Guns

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by SailDesign

Nigal, I think the "outsider's" view is always going to be clouded by the fact that guns were invented (if you can use that term here) with one purpose in mind - to kill things.

Not quite..... guns were created as a tool of warfare. War is organized violence and organized deterrence. As a consequence of the latter term War was also intended to prevent conflicts by bluff, intimidation or maneuver.

One of the reasons that the US and USSR never fought was because of an exquisite balance of terror - in a like sense an armed populace can deter crime and sometimes genocide.

Originally Posted by SailDesign

When folks hear of concealed carry of a deadly weapon, whether it is a pistol in the US, or a knife in the UK, they think "That person is up to no good".

What bigoted rubbish!!

The tens of thousands of civilians legally licensed to carry firearms in the US are minding their own business, are not Vigilantes and do not have "big balls". The numbers of permit holders who have been prosecuted for murder and assault is almost statistically insignificant.

Such persons go about their lives and do not bother anyone. Just like the victims of racial bigotry, ethnic bigotry, religious bigotry and many other groups who have been targeted for injury by the willfully ignorant.

If you were to say something as derogatory about a member of a "protected class" you'd be held up for approbation here. Well, that's not the case but someone has to speak the truth. I think your remark is bigoted non-sense.

Originally Posted by SailDesign

It is a "natural" assumption since most people's lives do not involve travel in areas where you are likely to be shot on a daily basis.

Ironically enough most of the people who do travel into such hostile areas are not armed. They're "bystanders" and "collateral damage".

In large US cities where firearms are tightly regulated for the law abiding the average citizen hides in their dwelling armed with caveman weapons. They live in terror of armed hoodlums who are free to prey upon them. The gangs, which can obtain guns from the people who sell them drugs, are at the top of the food chain.

In my neck of the woods armed citizens are not common, I'd guess perhaps one to five percent of us are armed at any given moment on the street. In our homes it's different, probably half of us own some sort of firearm.

We are heavily armed but we are not dropping like flies from murder. The last murder in my town occurred five years ago, maybe more. In contrast in New York City they can't go half a day without a needless, shameful death.


In some of the desolate areas where I go Law Enforcement is miles away. My cell phone doesn't always reach a tower. There is no 911 for me.

The Police out in the sticks are busy coping with all sorts of stupid crimes. They are not obligated to defend me, that's been hashed out by US Courts. The Police do not have defend you, cannot be sued for failing to defend you and are there to clean up the mess and gather evidence for prosecution.

In reality we are at the sufferance of those around us, unless we have the power to fight back.

How often do I carry? Damned rarely. I'm not allowed to bring a piece onto my employer's property. When I'm out in the sticks I might carry and might not carry.

The ironic part is that I'm a lot more meek and mild when I'm armed. I go to considerable effort to avoid trouble. When I'm unarmed I can be an asshole.

Originally Posted by SailDesign

I actively avoid areas where I would feel the need to "protect" myself.

That's always sensible but not always practical. You, of course, have the choice to hope that someone saves you in time. Some of us are a bit less confident of "the System" and prefer to take our own chances.

It's not "rugged individualism", it's accepting the realities of life. We have an obligation to deter violence in others by presenting to them the possibility of violence in return. Their economic calculations must include this prospect and as a consequence such folks go to where their predation is not punished.

Gene