This blog article is in response to a “post” that is going around that is trying to draw a statistical comparison to mass shootings in the US and knife violence in the UK. The term/phrase comparing apples to oranges comes to mind. This short article looks at some of the differences between knife and gun violence in the UK and the US. It is not advocating for either gun or knife control/legislation, but instead looks at why such a comparison is flawed and unhelpful in dealing with either country’s issues.
Not all violence is the same; a mugger has different motivations, methods and behaviors to an abductor etc. Different cultures and countries have different problems with violence e.g. the UK has a serious problem with knife violence/crime, the US has a problem with mass shootings etc. The two are not comparable as they are very different, distinct and separate types of violence. Trying to argue that they are the same or comparing them does nothing to actually solving the problem of each e.g. a stabbing targets an individual, a mass shooting targets a group etc. and so both types of violence differ greatly. If you want to try and compare knife and gun crime, you would need to look at incidents where a gun was used against an individual, and incidents where a knife was involved etc. Violence against a group regardless of the weapon, is very different to violence that targets an individual. In this regard the US has to start looking as to the reasons why mass shootings are so prevalent in its culture, and not in others, where gun ownership maybe as high or higher i.e. why do individuals in the US feel the need to act violently towards their own communities and institutions in a way that isn’t replicated in other countries etc. and however people want to play the stats in reality it is hard to argue that mass shootings occur with the same frequency in other countries than they do in the U.S. Other countries, like the UK, have their own issues – such as knife violence – however the US needs to admit that it has a problem with mass shootings (individuals who want to act out violently against their own communities) before it even starts debating about gun control etc.
Guns and knives differ greatly both in what they can achieve/accomplish and the way in which they are used. A gun can be deployed at range against multiple targets, the same is not true of a knife, and because of this the types of violence, in which both are used differ greatly. With a gun there can be a level of disconnect between the shooter and their victim, in a way that is impossible with a knife – to stab somebody you have to physically connect with them, making it a much more “personal” type of violence. It is also very hard to turn a knife on yourself after committing a stabbing, and because of the one-on-one nature of knife crime, you are less likely to be in an emotional state to do so. To use a knife takes a different mental state to using a gun.
One of the popular myths that I regularly hear, is that the level of knife crime in the UK exists because of the lack of firearms i.e. if people had guns people wouldn’t be victims of knife crime – either people wouldn’t attack them because they feared getting shot, or the gun carrying target would shoot them before they were cut. This argument is flawed in so many regards, and shows a misunderstanding about how real life violence actually occurs. Most stabbings and incidents of violence, in the UK, where knives are involved occur between young people, many of them teenagers; individuals who would not be able to carry a firearm as a deterrent to such violence - under either US law, or previous UK laws. Also when you consider the nature of violent incidents, it is easier to draw a knife, conceal it, and then stab somebody than it is to do the same with a firearm – a small blade can be held in the hand much more discretely than a firearm, this means than an assailant with a knife is much more likely to have it drawn and ready than somebody with a firearm. When we look at action beating reaction, the person with a firearm is at a distinct disadvantage. If we want to fool ourselves into thinking that all violence happens at a range and distance when threats are easily identifiable, yes you will have time to draw a firearm. If we look at reality where attacks happen up close and personal, and with surprise, the person with the weapon already drawn has a distinct advantage. In real life violence the “superiority” of the weapon often counts for little. In short knife violence won’t and can’t be solved by guns. Like mass shootings the underlying reasons as to why people feel the need to carry knives need to be accepted and addressed.
So which is worse violence involving a knife or gun? This is often what such posts are trying to imply. Repetitive stab wounds will often cause more trauma and loss of blood than bullet wounds, and are more likely to be accurate in hitting/targeting center of mass – a knife requires less accuracy than a gun to have serious effects. Knives however generally target an individual; you are less likely to be stabbed as a bystander than shot as one. The rate at which a knife can kill is much less than a gun, meaning casualties are going to be fewer etc. but in short knife violence generally targets an individual than members of a group etc. which is the underlying reason why mass shootings and knife violence really can’t be compared.
Coming from the UK I have no issue accepting that by and large we are a more violent, and predisposed to violence, culture than the US – that is certainly my personal experience from living in both countries. It is easy to look at the way in which banning firearms worked in reducing mass shootings in the UK, and argue that this should be replicated in the US (something that isn’t practical and won’t happen). It is also easy from the US perspective to argue that the level of knife violence in the UK is as a result of the ban in firearms – something that doesn’t actually prove relevant when you look at the statistics from a demographic perspective (or when you consider a particular country in the UK, such as Scotland where knife violence has always been prevalent, both before and after the firearm ban). In short the UK needs to accept and deal with its problems, and the US needs to do the same. Pointing fingers, judging and trying to compare each other doesn’t help anyone: knife crime and gun crime are different both in their nature and regard to the cultures/countries in which they are committed.