in to make it illegal to carry knives on your person unless you could prove it was for your job, chef/cook for example. link It was done quickly and swiftly before the problem became too big to handle.We still have knife crime but it's more controlled with legislation already in place IMO. If it only makes 10 people think..."shit I might get caught so I won't carry this knife" then that is 10 possible stabbings or deaths that has been avoided.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 18:07:11 GMT
How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) I have a childhood friend who married an Englishman 25 years ago, and they started a family and have lived there ever since. After Brexit, she experiences hostility daily, only because she is a foreigner. It has gotten so bad that they are planning on moving to Norway because they are afraid of her safety. I'm sorry.  that is just sheer ignorance. I have to admit I haven't heard or read about this kind of hostility on a large scale. I must live in a different part of the country! Yes, I don't deny that we have jerks here but the general population are quite used to " foreigners" and think nothing of it.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Feb 28, 2018 18:14:38 GMT
I've been awake watching last night's news shows rerunning, and was thinking about some of the headline stories that we here in the U.S. see almost daily. It made me wonder if other countries have the same issues we seem to have. Guns - This has been discussed and it's known other countries don't have the gun violence we have. We can discuss it more, but this has been known to be a U.S. issue. Gangs - Crips, Bloods, MS-13, Hell's Angels, Latin Kings and more. Do other countries have violent gangs in their countries, and how are the problems addressed and dealt with? Drugs - Are other countries experiencing a drug epidemic? Are drugs being smuggled into other countries like here? Immigration - Do other countries have the illegal alien numbers that we have-- +/-11 million, with demands for citizenship? How do other countries handle those in their country illegally? Sexting - I've seen this in the headlines more and more lately, with teens having their lives turned upside down with sending and receiving inappropriate texts. Is this happening elsewhere? I'm curious if the U.S. stands alone with these issues, or is this worldwide. Thoughts? ***eta*** Being in the U.S., I know these issues are debated and covered here daily. I'm wondering how these same issues are handled, and discussed, in other countries. Are some or all of these problems as out of control in other countries? I see and read about these issues outside of our message board. But it feels like they are not discussed here like the US is, even by our international peas. I will read about events in other countries and then just file it away, I don't bring it to the board to discuss.
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Post by bc2ca on Feb 28, 2018 18:21:01 GMT
Although I haven't lived in Canada for a number of years I know there are all the same issues except the same level of gun violence. Gangs: Hells Angels and other biker gangs have waged Sons of Anarchy level turf wars especially in Quebec. (How the Hells Angels Conquered Canada). Most of the Vancouver gangs have roots in the Asian communities and it looks like the gang violence is escalating again (Metro's Deadly Gang War)
Drugs: I think there is a common drug problem around the world. Because cocaine & heroin have to be imported to most countries, all of it is smuggled. There is no legal avenue to distribute these drugs. Most gang activity and turf wars are over illegal drug trade. IMHO, the Opiod Crisis in the US is probably a uniquely American problem given that its roots are in prescription drug abuse and compounded by the structure of health care here. Immigration: Canada does have undocumented immigrants who are mostly either failed refugee claimants who never leave or individuals who have overstayed visas. I couldn't (in a quick search) find an estimate of how many. This article talks about recent increases to the number of immigrants being processed each year. Sexting: Probably about the same amount as the US for teens. I don't think there are been any politicians caught in a sexting scandal the way there have been in the US. This is one court case that involved cyber bullying and sexting/child pornography.
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Post by miominmio on Feb 28, 2018 18:23:23 GMT
I have a childhood friend who married an Englishman 25 years ago, and they started a family and have lived there ever since. After Brexit, she experiences hostility daily, only because she is a foreigner. It has gotten so bad that they are planning on moving to Norway because they are afraid of her safety. I'm sorry.  that is just sheer ignorance. I have to admit I haven't heard or read about this kind of hostility on a large scale. I must live in a different part of the country! Yes, I don't deny that we have jerks here but the general population are quite used to " foreigners" and think nothing of it. The number of EEA citizens fearing for their safety in the UK, has actually made the news in several European countries. Maybe your media for some reason don’t want to report it?
