Many Americans don't understand how in some other countries people can't even protest if they wanted to...and then in other counties they protest everything at the drop of a hat...because protesting is the cool thing to do.
Interesting that you appear to see the China model as a better alternative...being jailed for decades.
Well....I guess that's why American democracy just works.
I didn't say China was any better. Just that in the Western world, companies can get away with a lot of stuff because the company might get a hefty fine and go broke. No skin of the CEO's back. Look at VW, for instance. If a company pulls that kind of stunt in China, heads will roll, literally.
I don't want to promote the death penalty, but I think some corporate crimes should see their actors put in jail.
As for the USA, as a country, I think there are a few unique problems that don't seem to hit the rest of the civilised world.
Your love of guns is one of them.
But there are a few others, like very bad health insurance, pensions and very expensive education. These seem to stem from a fear of the word "socialism", due to decades of indoctrination.
And then there are very serious ecological health problems, like lead in drinking water in over 4.000 places. The latest FDA report listed 2.000 schools. If you experience even a small dose of lead in your food over a lengthy period, you get to suffer from anemia, leading to a reduced level of intelligence, or you turn insanely violent. I only learned about this when Flint came into the spotlight, and have been reading about ever since. And every report I get to read seems to indicate it is even worse than previously figured.
There is a definite link between lead poisoning and violent crime. All over the world, violent crime has declined sharply since 1975 or so. That's also the period most countries started banning lead in car fuel. The effect is somewhat less in the USA, which made little sense to me, until I heard about Flint.
Combine a lot of people with slow lead poisoning with the love of guns and you get a high number of mass shootings and a high rate of incarceration.
There's one city left over here where our govt hasn't tackled the lead pipes problem yet. So we get a hefty EU fine for it every year. And that city has a history of violence. It's also a city where IS had a lot of activity, despite it being a relatively small town.
Another stat that made me wonder is that worldwide, even in countries like Myanmar or North Korea, the number of mothers dying while giving birth, is declining. Of course, in Western countries, it's already low, so it's slowly declining. In the USA, the number is going up. Not sharply up, but still. I can't seem to figure out a good reason.
And it's not as if security is perfect in other countries. The head of our local "CIA", succeeded in posting his name, function, home address, cell phone and landline number on a public forum, a while ago. When it dawned on him that it was on the net, he threatened the company that ran the forum to remove his data. Completely forgetting the company was the supplier of one of the security software solutions his agency was using. So, we're not free of that level of stupidity. It only happens a lot less. And those who exhibit that level of stupidity, usually get removed from office. In this case, the guy was promoted away to a purely decorative function. I hear he suffers from a severe depression these days.
...you must think people here have some kind of fanatical relationships with guns...that we hold them and gaze at them like they were puppies or something. Heck...can't remember the last time I took out any of mine. They're just there.