Board index › Topical Discussion › Politics, Philosophy, and Religion

Gun control is withering on the vine.

Page 9 of 16 [ 253 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 ... 16  Next

Previous topic | Next topic

iamnotaparakeet
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 25,091
Location: 0.5 Galactic radius

21 Jun 2010, 10:57 am

DW_a_mom wrote:
I have a total disdain for the topic of guns,


And as such, another moderator who has less bias should be in moderation of firearm-topic threads.



pandabear
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,402

21 Jun 2010, 11:32 am

Oh-oh. You're just lucky that this moderator doesn't have a gun.



DW_a_mom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,689
Location: Northern California

21 Jun 2010, 11:46 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
DW_a_mom wrote:
I have a total disdain for the topic of guns,


And as such, another moderator who has less bias should be in moderation of firearm-topic threads.


Hey, I think I did a good job of not letting that bias affect what I took out of the thread. If you disagree, we can talk. I didn't wander in here; I was asked to deal with a situation that was frustrating some members (and not anti-gun ones, at that).


_________________
Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).


DW_a_mom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,689
Location: Northern California

21 Jun 2010, 11:55 am

I actually think this thread illustrates the OP's point kind of well. The real passion at the moment is on one side: the gun owners. I doubt their passion for their rights ever wanes. The flip side, however, the concept of gun control; it does depend on what other issues us bleeding hearts are dealing with. Without passion, there is no effective lobby, no spur for productive action, no studies to bolster the position. There may still be opinions on the gun control side, and maybe some fringe anger, but there is no productive or effective passion. So, to those who favor gun rights, I guess you get to celebrate, you get the round. In my opinion, anyway.

Well, until you try to strip away the few reasonable measures (among all that exist, referring only to the more or less generally accepted reasonable ones) there are out there ... ;)


_________________
Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).


Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 100
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

21 Jun 2010, 12:11 pm

DW_a_mom wrote:
I actually think this thread illustrates the OP's point kind of well. The real passion at the moment is on one side: the gun owners. I doubt their passion for their rights ever wanes. The flip side, however, the concept of gun control; it does depend on what other issues us bleeding hearts are dealing with. Without passion, there is no effective lobby, no spur for productive action, no studies to bolster the position. There may still be opinions on the gun control side, and maybe some fringe anger, but there is no productive or effective passion. So, to those who favor gun rights, I guess you get to celebrate, you get the round. In my opinion, anyway.

Well, until you try to strip away the few reasonable measures (among all that exist, referring only to the more or less generally accepted reasonable ones) there are out there ... ;)


Be careful. You're getting partisan. Gun owners have indicated any restriction on owning guns is unacceptable. The Constitution made no exceptions for paranoid maniacs or people with no capability to make rational judgments.



pandabear
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,402

21 Jun 2010, 12:34 pm

And, no exceptions for Palestinians or Wild Indians, either.



DW_a_mom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,689
Location: Northern California

21 Jun 2010, 1:25 pm

It's just my opinion. That wasn't a mod post; it was an opinion. Of course it's partisan; this is PPR. I am very much a bleeding heart liberal, but I am also highly pragmatic.

Panda, I've thought about your issue with Israel and the Palestinians and the reality is that the US Constitution only applies to the US. While the US certainly can pressure it's partners to share certain values, it also has a duty to recognize the separate sovereignty of those allies, and which issues get pressed depends quite a lot on what the broader picture is at the moment. If this is an issue of concern for you, I would suggest dropping the constitutional argument and working strictly on publicity and the concept of shared values. That restriction was not one that I had much awareness of; perhaps if you can spread more awareness, you can get more interest in applying pressure. But ... it's not my fight or my issue, and even though you got me thinking about it this far, I'm really not going any further.


_________________
Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).


Dox47
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,670
Location: Seattle-ish

21 Jun 2010, 2:22 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
And as such, another moderator who has less bias should be in moderation of firearm-topic threads.


Who? I think the only current mod I've never heard proclaim their distaste for firearms is Tinky, and I don't know if that's just an omission or not. For the moment I think DW is doing just fine at separating her opinions from her modding duties, it's not like the bad old days when you'd trounce Sins in an argument and then find a horse's head in your inbox...


_________________
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer.

- Rick Sanchez


Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 100
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

21 Jun 2010, 10:01 pm

Let me put it from my point of view. I don't give a damn about how emotionally inspiring deadly instruments can be. When a convicted criminal is sentenced to death it takes huge legal process and deliberation and expense to finally decide he must suffer that penalty. I am most uncomfortable when any jerk with a few bucks and a mobile index finger and some weird concept of what consists of a threat and the proper response can wiggle his finger and blast me out of existence with no hold from any legal or sensible backups. That impresses me as a frightful danger that is totally unnecessary in a civilized culture. If the police are inadequate in countering crime the solution is to fix the police, not encourage a wild west ambiance.



