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Comment by mgerullis | Hacker News Reader

You forgot to mention that the vast majority of mass shooters are white.

It will surprise you to hear that that’s not true, but you’re forgiven for thinking so, given the state of american media. Admittedly, blacks tend to produce more wounded rather than kills.

It will also surprise you to hear that long guns (i.e. AR-15) are involved only in a small percentage of crimes (including mass shootings) involving firearms. The vast majority of such crimes is committed with handguns, many unlicenced.

> Between 1982 and April 2021, 66 out of the 123 mass shootings in the United States were carried out by white shooters. By comparison, the perpetrator was African American in 21 mass shootings, and Latino in 10. When calculated as percentages, this amounts to 53 percent, 17 percent and eight percent respectively.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in...

There have been way, way more mass shootings in america since 1982 than 123.

It is literally true. https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in...

If you count only a fraction of mass shootings, then yes.

Data, please.

The definition of "mass shooting" varies, but let's start with this list, and please let me know how it is incorrect in its scope so I can understand your exact point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_...

I would hate for you to be a victim of definitional retreat if you are able to create a well-reasoned argument and back it up with reliable and objective data.

Not the guy you've been talking to but I looked into the Statista data because that surprised me. Turns out Mother Jones used a very specific set of criteria (possibly to spur page views like my own?) that isn't supported by the AP, nor the FBI or criminologists.

https://reason.com/2012/12/17/are-mass-shootings-becoming-mo...

I am not subject to US media really, as I am neither a US citizen nor consume mainstream media, my friend. I go by cold, unforgiving numbers.

It’s not like saying “white people bad” carries any kind of risk, anywhere at this point. It’s not like there’s much meaningful difference between mainstream and left/lib alt-media. Twitter has collapsed the boundaries. What do those numbers tell you?

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