Friday, December 07, 2007

No comment.

So I'm picking up the vibe that while I was at work Wednesday some whackjob offed a bunch of holiday shoppers in a mall in Omaha using a firearm of some sort.

I assume that late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, while I was zipping North in my car, trying to stay awake by listening to Linkin Park played at 11, the news media was in a hand-wringing frenzy about it.

I also suppose that yesterday morning, while I was reading and dozing peacefully on a friend's sofa, the blogosphere was burning up from both ends of the spectrum, either decrying the "easy availability"[sic] of "assault weapons"[sic] or, on the other wing, blasting the victim disarmament zones that proved so effective (yet again) in providing lambs for the slaughter.


Me?

I have a hard time getting worked up about it anymore.

As long as we have guns, people are going to get killed with them. Note that I didn't say "as long as we have private guns"; as long as we have guns period. That's just the way it is, folks, and don't think I'm not sorry to say it.

As long as we have jets, people are going to die in flaming crashes. As long as we have busses, people are going to get run over. As long as we have rocks, people are going to get their brains bashed in. As long as we have hands, folks are gonna get strangled.

And as long as we have guns, people are going to get killed with them. This is fact.

Guns are not going away. This is also fact. Understand that. This genie is not going back in the bottle. And understand when I say "people are going to get killed with them", I don't just mean a handful of folks at a mall every now and again, I also mean a few thousand people kneeling on the edge of a ditch every now and again. Just because a gun is publically held and not privately owned doesn't mean it's never going to be used to murder someone. Or thousands of someones. Understand that.

What do you propose to do about it?

Me? I have no comment.

23 comments:

theirritablearchitect said...

On the mark, again, as always.

The proles will never see it the way you or I see it...and these same people vote. Eventually, the idiot factor is going to catch up with us and we will be so sorrily outnumbered that the whole encounter will be plastered on CNN, where we'll be shown as some sort of kooky cult or something, while the tanks and armored APC's roll over the joint.

The ditch god will not be denied.

Kevin said...

But, but, TAM! You're being krool and hartless! Don't you understand that it's the number of guns that's the cause of all this bloodshed! You're just another selfish gun-freak who'd rather play with your lethal toys than be socially responsible! If we just passed one more law we could reduce the killin' by, by, by...

Oh, wait. That wouldn't work either.

Never mind.

(I'm tired of it, too. Well said, BTW.)

The Duck said...

Yes you put it right in the "X"

Anonymous said...

I think one way to slow down the going out with a bang, suicide with multi-victims thing, is for the media to stop all publicity about the shooter, especially his name.

I also wonder what kind of a person allows a convicted felon, on probation, out on bond with a court date in two weeks on drug charges, suffering from severe depression an SKS rifle and cartridges so he can go 'target shooting'. In my state I am sure it is a felony to arm an ex-con.

Kevin said...

Alternately:

Ban anti-depressants! It's For the Chilllldren!

Hobie said...

That just about covers it.

Rabbit said...

Just another reason why SWMBO always puts her arm around me to do a weaps check any time we go anywhere. Especially disarmed victim zones.

I, too, wonder what Rocket Surgeon thought it was a good idea for this mental defective to have any remote access to anything more harmful than a Nerf bat, let alone sunshine. I'm gonna be looking at fry cooks a lot more suspiciously now, thanks to him.

We have state mental hospitals for a reason. I've worked in them. Every day I left I was glad for their existence, because some folks don't need to see the other side of those gates, ever.

Regards,
Rabbit.

closed said...

Allow people to arm themselves.

Stop worrying about people getting et by wolves after adopting a sheep lifestyle.

Anonymous said...

The big story here in Charlotte yesterday was the little old lady who drove her car through a concrete wall at the South Park Mall parking deck. But I digress.

The media will continute to hype
the shit out of every gun crime like this one. Especially in the days ahead when guns and control become hot ticket issues for the looming election. It's a fact. Listening to both sides after a while starts sounding like the wonks that were the voices of every adult on the old Charlie Brown specials.

