Most of us spent our youths fantasizing about the wild west which was a constant theme on the "silver screen," radio and early TV. Much of it was overblown. There was a subculture, especially after the Civil War, centered around crime and banditry and gunslinging, but it was always a minority in the population. Women and children and the sanctity of the home were generally respected. In fact, my grandparents who homesteaded in North Dakota shortly after the turn of the century never locked their doors, and neither did my parents until about the nineteen fifties or sixties. Society was changing even then and not for the best.
Even the gunslingers who dueled with each other were generally a problem only in isolated areas like mining towns and Dodge City and they tended to wipe each other out and disappear as soon as the civilizing process through the introduction of women folk, education and churches began taking effect. I'm pretty sure that most areas of Deadwood and Tombstone were a lot safer for the average child and adult than some areas of Chicago and new York are today, with so many irresponsible individuals owning or stealing guns and spraying bullets with abandon.
Our ancestors sought for the calming effects of civilization and consciously set out to find and apply them. They wanted safe neighborhoods where wearing guns would become obsolete. Tombstone even had a statute against citizens wearing guns in town, and enforcing that law against some lawless elements was one factor that led to the famous shootout at the O K Corral. That "wild west" attitude is quite a contrast with the current attitude exhibited by Wayne LaPierre.
He actually said, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
He went on to blame everything from video games and TV shows to a violent culture for the problems we face and called for armed guards in all schools. He conveniently neglected to suggest ways to pay for such armed protection. Even if such "protectors" were volunteers, the administration of such a program by school districts, local, state and national government would be astronomical. I'm sure he doesn't want taxes increased on his corporation or his overpaid self to take care of it. Probably, he would take the common GOP and tea party approach of cutting more desperately needed safety nets away from desperately needy citizens while he expected the resulting increase in desperation to lead to "law and order."
I don't blame him for not taking questions after such a display of stupidity and ignorance.
It is impossible to have a civilized society under our present system of letting everyone, regardless of need or qualifications, to be armed to the teeth with military style weaponry and to walk around with impunity any place they choose to do so. As I pointed out recently: http://theageofreason--21stcentury.blogspot.com/2012/12/sums-it-up-perfectly.html and: http://theageofreason--21stcentury.blogspot.com/2012/12/time-to-wise-up_14.html, the idea of becoming the member of an etremist militia and "saving America" is pure nonsense and it is an attitude that gave us one civil war a century and a half ago. Do we really want to precipitate another such paroxism of bloodletting?
As for me, I don't want to see schools transformed into a scene approximating a prison or concentration camp. I don't want teachers having to strap on holsters filled with loaded guns every morning. I don't want to walk down the streets of Cottonwood, or anywhere else, and wonder if some deranged individual is going to send either an aimed or ricochet bullet my way or the way of some unsuspecting child merrily skipping rope or tagging along on a shopping trip.
Please, let's see some sanity!
P.S: P. Z. Meyers has a good statement about this nonsense as well: http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/12/21/the-nra-has-spoken/
And, check out Lawrence O'Donnell: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/lawrence-odonnell-nra-lapierre_n_2349965.html
Showing posts with label Gun violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gun violence. Show all posts
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
SUMS IT UP PERFECTLY
David Letterman made a very true statement filled with insight:
"I've never seen a deer worth 30 rounds of ammo and an automatic rifle."
His statement reminded me of a comment my wife's father made to his then son-in-law who was admiring his father-in-law's semi-automatic service pistol and expressed a desire to have one. The wise old police officer said that such a gun was for killing people and he didn't need a gun like that.
That's the real crux of the matter.
People who want assault rifles usually have a "Rambo complex." They often feel that the government is their oppressor and enemy because it doesn't rubber stamp their particular attitudes, assurances and prejudices. They assume there is a plot for the government to take over and destroy all their "freedoms." They want to be prepared to resist and "take back my country."
