Informant38

{ok. here we go again. the 'sniper' has killed how many people? 13? 15? say 20. it's less than that but say 20. ok. that's really scary. random death. you never know when or where. so the military's on it, and people all around the country are on it and the news is on it.

ok. in 2001 according to MADD. in the combined areas of Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., around 1600 people died in traffic fatalities.
now this is a very tender area for some folks, those who've lost relatives to drunk drivers are real sensitive about this especially those who had to fight for years to get the public aware of the 'acceptance' of drunk driving, and the long struggle to change that.
BUT. MADD's statistics point to around a consistent 40 per cent or so of 'alcohol related' fatalities. obviously there's no accurate way of pinpointing alcohol as cause so it's about post-accident blood alcohol levels for the drivers involved. which we're just going to accept, that still will leave us with 60% non-alcohol related deaths. 60% of 1600 is over 900 (and I've shortened these numbers, underestimating for rhetorical effect, the real figures are way higher, plus the area affected by the sniper-paranoia is much wider than Maryland/Virginia/D.C.).
ok. 900 deaths a year. that's over 70 a month. or roughly 2 a day. these numbers are WAY under the real ones. plus there's no reason not to include the alcohol related ones because as far as we're concerned here, it's the random unpredictable nature of the deaths involved, so both types of traffic fatality have the same effect. but still. 2 a day, since the 2nd of October. it's now the 23rd. that's 42 people. let's say folks are staying at home a whole lot more. let's cut that number in half. 21 people. random violent death. with no reason, no cause but the chance presence of the victim in the wrong place at the wrong time.

remember, these figures are reduced, dramatically. a statistics major could give you far more accurate numbers. they would be much higher. much higher. and no one gives a shit. every single day all over the country. 40,000 plus human lives every year ended violently for no purpose, and no one says a word, except about the drunk on the highway, as though the rest of it is perfectly acceptable.
but hey, that sniper, man. they gotta stop him. people are scared. oh yeah. terrified to go out of the house. oh yeah. because what if it's you, or one of the kids next time.}