Iceland grieves

It is noteworthy. I've always held a deep respect for Iceland. It's on my short list of "Countries I Wouldn't Mind Living In."

This is an extraordinary moment, and an even more extraordinary national reaction.

Iceland seems really great I'm not surprised last year was their first officer-involved shooting.

Population-wise, it's more like a US city, though. 320+ thousand people (2012), compared to 314+ million (2012) in the US. Not to mention historical differences, etc. Yes, I think it's more than difficult to compare.

Which US city north 250 000 has not had or had only one police shooting resulting in a death by the police officer's gun?

Xelebes said:

Which US city north 250 000 has not had or had only one police shooting resulting in a death by the police officer's gun?

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Wouldn't you want to compare population density of those 250,000; crime rates, socioeconomic levels, drugs, race, number of firearms, number of mentally ill, etc, etc? Again, not to mention historical factors.

I'll do the research on those officer-involved shootings since the 40's, though, if someone can give me an idea of which US cities of 250,000 or higher have similar population densities to Iceland as a basic starting point.

I mentioned the population difference as a hint of the sorts of differences that would need to be compared. My point wasn't at all that it was as simple as population. It was just meant to be a springboard to start thinking of how difficult a true comparison would really be. I apologize if I didn't make that clear.

At the same time it is also different in organized civic ways that I would not dismiss as a cause of their low levels of violence.

I'm getting really sick of cops shooting people who don't deserve to be shot.

veinglory said:

At the same time it is also different in organized civic ways that I would not dismiss as a cause of their low levels of violence.

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But if we admitted that, then we might need to admit that the way we run our country is somehow flawed!

Zoombie said:

But if we admitted that, then we might need to admit that the way we run our country is somehow flawed!

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Well, surely there are flaws! But different types of civic organization are really probably easier with a small, homogenous population compared to a very large, diverse one.


I'd think in Iceland, the police probably are friends with or know most of the people they are policing, too. I know that the 'Mayberry' effect is pretty true where I am compared to much larger nearby cities. (I'm actually not far at all from the real town of 'Mayberry' ). Knowing the police and having them know you can change the interactions very much, imho.