I am sick and tired of being told "But if criminals didn't have guns, then you wouldn't need them either, right? Wouldn't you rather live in a world without guns?"
Putting aside the pie in the sky impracticality of this, I like to point out to these people that we already had
a world without guns; it was called the Middle Ages. It was a peaceful
utopia where the lion lay down with the lamb... any time it wanted to,
and the lamb just shut up and took it, if the lamb knew what was good for it.
No, thank you. I do not want to live in a world without guns.
Just check out the rape rates in GB & AUS to understand what removing guns means for the weaker sex. Talk about your "war on women"...
ReplyDeleteImagine there's no stupid; it's easy if you try...
ReplyDeleteIllannoye would have a population of about seven thousand. Washington DC would be empty.
You want to make that poster really effective, put up a picture of Genghis Khan. Or Ramsay Bolton. Both get the job done all right.
ReplyDeleteOr you can ask people to spend a week in the 100 district of Chicago with a Gun Free Zone sign. See how long that lasts.
Some years ago the mayor of New Haven was trying to regulate archery equipment. Since there hadn't exactly been a rash of drive-by arrowings no one was quite sure where that bizarre idea came from. Maybe he was just trying to get ahead of the curve; just in case we could have all guns including the gangs' magically disappear, he figured that was the next weapon of choice?
ReplyDeleteRead Striling's "Dies the Fire" for a glimpse of a gun-control / Green utopia.
ReplyDeleteThe sheer number of above-average Americans who are unable to think this through to its logical conclusion makes me very sad.
ReplyDeleteMarko's "Why guns are civilization" comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteDear Blogger, quit dropping my Comments after I log in!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, on a related note: There was a recent story out of what Used to be Great Britain where a bunch of Doctors are getting all worked up about the Mass Proliferation of Unregulated KITCHEN Knives just floating around the Isle, waiting to pounce on Innocent Nuns and Orphans.
And since Cold Steel was the Standard for Self-Defense in the Middle Ages, it looks like if these IDIOTS get their way, investing in Atlatls might be a smart idea.
Unless, of course, they want to Ban Flint.
I had an "honest conversation" about guns with my friend's son over the holiday break.
ReplyDeleteIn the end I looked over at his mom and asked "Tell me again, how much per semester are you paying them to do this to him?"
Masada. No guns.
ReplyDeleteInca Empire.
ReplyDelete"You want to make that poster really effective, put up a picture of Genghis Khan."
ReplyDeleteHere you go. Free for anyone's use.
"Yea, so the lion shall lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won't get much sleep." - Woody Allen
ReplyDeletegfa
the Mayans managed to implode their entire civilization in a war between two "superpowers" in south america to the point nothing was left but some jungle shrouded ruins. no guns were used either.
ReplyDeleteHere's a question for the cognitive dissonance crowd among us:
ReplyDeleteIn your ridiculous peaceful make believe world without guns, would we have female police officers and soldiers?
Yeah, I know, grrrrl power and all that.
OK, imagine three amped up bad guys, fresh from the prison weight room kicking in your back door. How reassured would you be by the sight of a 5'8" 125 lb female with her trusty nightstick coming to your rescue?
When I hear someone say guns are bad, my brain translates this as "500 year old technology scares me.."
Regarding the civilizing effect of guns; In the bad old days when 1%ers where a significant part of the crowd at bike week Daytona, everyone had a knife on there belt, and it was understood that a significant number of people were carrying guns. There were biker clubs from all over the country that typically got along about as well as Chinese and Japanese, but if you asked the shop owners and hotel operators they would tell you that the bike week crowd caused them fewer problems than any other group they dealt with. There are probably other reasons, that explosive alcohol, and drug fueled environment remained relatively violence free, but I will always believe that the understanding that everyone was armed contributed a calming effect that any honest gun control group should look at.
ReplyDeleteI'm having so much fun lately, thanks to Insta, with the link about even in 'icky' America with all those 'nasty' gun things most murders are committed with clubs and baseball bats. I've yet to see any other reaction, from the hoplophobes here, other than 'what, but, but' followed by tears.
ReplyDelete"I don't care what they say
ReplyDeleteI won't stay in a world without guns."
Roman Empire.
ReplyDeletePeople don't know anything about history.
ReplyDeleteWhich is kind of odd, since even the ridiculous fantasy history of movies shows us that "before guns" there was still plenty of murderous violence...
