john: is it a mean, mean world? it seems like one when you watch us, we're in a war. >> terrorist threats to the us us. >> the ebola outbreak. >> i am scared. john: it is i mean mean world, worse than ever. >> starvation is breath taking. >> massive flooding. >> this world is about it go through some disasters. john: most people say horrible things are happening, some are, but they have always happened, they used to happen more. look at this chart, deaths in war in middle east now is terrible. but nothing like what happened in 40s and 50s. millions were killed in world war ii, more in korean war, and more by chairman mao in china, compare now, violent death more common today terrorism is up. a graph from university of chicago, first spike is world trade center attack, worldwide, terrorism deaths have sometimes been higher since then, but few americans are killed by terrorists, of 18,000 terrorism deaths last year, 16 were americans. every death is terrible, but is the world meaner today than it used ite to be? is america? no, despite terrorism and war, crime and disease, people live longer today, average american life span is now 79 years. you look at statistics, you could say these are the best of times, president obama said that. >> if yo if had to choose aboutt to be born in human history, you choose this time. world is less violent than it hahas been. it is healthier than it has been. john: he was mocked for saying that, yet that statement is true, but not what we usually hear on tv. >> we're in a very dangerous time right now, more so perhaps than at height of the cold war with the soviet union. john: more dangerous than cold war when russians had thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at us, and khrushchev said we'll bury you? i don't think so. give me a break, people are convinced that dream is o is --e is on the rise. >> i believe it is worse. >> i got a conceal and clear license, i don't feel safe any more. >> reporter: has crime gotten worse. >> yes. >> reporter: worse than you were a child. >> no, we didn't have to lock our doors now we do. john: john studies crime, what are the people talking about? >> they don't know that crime is down. in the last -- look at last century, for -- from 20s through 50s, dream is steady at a low rate, crime explodes in 60s and 70s, high in 80s, then declines in 90s could then the same last decade or last 5 or 6 years declined again, that story is not getting told. john: homicide down 51%, rape 35 percent, robbery 56%, assault down 45%. good news? >> great news, but, the thing that is interesting, in '90s climb declined everywhere but in last 5 or 6 years just declineed in some cities in washington, new york, dallas or san diego, violent crime is way down, in phillie or chicago and detroit, it is not, those stories are getting told across the country. john: overall, it is down. but some people have a hard time believing this, when i tell them, most would not believe me. >> is crime rising? >> oh, yeah in chicago and big cities sure. john: would you be surprised if i told you crime is down? >> yes, i you would wong that crime is on the -- crime is rise. john: a former police officer. >> is crime down. >> statisticly it is down, i did sta t*euftics for police department in 9 94 our homicide was 942, and that was like high in that decade, now it is about half that. new york during that time was reaching 2300. right now new york and chicago are like neck-and-neck for homicides. john: most informed interviews so far. john: his numbers were a little off but close, crime is down, murder rate from 1990 to now. rape, robbery. even when you tell people, they don't want to believe it, people think that crime in their neighborhood i is getting bette, but in the city they live in is getting worse, reasons is they are bombarded with messages from media about how violent the world with, and shows like gang land, that shows gang violent and 1990 but they are not told that. and so, people have wrong messages. >> why is it down? >> we had places where we had immigrants move to central cities, we have them reduce aim of segregation that happened to create a virtual cycle of economic development. john: i would also think technology, people can call police more easily, and video cameras discourageing crimes. >> cell phones are great for for example how things that areathon extending length of prison sentences have helped to reduce crime rate, cell phone means instead of going to an open air drug market where there is violence on dealers and dealers and buyers, now you can call your buyer, ordeal or a cell phone they will bring it to you. john: okay. as you mentioned as with all trends there are e exceptions, sometimes it goes up in a short period in a specific place, that bad news gets hyped. >> on the rise here, for a second year in a row. >> that was true. in 2012, crime was up. but trend has been down. >> well, crime was up, according to a survey of americans. crime according to what was respected to police, in 2011, and-12 was down, violence was reduceed. john: the bad news gets picked up because bad news is news, no one is out at the back fence, gossiping about who is being faithful to their spouse. >> now, everyone time someone cheats on their space it on news. john: suburbs are safer than citys. >> it used to be true, it is get to be less true, when we tear down high-rise public housing and move people out of really violent places that poison the people, the crime does not follow them. john: more mass killings? >> the more notion of serial killers is overblown it sells books and movies, it is wonderful fodder for tv shows. it is really rare in america. if you talk with serial killers, or offenders. john: i warily do. >> and i have, and what they tell you, they can't believe they done get caught, they are not criminal masterminds. they are rare. john: i wonder what would happen to crime rate if we