Dispelling the myth of "the wild west"

[ShooterInPA1]

With all this talk of “The Wild West”, I thought it might be informative to look at the reality of crime in the “wild west” cattle towns and compare them to the peaceful streets of such eastern, gun-control paradises as DC, New York, Baltimore and Newark.In his book,*Frontier Violence: Another Look, author W. Eugene Hollon, provides us with these astonishing facts:In Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, Dodge City, and Caldwell, for the years from 1870 to 1885, there were only 45 total homicides.**This equates to a rate of approximately 1 murder per 100,000 residents per year.In Abilene, supposedly one of the wildest of the cow towns, not a single person was killed in 1869 or 1870.Zooming forward over a century to 2007, a quick look at Uniform Crime Report statistics shows us the following regarding the aforementioned gun control “paradise” cities of the eastC – 183 Murders*(31 per 100,000 residents)New York – 494 Murders*(6 per 100,000 residents)Baltimore – 281 Murders*(45 per 100,000 residents)Newark – 104 Murders*(37 per 100,000 residents)


http://www.examiner.com/article/disp...-the-wild-west

[PA Rifleman]

With all this talk of “The Wild West”, I thought it might be informative to look at the reality of crime in the “wild west” cattle towns and compare them to the peaceful streets of such eastern, gun-control paradises as DC, New York, Baltimore and Newark.In his book,*Frontier Violence: Another Look, author W. Eugene Hollon, provides us with these astonishing facts:In Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, Dodge City, and Caldwell, for the years from 1870 to 1885, there were only 45 total homicides.**This equates to a rate of approximately 1 murder per 100,000 residents per year.In Abilene, supposedly one of the wildest of the cow towns, not a single person was killed in 1869 or 1870.Zooming forward over a century to 2007, a quick look at Uniform Crime Report statistics shows us the following regarding the aforementioned gun control “paradise” cities of the eastC – 183 Murders*(31 per 100,000 residents)New York – 494 Murders*(6 per 100,000 residents)Baltimore – 281 Murders*(45 per 100,000 residents)Newark – 104 Murders*(37 per 100,000 residents)


http://www.examiner.com/article/disp...-the-wild-west

Sounds like "W. Eugene Hollon" is a pseudonym for Michael Bellesiles. Bellesiles trotted out the same effluvia, he paid for it with his job and credibility (details).

[Yellowfin]

Ever notice how correcting them on that doesn't work, and they keep on saying it as if you said nothing at all? It isn't about accuracy to the history, it's about their prejudice that gun ownership belongs somewhere else, 100-150 years ago and ten states west of them and/or in movies and other fiction, and that we're out of place according to that. When they say "Wild West" it's code speak for Not In My Back Yard and/or "What story book fantasy are you living in?", both ways to not take us seriously and to invoke social ostracism. It's segregation reinvented.

Until you address that for what it is then you're just talking in circles and accomplishing nothing.

[TonyF]

I really wouldn't trust "official" records from the "cow towns" of that era.

The "lawmen" often "danced" on both sides of the law as did judges. And alliances among politicians and a given town's "influential" citizens were common.

Rulings on "homicides" and "justifiable homicides" should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Yellowfin]

Again, whichever way the real or not real data reads, it's irrelevant.

[spaideas]

I really wouldn't trust "official" records.

The "lawmen" often "dance" on both sides of the law as do judges. And alliances among politicians and a given town's "influential" citizens is common.

Rulings on "homicides" and "justifiable homicides" should be taken with a grain of salt.

Fixed it for ya. and thats different from today??

Rick