RICKY5
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Dec 2009
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,201

21 Jun 2010, 11:10 pm

Sand wrote:
Let me put it from my point of view. I don't give a damn about how emotionally inspiring deadly instruments can be. When a convicted criminal is sentenced to death it takes huge legal process and deliberation and expense to finally decide he must suffer that penalty. I am most uncomfortable when any jerk with a few bucks and a mobile index finger and some weird concept of what consists of a threat and the proper response can wiggle his finger and blast me out of existence with no hold from any legal or sensible backups. That impresses me as a frightful danger that is totally unnecessary in a civilized culture. If the police are inadequate in countering crime the solution is to fix the police, not encourage a wild west ambiance.


Instead of pistols, I propose we carry loudspeakers that say FREE DONUTS! :twisted:



John_Browning
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Mar 2009
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,456
Location: The shooting range

22 Jun 2010, 1:07 am

Sand wrote:
I am most uncomfortable when any jerk with a few bucks and a mobile index finger and some weird concept of what consists of a threat and the proper response can wiggle his finger and blast me out of existence with no hold from any legal or sensible backups. That impresses me as a frightful danger that is totally unnecessary in a civilized culture. If the police are inadequate in countering crime the solution is to fix the police, not encourage a wild west ambiance.

1) A general rule of thumb is not to pull a gun on someone unless the situation is so severe you are willing to get taken to the police station or face legal problems.

2) There is not enough money in any federal, state, or local government's budget for a police force like that even when times are great. Even if a city had an army of cops they still wouldn't be fast enough to save you from harm if something went down.


_________________
"Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars."
- Unknown

"A fear of weapons is a sign of ret*d sexual and emotional maturity."
-Sigmund Freud


iamnotaparakeet
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 25,091
Location: 0.5 Galactic radius

22 Jun 2010, 7:00 am

John_Browning wrote:
Sand wrote:
I am most uncomfortable when any jerk with a few bucks and a mobile index finger and some weird concept of what consists of a threat and the proper response can wiggle his finger and blast me out of existence with no hold from any legal or sensible backups. That impresses me as a frightful danger that is totally unnecessary in a civilized culture. If the police are inadequate in countering crime the solution is to fix the police, not encourage a wild west ambiance.

1) A general rule of thumb is not to pull a gun on someone unless the situation is so severe you are willing to get taken to the police station or face legal problems.

2) There is not enough money in any federal, state, or local government's budget for a police force like that even when times are great. Even if a city had an army of cops they still wouldn't be fast enough to save you from harm if something went down.


With an army of cops, there would also be more likelihood of crooked cops too.



pandabear
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,402

22 Jun 2010, 9:58 am

Here are some Good Old Boys, playing with guns:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k57rt58vUYw[/youtube]

Notice, towards the end of the clip, the conservative Klansmen violate the Second Amendment by disarming the Blacks.



Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 100
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

22 Jun 2010, 9:58 am

John_Browning wrote:
Sand wrote:
I am most uncomfortable when any jerk with a few bucks and a mobile index finger and some weird concept of what consists of a threat and the proper response can wiggle his finger and blast me out of existence with no hold from any legal or sensible backups. That impresses me as a frightful danger that is totally unnecessary in a civilized culture. If the police are inadequate in countering crime the solution is to fix the police, not encourage a wild west ambiance.

1) A general rule of thumb is not to pull a gun on someone unless the situation is so severe you are willing to get taken to the police station or face legal problems.

2) There is not enough money in any federal, state, or local government's budget for a police force like that even when times are great. Even if a city had an army of cops they still wouldn't be fast enough to save you from harm if something went down.


Therefore it is wise for the whole general public to go around armed and trust that there will be enough discipline in untrained and untested civilians of all ages with psychologically doubtful instincts so that we can count n being safe.



iamnotaparakeet
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 25,091
Location: 0.5 Galactic radius

22 Jun 2010, 10:28 am

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN4G4_0QOPQ[/youtube]



Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 100
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

22 Jun 2010, 10:54 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN4G4_0QOPQ[/youtube]


"King "George W. reigned for two terms vandalizing the environment, chopping into civil rights, authorizing torture, defying the
Constitution, lying consistently to the country to get the country into a war with no basis for making the country more secure and killing an awful lot of innocents on both sides with huge expense and no tangible results and not a shot was fired by patriots to defend the country.