legallized drugs? >> in drugs were legal would there be more crime? >> yes, i think so. >> i think that drugs is the cause of a lot of crime. >> if heroin and cocaine were legal would there be more her less crime. >> i think more. when you are taking substances like that, you don't think normally. >> that is what reported managing editor of fox news he'll.codo the health.com, sayi, had is clear crime and drug use is on the rise. but it's not. >> absolutely. >> you saw those graphs. >> if you want to pick and choose statistics. john: from the fbi. >> this is today's "wall street journal", look at that heading mass shootings on the rise, a report from fbi today. >> right. >> looking at -- >> let me respond they cherry pick the year 2000. a low year. >> and your staf stat istitionse cherry picking the data. crimes are out of control, and drug use is out of control. john: it is less than it used to be, right. >> yes, and i used to have more hair, but i'm still bald. john: you are a square monger? >> no -- john: you are a scaremonger. >> no, i am the guy at the hospital. hospital. john: john help me. >> you are entitleed to your own opinion not your own facts, facts are violence in america has declines. >> you said before in suburbia, it was a happy go hrub lucky neighborhood, i walked my neighborhood, i live in one of most wonderful in america, i walk that neighborhood, i find, herheroin packets open, burned, why? heroin is only $8 today, in '70s a pack would cost you i don't know $100. >> why do you want to keep fighting the drug war? >> i don't want more people addicted. john: we should decriminalize there are fewer addicts. >> they give you a pass on a one gram of cocaine or mere heroin. >> is that what you have? >> no this is just show-and-tell, when you have all of that, you go to jail just like any place else, that -- different standards of criminal code, not argument of legalizing drugs in the world. john: one man, i interviewed revealed a logical inconsistency to ban drugs he is from malaysia. would there be more crime. >> yeah, we have if you have more than 15 crimes you are going to the hang man's noose. noose. john: no drug use in your country. >> there is. john: the answer is tough laws but there is drug use anyway. >> yeah. john: it's not working. >> no but there are a lot of other things involved. john: it's not working here either. >> i believe that criminal code needs to be analyzed more deeply, legalization of marijuana, i used to be against it. i'm not so sure any more as a scientist. john: but no way crack or heroin. >> absolutely not. john: the black market causes crime they steal to get products. >> also, listen, i don't think that this government right now has paid attention in putting really screws on countries that harbor you know drug manufacturing, looking at colombia, or bolivia and border problems we have, this is why you can find heroin for $8, and pot for less than 5, and it is everywhere, call 1-800 find drugs you can get did. john: we need to fight a tougher drug war. >> we need to do our job, the job of government is to protect the people, right now this country is not being protected at any level. john: you want more protection, i don't know thank you, manny and john, and joining this argument you with tweet with that hash tag mean world, or post on my facebook page. >> coming up, hollywood hypocrites, they don't want you to have a gun. >> newtown. >> how many more enough. >> demand a plan. >> ♪ mr. daniels. mr. daniels. look at this. what's this? clicks are off the charts. yeah. yoshi, we're back. yes, sir! ♪ more shipping! more shipping! ♪ [ beeping ] ♪ [ beeping ] "hello. you can go ahead and "have a nice flight."re." ♪ music plays ♪ music plays traveling can feel like one big mystery. you're never quite sure what is coming your way. but when you've got an entire company who knows that the fewest cancellations and the most on-time flights are nothing if we can't get your things there, too. people choose delta than any other airline. >> the internet has changed how guns are sold, sites make it easy to do parking lot gun deals with no background checks, no questions asked. john: easy to do, anonymous parking lot deals, it sounds s frightening, gun ownership is up, and americans with permits to carry tripleed. in last 7 years, and media screams about gun crime. >> growing so rapidly there one city official said that city is under attack. >> people become so conditioned to the sound of gunfire in their neighborhood they don't call police 92 i. john: it sounds terrible, and it is for those people, but this is such misleading sound bites. >> murder, violent crimes have gone down in last 25 years. john: talking about end tkwrap lessyapindianapolisand camden ws been bad. >> nationaly and big cities, violent crime has been down. john: you wrote a book, more guns, less crime. which makes no sense to most people. >> you can deter criminal with higher arrest rates, fact that victims can defend themselves can make it risky for criminals to engage in a crime, we seen a tripleing of consigned handguns in last 7 years, and murder rates and violent crimes have fallen. john: let me ask the audience. how many of youon a gun? -- you own a gun? unusual for new york. i tried to get a permit here i gave up, they turned me down after months of trying $430. >> the poor people, are most beneficial to guns, those with training fees, are priced out. john: former mayor bloomberg has a gun control group, saying sinew town there have -- since newtown there have been 74 school shoots. >> i have looked at these studies every one of these has huge errors, they include things somebody that used his gun defensively to stop two attackers is a newtown, someone that committed suicide by themselve at 2:00 a.m. in morning in a parking lot, this is outrageous that media repeats these. john: we invited them to come on the program, they would not respond, any