The McPaper had no trouble digging up a few learned academics to pronounce America and its global influence as the proximate cause of yesterday’s massacre in New Zealand perpetrated by an Australian eco-fascist.
Mass shootings are often called a uniquely American problem, but experts say violence here has global impact.
“There’s no doubt that previous mass shooters in the United States have been imitated by shooters in the U.S. and outside it,” said Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama who studies mass shootings, noting “the influence of America culturally and cross-culturally.”
The United States is ranked No. 1 in international influence, based on its economic and military power as well as its “cultural imprint,” according to U.S. News & World Report.
“America’s culture and actions are contagious, as the U.S. draws a lot of attention,” said Gary Slutkin, founder of Cure Violence, a nonprofit which treats gun violence like a disease.
Though the U.S. has long held a position of cultural dominance in the world, news of American mass shootings — and the motivations and ideologies behind them — spread faster and farther than ever. CNN International is seen in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. And if it weren’t on TV, it would still be on Twitter.
– Alia E. Dastagir in New Zealand shows America’s mass shootings have global consequences