Sound familiar? It's been a common refrain ever since a black skinned man won the presidency. It rears its ugly head every time someone points out the insanity of the religious right's attempts to legislate their religion into every aspect of the common citizen's life. By gawd. they're going to be "christian soldiers" or a "Phineas priest." They consider it their "faith assignment" to be judge, jury and executioner, and that assault rifle is very effective in carrying out that supposed divine ordination.
When ordinary people become psycologically inflamed by faith-inspired ideology and conspiracy theories, it's very easy for psychoses to take over. It happened with the inquisition. It happened in Nazi Germany. It's happening in Africa where witches are being hunted, denounced and executed right now by Sarah Palin's deluded friends.
We never should have allowed the ban on assault weapons to expire. It's made millions for arms manufacturers, but it has turned our nation into a very dangerous place where the most minor mental crisis some individual might have can suddenly morph into the most horrible of tragedies. He or she doesn't even need to own the weapons themselves. They can simply appropriate the weapons others have lying around.
When my wife's adopted Yavapai Apache son was paroled from prison, we knew his alcoholism could flare at any time, and when he is drinking he is completely out of his head. We were very concerned about the guns I had in the house and never used. Our solution was to sell them to people who had a legitimate use for such firearms. Spending time at shooting ranges, plinking away with expensive ammo at targets doesn't appeal to me, and I certainly wasn't going to spend a fortune at my age stumbling around in the mountains after a deer or elk I couldn't deal with after I bagged it. So, we have not a single gun in the house. If any cowardly "phineas priest" hates my writings enough, I'm an easy target. I won't be shooting back.
It certainly doesn't take 30 rounds of high-power ammo to bring down a deer. A deer hit with that kind of firepower would be rendered inedible. Little children and dedicated teachers hit like that are just DEAD!
"I've never seen a deer worth 30 rounds of ammo and an automatic rifle."
His statement reminded me of a comment my wife's father made to his then son-in-law who was admiring his father-in-law's semi-automatic service pistol and expressed a desire to have one. The wise old police officer said that such a gun was for killing people and he didn't need a gun like that.
That's the real crux of the matter.
People who want assault rifles usually have a "Rambo complex." They often feel that the government is their oppressor and enemy because it doesn't rubber stamp their particular attitudes, assurances and prejudices. They assume there is a plot for the government to take over and destroy all their "freedoms." They want to be prepared to resist and "take back my country."
Sound familiar? It's been a common refrain ever since a black skinned man won the presidency. It rears its ugly head every time someone points out the insanity of the religious right's attempts to legislate their religion into every aspect of the common citizen's life. By gawd. they're going to be "christian soldiers" or a "Phineas priest." They consider it their "faith assignment" to be judge, jury and executioner, and that assault rifle is very effective in carrying out that supposed divine ordination.
When ordinary people become psycologically inflamed by faith-inspired ideology and conspiracy theories, it's very easy for psychoses to take over. It happened with the inquisition. It happened in Nazi Germany. It's happening in Africa where witches are being hunted, denounced and executed right now by Sarah Palin's deluded friends.
We never should have allowed the ban on assault weapons to expire. It's made millions for arms manufacturers, but it has turned our nation into a very dangerous place where the most minor mental crisis some individual might have can suddenly morph into the most horrible of tragedies. He or she doesn't even need to own the weapons themselves. They can simply appropriate the weapons others have lying around.
When my wife's adopted Yavapai Apache son was paroled from prison, we knew his alcoholism could flare at any time, and when he is drinking he is completely out of his head. We were very concerned about the guns I had in the house and never used. Our solution was to sell them to people who had a legitimate use for such firearms. Spending time at shooting ranges, plinking away with expensive ammo at targets doesn't appeal to me, and I certainly wasn't going to spend a fortune at my age stumbling around in the mountains after a deer or elk I couldn't deal with after I bagged it. So, we have not a single gun in the house. If any cowardly "phineas priest" hates my writings enough, I'm an easy target. I won't be shooting back.
It certainly doesn't take 30 rounds of high-power ammo to bring down a deer. A deer hit with that kind of firepower would be rendered inedible. Little children and dedicated teachers hit like that are just DEAD!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