But I have a solution. The answer is not outlawing guns, but rather legalizing larger weapons. I think if we all had a personal sized nuclear device we could ensure a crime free society through the magic of Mutually Assured Destruction. Sounds reasonable, right?

Roberta X said...

Can you afford one, Ben? Can you afford the upkeep?

Me, I have better things to do with my time and money. I'll stick with JMB-inspired small arms. ...Maybe a BAR?

In Nebraska, if twitboy had not had'm a eeeeevil gun, He'd'a done it with an axe or machete, something. Some people are gonna go out like fourth-rate berserkers. Used to be, folks tended to realize that, and carried the means to nip such behavior in the bud. Tended to make the less-loopy think twice.

Anonymous said...

"I see dumb people. They're all around me. They don't know they're dumb." And if I tell them they just get upset. And it I draw them diagrams and prove my point they frequently fire me.

Anonymous said...

Ritchie:

Post your diagrams somewhere! :)

Anonymous said...

I wonder how the Dems will handle the gun issue during this election?
I mean, they know it has beat their ass every time they take their side. And now with the SCOTUS hearing the D.C. thing....
Well, let's just say that Hitlery would rather the issue not even be on the table for discussion.

Anonymous said...

I've been feeling that way for a while now, but didn't really realize it. Thanks for providing some clarity

Anonymous said...

Roberta,

You can't put a price on personal safety. That's why when it comes to self defense, I carry the Nukem 5000 in the convenient backpack delivery system. Now available in hunter green, beige, steel blue, candy apple red, and camouflage.

Okay, okay, not the one for you. But if you're going with a Browning design may I recommend the .50 BMG? It's got the stopping power to deter any urban assailant.

Roberta X said...

Aww, gee, Ben, I dunno -- .50 BMG? It just seems a little, y'know, ungirly Isn't there something a bit more dainty? .50 GI? .454? I mean, a gal's gotta watch her image!

Tam said...

"But if you're going with a Browning design may I recommend the .50 BMG? It's got the stopping power to deter any urban assailant."

If there was a .50 BMG that could be deployed accurately and effectively from a holster concealed under an untucked shirt, I'd buy it tomorrow.

For that matter, if there were a concealable personal weapon that would turn an assailant into a cloud of florescent radioactive ash without harming any innocent bystanders, I'd climb over you to get one.

(I'd worry about bystanders on a crowded city street because that's just polite and practical. If I want to go set off a 100kT warhead, I'll go use a public atomic weapons range in the desert someplace.)

closed said...

Sorry ... the only range open is in Tycho Brahe crater.

It's that damned fallout ... the soccer moms living near the range complain when their hair falls out.

cmblake6 said...

Absolutely outstanding post. So true, and so scary that the average person simply can't see said truth. Or do they? And the msmidiots try to use their position of propaganda ministry to insist that the average individual doesn't believe. VOTE!!! Vote in the primary to insure we have somebody worth a damn running in the general, and vote in the big one to make sure he gets the reins.

Anonymous said...

Lady Tam,
As usual, another one out of the park. I've been pondering a reply to this since you posted it, and I still don't have one.

I guess this is just part of living i the real world, some times bad shit happens.

AE

P.S. Part two was a mega-church this afternoon.
AE

John B said...

I DO like the .50 BMG calibers. Did I mention my first rifle was a H&R 10 gauge with a seriously turned Ma-
Deuce Barrel? If I weren't recovering from back issues, sedentary lifestyle, and diabetes side effects, I'd carry a pistol in that caliber. I'd love the moonbats to know I'm packing heat capable of stopping an 18-wheeler. but I'd probably be tempted to knock over the odd armored truck between paydays..

Tam said...

"Did I mention my first rifle was a H&R 10 gauge with a seriously turned Ma-Deuce Barrel?"

Odd. How did you overcome the fact that the Topper lockup is nowhere near strong enough to handle the pressure or the breechface thrust of .50BMG?

You couldn't have used surplus, so you must've loaded you own, no?

John B said...

the topper is over-matched at 12 gauge. I used a 10 gauge magnum goose gun. Very new and spendy at 1984 prices......