When I read the article “American Exceptionalism and the ‘Exceptionally American’ Problem of Mass Shootings”, Professor Adam Lankford came across several amazing points that I enjoyed reading. Professor Lankford pointed out that millions of Americans believe in the “American Dream” that’s out in this world. They want their life to be like the reality television shows that they watch on the daily. This article talks about United States society rates on gun control, how many are mass killing innocent people “because the people made them do it”. In this article, Mr. Lankford talked about a specific story about a man named Vester L. Flanagan II. Mr. Flanagan, a television news anchor, did a public mass shooting at his job. He claimed to be harassed for his race and sexuality. Flanagan was a black, gay man. Now, his attack didn’t actually qualify as a mass shooting, but because he sought…show more content… I’ve seen on the news about shootings happening here and there, but to be number one? Never thought it was that high. Honestly, reading this article really opened up my eyes to what is really going on in the United States. I saw that killing was going on more often than, I guess normal but haven’t put that thought together to realize it has grown tremendously. In the article, Mr. Lankford says in his analysis that, “62 percent of all school and workplace shooters were Americans. (Lankford)” He also says, “At 90 mass shooters in less than 50 years, the U.S. has five times as many as the next highest country on the list (the Philippines). (Lankford)” When I read that part, I instantly had a flashback to the very first time I watched the news and seen that there was a random shooting back in 2014. I can’t exactly remember what the story was about, but at that moment, my mind finally registered that the killings have grown very large from 2014 to 2016 of my own