time a gun goes off at a school, students and parents are concerned. >> looking at numbers of deathing in scooting from guns they have fallen over last couple decades, number of school shootings have gone down, a case where media created this hysteria, we have a lot of good things happening there. john: and stkpaoebging o speakif media his teria, dr. manning pulling out news pain are saying that mass shootings are up, you see that trend line is down. >> they are starting in 2000 that is happened to below years in terms of attacks, about a third of their cases don't involve people getting hurt by gunfire. there is maybe a shot someplace in a public area, that count that as a mass shooting. john: why is it mass? >> you ask the fbi people who put it together. john: let's continue the pwhraol berbloomberg argument. >> open the door. get away from him. put him down. get out of here. i'm taking him. but commercial is odd because the violent ex-husband could be an argument for gun ownership, had the woman owned a gun she could have defended herself. herself. >> here is the points, but the man is much stronger than the woman is. the presence of a gun represents a bigger change in her ability to defend herself. than for a man to do the attack, he is already stronger. you know, if anything, you find is that women benefit more than men from having a gun. john: with you threw that at bloomberg group saying we should focus on keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abuseers, it makes it 5 times more likely that the woman will get killed. >> the bloomberg people just can't get them right, if you read the study, if you read the study, it says opposite, women who are separated with guns have a lower prob bill that' prob bim happening to them. john: just break it down there are a lot of people killed by guns in in, more than 30,000. majority of cases -- >> suicide. john: 19 now. murder 11,000. a lot of that is gang warfare. >> right. john: accidental death 591. and for kids, under 15, 74. still terrible. >> better if it was zero but the any is how do we stop them? surely more police is important but you talk to police they tell you, they can't be there all of the time, the question is, what should victims do when they confront a criminal by themselves, having a gun is the safest course of action to take at that time. john: thank you john lot, next, the way some idiots school administrators react to us idiots in media after we exaggerate crimes. new york state is jump-starting business with startup-ny. an unprecedented program that partners businesses with universities across the state. for better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. and you pay no taxes for ten years. from biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo... startup-ny has new businesses popping up across the state. see how startup-ny can help your business grow at startup.ny.gov know that chasing performance and fewer choices in retirement. know that proper allocation could help increase returns so you can enjoy that second home sooner. know the right financial planning can help you save for college and retirement. know where you stand with pnc total insight. a new investing and banking experience with personalized guidance and online tools. visit a branch, call or go online today. are you a. john: we should have a contest sometime. how stupid are some administrators? in maryland a seventh grader was suspended. he picked up a pop tart, made shooting noises and pointed it at children. john: a pop tart. is it really a threat? what is the school thinking? they said it wasn't a first offense and it's unfortunate that his lawyer turned it into a spectacle. but someone should make a spectacle of overreaction like that because it keeps happening. kids get punished for playing with toy guns even on school property. >> the virginia beach school system suspended these two students because they were firing this air soft gun near private property. >> including my son, he's private property to me. he's my property and not the schools property and he's on their school bus. john: even on school property i wouldn't think that that would be such a big deal. patrice tries to keep track of these cases. it is a mean world and we have to make sure that kids get the message. >> what we are seeing is the culture of alarmism here. we are seeing an overreaction by school administrators to establish what could be harmful actions on the part of young kid and they have unintended consequences of really harming their students that they are meant to help. john: what are these people thinking? a pop tart? >> they are thinking that that can be construed in the wrong way and another student can feel her by it or fearful of it and then it could cause a chain reaction and lead to some sort of losses down the line. john: don't they get embarrassed? i rarely hear them that we went through a lot. >> they don't want to admit that they have come up with a bad policy. they are against communities and individuals and families who should really be the ones deciding what rest for the kid. john: even in the child welfare bureaucracies, this fox affiliate reporter bill anderson reported on a boy who got in trouble. >> you may have heard the story of 13-year-old ethan chaplain who was suspended from school for twirling a pencil. another student said that the pencil appeared threatening and was symbolic of a gun and ultimately told the teachers. he was suspended in order to go under and psychological valuation. john: than the geniuses of the new jersey department of children and family stepped in and his father explains what happened then. >> first they stripped him and they put him in a bed, took everything away from him including his own. and then an hour later they took urine and then five minutes later they to love in which he passed out. and they released him. >> the school investigated and cleared