Guns for all.
(Image stolen from the BBC).
As the comedian Bill Hicks once said.. “There’s no connection between having a gun and killing someone with it, and not having a gun, and not killing someone with it, and you’d be a fool and a communist to suggest one.”
Let the flamewar commence :-D
llarian said:
Dec 29, 03 at 6:06 amFlame war? Isn’t everybody on your friends list a bleeding heart liberal? =)
tahoebean said:
Dec 29, 03 at 6:08 amI think American media sensationalizing gun violence is to blame, not gun control or lack thereof… :)
Have you seen “Bowling for Columbine”? I don’t agree with all that he has to say, but he does have quite a few great points! For instance… Canadians have just as many guns as Americans do (roughly) .. and not nearly the amount of crime/murder/etc…
(oh, and we have three guns in our house and I’ve never shot anyone, hehe – my grandfather also is a retired police chief who owns a gunshop & indoor shooting range)
tahoebean said:
Dec 29, 03 at 6:09 amNot me! :)
I’m an independent, hehe – the liberals are too… anti-gun for me :D
llarian said:
Dec 29, 03 at 6:15 amI stand corrected. =)
blueroo said:
Dec 29, 03 at 6:47 amI think you’re definately on the right track here. Guns don’t seem to be the only “vice” that follows this type of pattern either. I can’t find any statistics for this right now, but I recall that alcoholism seems to follow this trend. Countries like the US where alcohol is surrounded by a lot of sensationalism and is highly controlled have higher instances of alcoholism than countries that treat alcohol like any other substance. I suppose you could argue that when people (and especially children) are exposed to something (be it guns, alcohol, drugs) without hype and grandstanding, it doesn’t become a Big Deal when they become older.
I wonder too how much of this is tied to learning responsibility, and whether American children really learn any responsibility when they grow up.
wean said:
Dec 29, 03 at 7:19 amGun Control is breathing properly and squeezing – not jerking – the weapon.
I really doubt that it is all from the media… I feel it is more of a lack of responsibility on the part of the perpetrators. And that actually comes from a lack of training (that is, in life) from their parents. So, I blame the parents of the errant youth of today. The media is only partially (and a very small amount) to blame.
wean said:
Dec 29, 03 at 7:27 amAlcoholism is also very prevalent in socialized countries (Sweden), and dictatorial countries (former USSR / Russian Confederation and even the US as time goes on)… Alcohol is an out, a way to escape from your problems.
Same as drugs.
Similar to computer games.
Similar to anything that takes your mind away from your own little life.
Anything and everything in very large amounts is bad for you. A little bit every now and then is not so bad. It is when it takes over large chunks of your life that it becomes a problem – ala drug addiction and alcohol addiction.
I think the hype and grandstanding just generates a curiosity about it. If you think about it, it makes sense. What is the big deal with smoking? If it is bad for you, why do so many people do it? Same with everything else – booze, sex, drugs, rock and roll. That is where the hype leads.
There are some people who have more addictive “personalities”, mind you – but I don’t believe that they are part of the consideration here.
gothchip said:
Dec 29, 03 at 7:38 amCanada also happens to be the second highest on that list.
Not all gun deaths are crime related. Remove the guns and lives will be saved.
tahoebean said:
Dec 29, 03 at 9:00 amWell sure, its the parents who let their kids watch that shit! :) I blame bad parenting on a LOT of our society’s problems :)
tahoebean said:
Dec 29, 03 at 9:02 amsecond highest by a HUGE margin… If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns :)
anonymous said:
Jan 08, 04 at 12:05 amBut we’ll have to work hard because their stats probably include sheepicide.
MNL