Crazy people are everywhere; to remain honest, they always have been. But recently, there seems to have been an uptick in media coverage of crazy people. There is no grand conspiracy theory here, but this increase in coverage is very real, I assure you.
Coverage of crazy people and their actions is on the rise, but not because of some fantastic plot in the upper crust of society. The answer is quite simple; more Americans are opting to preserve their lives over the lives of crazy people. “Justifiable homicide” or, as ordinary people call it, self-defense is also on the rise.
A California man recently attempted to carjack a woman with a butter knife but ended up giving up when he had a gun leveled at him. While a butter knife isn’t all that intimidating, the man wielding it sure was.
This individual was a recently released convict who had just robbed a Walgreens and was looking to make a speedy getaway. Regardless of his weapon or stature, this guy was not all there mentally speaking (you can’t be with a plan like this), which is terrifying.
This would not have been a story we covered had it not been because this criminal mastermind had thwarted his grand plan by an armed citizen.
Another story making the rounds as of late comes from Atlanta. Some guy lost his cool over the amount of mayonnaise on his sandwich and shot two people in a Subway restaurant. No, this is a real story, I promise.
A disgruntled customer at a Subway in Atlanta, Georgia, got into a heated argument with an employee over the amount of mayonnaise they had put on his sandwich. This customer then went into a rage shooting two employees, one of which died on the scene. The store’s manager drew his pistol and returned fire at the customer. Unfortunately, he missed, and the disgruntled customer was able to slip away.
Thankfully, police were able to catch the Subway shooter not long after, thanks to an anonymous tip. So rest easy knowing that this menace is off of the street.
Things have also taken a dark turn in the political realm as well. I reported on American Briefing that nationwide protests had been sparked over the Supreme Court’s ruling in Jackson v. Dobbs. One protest was an invasion of a state capitol akin to the January 6th protest.
In Phoenix, Arizona, Pro-choice protesters joined forces with local teacher groups to invade the Arizona state capitol. The Arizona state senate was evacuated because of this, and police ended up firing flashbangs and tear gas rounds into the crowd to calm things down. Crazy stuff to be sure.
You get the point. There are a lot of crazy stories making the rounds in the American media right now. However, you should also know that there are now more gun owners, so self-defense cases are up.
Ammoland recently reported that in Philadelphia, handgun purchases, CCW permit applications, homicides, and justifiable homicides are all increasing.
Homicides in the city hit record levels last year, and things are only expected to worsen this year. Handgun purchases in the city have also seen a staggering increase. Over two years, the city doubled its number of handgun sales to a massive 50,000. In addition, over the past few years, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the number of justifiable homicides has more than doubled.
It should be noted that people are buying more guns because of the rampant increase in crime, not the other way around, as some would have you believe. The summer of love in 2020 also helped bolster the American arms industry, which is the year a lot of these metrics took a turn.
With this rampant increase in crime, there has been a pretty apparent increase in reporting on crime, and with that, media outfits across the country have to decide what stories they want to cover. So naturally, the strangest stories win out in the end and are the most interesting.
This is precisely why media reporting on crazy people has been on the upswing in the past few months. There are not more crazy people these days, and people doing crazy things is not new either. It is a matter of perspective, and what comes through those windows you call eyes at a given time. Crazy people have always been doing crazy things in America. Butter knife-wielding carjackers and Mayo Malders are not new by any stretch. You get to see them in action due to the internet.
This situation can be compared to America’s recognition of Florida as a place where all crazy people live. “Florida Man” is a term in the greater consciousness of America, and it stems from coverage of strange crimes in Florida. This coverage from the media is not disingenuous by any means, but it lacks context for sure. Florida has some easy-to-access public records, making it a gold mine for those looking for wacky and wild stories. People in Florida are not all that different from those in Wisconsin or Iowa. The crazy people just get highlighted more often due to public policy choices.
While it may seem like more lunatics today than yesterday, there aren’t. People’s perception is impacted dramatically by the media, far more than they might think. That being said, there is cause for concern these days as crime is on the rise.
Since the summer of 2020, there has been a massive uptick in the amount of crime America sees. Violent crime, in particular, is one of the most concerning things on the rise. This is a complex issue, but it boils down to leniency in the courts and a culture that views crime as acceptable. As a result, prosecutors drop cases they probably shouldn’t, and some localities have told the general public that they will not use the law to hold certain criminals accountable.
Criminals, at the end of the day, are not crazy people. Many of these individuals who opt for the criminal lifestyle make calculated risks regarding what crimes they commit. For example, mobs of people in America’s urban centers have recently taken to acts of mass shoplifting. These people know that they won’t all be caught and that those who do will not be facing serious charges. When people dip their foot into a life of crime, they like to start small.
This is where things get out of hand. After basic morality is thrown out the window, these criminals get bolder and play a much more dangerous game. Violent criminals are usually not first-time offenders. They start small and grow more aggressive over time. Shoplifting from a big brand name store and robbing someone at gunpoint are essentially acts of stealing. The escalation of criminal acts is a well-documented trend.
There are no signs that point to a better tomorrow. With that in mind, it would be wise to understand that you are responsible for your safety. The police are not going to save you, the police respond to crimes, and as a force, they are not intended to stop them. Many Americans have already wised up and opted to arm themselves for self-defense. Maybe that isn’t such a bad idea.
Crazy people are here for the long haul, they have always been present in society going as far back as the Romans, and while they are not the most significant cause for concern, there are other factors at play that you should consider. Nevertheless, crime is very real, and it would be in your best interest to wise up to that fact and start looking out for yourself.