the young man of any charges and we thought about the end of the case. but then the state steps in and says to the father that we think because he didn't send her child to counseling that there is some sort of harm being done. now this father is in danger of potentially losing a son. >> the sad part is there are so many children in new jersey that are in abusive situations and in far worse situations than the terrible loving father like this man. >> we try to get them to talk to us about this and they said confidentiality laws prevent us from commenting. simply twirling a pencil is not a basis to initiate child protective services. they imply there's other sinister stuff going on. >> that's what happens when you stand up against misguided policies. john: another one was a six-year-old suspended for using their finger as a gun after playing cops and robbers. and at deaf boy was forced to change its name because his name in sign language resembled a gun. and a georgette child was charged with a felony because he had fishing knives in his car. and another got in trouble for sharing his food? >> he said why don't you have my much or my burrito, and they said there's a no tolerance policy against sharing food whatsoever. what we are seeing is a reaction because there is a fear that you can pass onand infectious disease. again, overreaction is meant to stimulate us and our children are not at risk. we should be protecting them and not turning them over to the schools. >> thank you, patrice. coming up next, hollywood hypocrites. >> columbine, virginia tech. >> for the children of sandyat a hook. demand a plan. produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. whenwork with equity experts who work with regional experts that's when expertise happens. mfs. because there is no expertise without collaboration. john: i wish that i were cool just because i am on tv. that is why some of us use their celebrity to promote positive messages and in this case, the gun control. >> fort hood, oak creek, newtown. for the children of sandy hook. demand a plan. john: okay, they are entitled to their opinion. but many of them are hypocrites. this film critic is here to explain why. >> some of the actors in that particular clip had been in other movies where they engaged in a lot of violent activities and they are showing themselves in a glamorous way to look at fighting the bad guys in saving the day and shortly after the lebanese commercial aired, another commercial aired of many actors in this film. >> call amount of trans [inaudible] >> backlit that clip does what the mainstream press often doesn't do. it sort of hold them to a higher standard and says that you need to look at what you're doing. >> they make violent movies because people really want to see violent movies. does this have an effect? is there -- do you think there's too much violence in movies? does it upset you? >> i don't know that it really affects people, but let's name a famous hypocrite. sylvester stallone said we need to be more accountable and realize that this is an escalating problem. then he went on to make the expendables. and grudge match. >> they fought only twice, but the tie-breaking blood match never happened. >> was just put it this way. i am a people person. [laughter] >> five years ago matt damon said i don't want to be gratuitous, i do believe that it has an effect in the turndown movies because of that. [inaudible] >> i'm a texas ranger. and green zone. and moviemakers are smart. this year harvey weinstein says he would be a hypocrite if he made a more violent movie. >> we have to choose movies that aren't violent or as violent as they used to be. i can't make one movie and say this is what i want them and go out and be a hypocrite. >> he is not a director that we know or quiet intimate chamber pieces but he makes probably the most violent movies in our culture than the movie poster has a trail of love and that is just a hint of it to come. but we see is not and he defends islands says that it's an argument to blame entertainers for real violence. >> this has gone all the way down to shakespeare's day,. >> release he's not ever critical. he does what he does and you also look back at elvis presley. now, miley cyrus between songs, she starts her own revolution in the way. there's a point when we do look at the culture and we compare with the artists are doing, but i also think that as an artist i should think about what my product does and what impact it has. john: they are not dumb, they do a because it works. >> absolutely, if you compare this to 30 or 40 years ago, it's a much different story. and it's very violent. i enjoyed it, i can process it, but other kids can't. pg-13 movies have a long-range of a little bit of violence and a lot of violence. on the other hand, much more violence and entertainment and crime is down. john: coming up, the studio audience it's a quiz our guests and then i will make the case that it is not a mean world but a better world. a better world. 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[applause] ♪ ♪ john: it's not such a mean world. that is what my reporting has taught me. but now it is your turn. here to take your questions includes john from the crime prevention research center, patrice and film critic christian toto. first a question from facebook. i guess this is for you, john. nick says a common counter lopped argument, what is your response? >> and shows the opposite of what he thinks it shows. there was a big gun buyback and people have gone out about what was before. and what they would predict was an increase in firearms and if anything it has done the opposite. john: to the audience. who is first? >> what does happen when guns are banned by entire countries. >> that is a good question. every single time all handguns have been banned, murder rates go up. it's because the good citizens are the ones that obey the law and turn