daylia, I am going to jump on you too. I suspect you've isolated yourself on the end of a limb and don't know how to get down. Your 'point' seems illy made.

On the other hand I agree with you when you say: I suspect that the differences have MUCH more to do with the accessibility of firearms in each country, as well as cultural expectations/acceptance of violence - and NOT anyone's individual personality traits!

I agree that guns that can be caught up and used in the heat of the moment contribute heavily, imo, to violent incidents in the US. We're workin' on it. At this point in history we're dealing with the ludicrous notion that the government can peer over our shoulders to see what we're reading, or advising in our schools, or doing in the 'privacy' of our own homes and what causes we're involved in- and yet we cannot get consensus on the guidelines that should be used firmly and routinely when someone wants to buy a handgun.

And as I've stated before, my intention is to draw attention to these "national" differences in the hopes that as knowledge and understanding of them increase, changes will be made that will make the planet a safer place for all of us. I think that's plenty important enough to risk getting "roasted" here on Mudcat!

There's where I think your point gets blunted.