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 18:53:28 GMT
I'm sorry.  that is just sheer ignorance. I have to admit I haven't heard or read about this kind of hostility on a large scale. I must live in a different part of the country! Yes, I don't deny that we have jerks here but the general population are quite used to " foreigners" and think nothing of it. The number of EEA citizens fearing for their safety in the UK, has actually made the news in several European countries. Maybe your media for some reason don’t want to report it? Oh our media would report it I'm pretty sure of that, especially the anti Brexit ones. I don't happen to have experienced what has happened to your friend. I have a number of European friends from all over Europe and DH works with quite a few, a fair number in fact. Although I don't know any Norwegians  Yes some of them were initially concerned immediately after Brexit, fuelled by the media I might add, as to what would happen, were they allowed to stay or not but not to generally fear for their safety. Now that the question has been covered there is no need for any alarm, they are allowed to stay.I suppose the Brits had the same concerns if they were living and working in other EU countries. they had their concerns too about their future.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:34:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 18:54:39 GMT
“I wonder how did we even get to this?”
IMO three terms sums it up. 1. Apathy. 2. Lack of will. 3. Misconception and stereotyping.
Apathy. - To me apathy is as great of form of child abuse as physical abuse. Too many of those who are in the position of raising our children feel all they need to do is feed them, provide shelter, and educate them. And that’s it. This type of abuse runs the entire economic spectrum. I think we can all agree it takes a lot more then the three items I listed to successfully raise a child. In fact in some cases a child may not have as much of or all three of the items listed but yet their guardian manages to raise the child so they become a responsible adult. What is lacking is interest and guidance as these kids grow.
Lack of will - I believe the majority of people know the difference between right and wrong. But for many of these folks it becomes a matter of all talk very little action. A perfect example are our elections. Just shy of 50% of registered voters did not vote in the last election. But it’s not 2016 election it’s all elections. People grouse about things and the one easiest thing they can do to enact change is to vote and they chose not to.
Misconception and stereotyping. IMO too many folks look at those that need help as being lazy, trying to game the system, or a combination of both when in fact they are trying but just need help.
Any or all of these three items have contributed to where we are today. And it starts with our kids and how ,as a nation ,we raise them. I say as a nation because even with parents, if kids don’t get the guidance they need, and it doesn’t matter where they are in the economic spectrum, then the nation needs to step in with programs, community events, guidance counselors, and roll models willing to work with the kids so these kids can get guidance and interest they need to become successful adults in our society. Back when I was a teenager the local 20/30 Club got us involved in a lot of community activities. One was building floats for our version of the Rose Parade. At the time my parents house had this huge climbing rose bush that I stripped of roses to decorate the floats. Did that for a couple of years and when I moved away the 20/30 Club asked my mom if they could still take the roses. My dad was not a member of the 20/30 Club it was just something they did for the community.
As far as immigration goes it’s a bit more complex in that the root of the grouse against immigration is the fact there is a segment of the population that are extremely uncomfortable with the fact this country is moving from a white majority to a white minority. I also believe if the 1986 Immigration Reform Act had fully been enforced we wouldn’t have the mess we have today. Now we have to deal with the mess we created and it needs to be done with compassion since we allowed it to happen in the first place. Something that is lacking with the current administration.
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Post by gar on Feb 28, 2018 20:16:03 GMT
How do you see the immigration situation in your country? When I was closely following Brexit, there were a great number of articles asserting that Brexit was partially (some even say, primarily) motivated by anti-immigration sentiments, not only because of the sheer number of EU migrants and refugees but the failure of immigrants to assimilate as well. (I tend toward disagreement because I think it’s the desire for self-determination - British sovereignty - that was the main motivation.) From what I gather, it is not patent racism that is fueling this sentiment (because the UK has almost always been considered one the most tolerant countries), but rather the severe housing crisis. Coupled with the cuts to your social benefits, people are demanding that the UK take care of its own first. (Btw, not meaning to diminish the gravity of your own country’s issues, when I need respite from the non-stop dramas of US politics, I watch your PMQs which never fail to elicit a chuckle. Irrespective of my opinion of PM May, that lady can give as good as she gets!) I have a childhood friend who married an Englishman 25 years ago, and they started a family and have lived there ever since. After Brexit, she experiences hostility daily, only because she is a foreigner. It has gotten so bad that they are planning on moving to Norway because they are afraid of her safety. That’s awful and I’m sorry. Can I ask what part of the country they live in?
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