in their guns and not the criminals. just as they can bring in illegal drugs, they can bring in the guns that they use to fight those battles. >> this question is for patrice. others want to know if there's any substantiative action to correct policies. >> is another case where a young woman was banned from her school for over-the-counter medicine. and what she did is collect 30,000 signatures and is turning them in to say actually this does not make any sense and for me, i deserve to be rejected just as much. it's just as much about the individuals and parents standing up and when we stand up and reunite together, that causes a lot of change. >> you have talked about movies but what about video games? they are continually demonized in the media and yet any usage is conflicted at best. >> video games are more intensive because you're taking on the ideno games are more intensive because you're taking on the identity of the sh >> video games are more intensive because you're taking on the identity of the shooter and it's not just you watching james bond saving the day, if you shooting. >> violent video games is way up when crime is down. >> research study says that it is a factor and it's one of many factors. there are so many different things that come in to play and sometimes you see cases where someone was a mass murderer. but there's a whole bunch of violent video games. >> that is how complicated this is. >> correlation is not causation. >> my question is i have three small children and i have already bought them rifles and i will teach them to fire these rivals to defend themselves no matter what anyone says. so why are there not more of promotions for the child participates? >> what i found when i was writing this that eight and nine and 10-year-olds who have used guns to save the lives of relatives, the media wouldn't cover those very much. so i called the crime reporters and i said you have one story of a taxi cab driver and this other story of a 9-year-old who saved his grandmother's life, a small story in the back of your newspaper. the thought others were worried that if they put g newspaper. the thought others were worried that if they put guns in a positive light with regards to kids, that would make it so that more kids would have access to guns and then they were afraid about this occurring that they would be responsible. john: thank you all. coming up next, why it is a better better world now than ever before. know that chasing performance can mean lower returns and fewer choices in retirement. john: is getting better. we live longer now and fewer people die of poverty. there are fewer wars. and despite all of the scary things that we report on right now. and i don't mean to minimize those risks, they are real and these need to be addressed. but for most people and places, the world is blessed mean. there's something called the belgian syndrome as in this woody allen movie. >> nuclear weapons, and drug cartels. >> nostalgia is a mile. >> and it was once considered a disease in this article reports a russian general toward told the troops of the first one to come down with a nostalgic virus will be buried alive and he made good on his threats. nostalgia the pastnostalgia makes us forgt the past, people died young. most people my age 50 years ago, people my age were already dead. suffering and violence were much more prevalent in the air and water were filthy and today the air and water are cleaner and crime is down over the past 25 years, murder dropped by 50% and robberies by 50%, rate by 25%. we complain about today's politicians destroying our freedom and our future and they do with their suffocating rolls and overspending. but in spite of all that the free market has managed to make more of our lives less mean. most of us have more choice with comfortable lives. also, if you are black or gay or a woman, america is much less mean than it was. and let's not forget how bad things were for minority groups just a few decades ago. fifty years ago, few americans worried about terrorism, we worried about different things. the population explosion is unstoppable and pesticides will give everyone cancer, the globe is cooling and a new ice age may come. more recently, do you remember the scare of 1999? two is it possible that we are in for an international disaster? because the world's computers will be confused? >> everyone knows the failure of uncle sam's computers will be chaos. >> when the year 2000 head, all of the airplanes were going to crash because computers can't handle the flow from the dear 1999 and yet you probably don't even remember it. i remember only because i get paid to remember and i report on this stuff and evolution has trained our brains to focus on this today. we forget the problems of the past and get scared with the media hype now. many say they feel they live in a gloomy world and this fear leads to bad politics. fearful people are more easily manipulated and controlled and they may accept welcome perception. today americans accept and even welcome repressive policies that go along with the politicians that try to protect us and we need protection, most of that is government jobs. but the world has not got meaner. and so let's enjoy that and try not to mess it up. that is our show and thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ ♪ . lou: good evening, everybody. disturbing news tonight as the number of people exposed to the first confirmed u.s. case of ebola has now risen to more than 100 people. the number now includes 8 children who attend 5 different schools in texas. texas public health officials now acknowledge that more cases of ebola could be coming, just two days after the centers for disease control director tom frieden said quote, we're stopping it in its tracks. dallas county health and human services far more realistic and forthcoming in their assessment telling fox news today quote, it's