@ Sigivald: Cognitive disconnect. Plus, there's probably a weird variation of the Murray Gell-Mann amnesia effect involved. "Hollywood gets X wrong all the time, so Y must be wrong, too. But look! They showed Z so that must be right!"
ReplyDeleteThis is my response from now on;
ReplyDeleteI'm not entertaining any rationalization for the violation of people's rights. If you are, then there's something wrong with you. Fix it. -- Lyle
Critter,
ReplyDeleteHeck, forget guns. The Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs managed without -metal-.
The anti's dream world didn't exist even pre-smelting.
I won't need a gun, and/or the Second Amendment, when . .
ReplyDelete- the government has no firearms (or attorneys, or special agents, or contractors with guns or attorneys. Or tax collectors. Or tax collector attorneys with SWAT teams.)
- No nation that espouses "death to America" has guns, none of their citizens have guns, and none of the "sponsored" groups they support have guns.
- No religion preaches "death to some/all Americans", and none of their believers have guns, anything that can burn or go "boom", or has a sharp point or edge.
- No pirates, gangs, or mafias from other lands, or organized crime or criminals here in the US, have guns, or things with sharp edges or points, or attorneys.
- When dictators, pirates, generals, and others thinking they can lead some group "better", or at least can choose a direction *they* like better (a tyrant or bully, say), and has no access to any form of media, weapons (the tools you use to change your opposition's mind), or resources that can be withheld, all choose to retire to gardening, and all future tyrants promise to never intimidate or harass anyone.
It seems like the argument is facile, but stands on dubious grounds.
Hell, I still can't get over the Department of Education having a SWAT team, fer chrissakes!
ReplyDelete"Imagine there's no stupid"
ReplyDeleteWhat, you mean I can just make the last two presidential elections and OWS disappear into the ethers if I just imagine it to happen?
Oooh, I like this game!
Rwanda.
ReplyDeleteOops, the Government had guns.
How about Central Park, 4-19-89?
Funny how many folks can gush warm fuzzies about "if criminals didn't have guns then you wouldn't need them either"....but can offer neither a plausible method of relieving criminals of their guns whilst simultaneously denying them the opportunity to gather more, nor do they offer to be the first to start disarming the criminals. 'Till then, you live in your cozy little head-up-your-arse world, I'll stick around here in reality. With my firearms.
ReplyDeleteWHY DO OUR ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS (OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS) CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CITIZEN GOING ABOUT THEIR LAWFUL OCCASIONS AND A CRIMINAL ELEMENT ? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEIR BASIC PERCEPTION ? OR IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEIR INABILITY TO LIVE UP TO THEIR OATH OF OFFICE "TO SUPPORT PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION" OR IS IT SIMPLY A MATTER OF POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE
ReplyDeletePOWER ABSOLUTELY CORRUPTS!
Oh, you can have peace without guns in the world. I'm just not a big fan of the "Peace of the Mongols" thing. Unless I'm the Mongol.
ReplyDeleteAnother bit of stupidity is when people say things like The 2nd Amendment is out dated. The modern military...Blah blah blah Crush you in days ... blah blah.
Just point out how well a modern military did in 'Nam, Soviets vs Afghanistan, U.S. / Nato in Afghanistan etc.
So much for learning the lessons of history.
Well, yeah, y'all may do away with guns, as long y'all also do away with everyone who is bigger, younger, stronger, and meaner than I am.
ReplyDeleteAs a scrawny old geezer, I tellya I wouldn't want to go up against a small gang of 16-year-old feral girls without some kind of weapon.
The period right after the Middle Ages when only governments had guns wasn't so great either. It was a period of intolerance and authoritarianism all across Eurasia.
ReplyDeleteThere were centralized absolute governments in Russia, Turkey, India, China, and Japan. There was no such takover in Europe but there were absolute monarchies almost everywhere and the Hapsburgs nearly took over everything. As a result of this, there was the expulsion of Jews from western Europe, the Mogul persecution of the Sikhs, and the Japanese persecution of the Christians. The era 1350--1650 was a terrible period for any dissenting group.
"Wouldn't you rather live in a world without guns?"
ReplyDeleteNo, I'd rather live in a world without stupid people.
@ OrangeNeck,
ReplyDelete" I'd rather live in a world without stupid people."
I'd rather live in a world without tyrants, bullies, and others that manipulate people and laws to their own ends.
Bubblehead Les, who needs flint? Fire-hardened wood tips and blades is just the trick for pre-stone-age weapons.
ReplyDeleteBrad K. Of course gardening requires sharp objects that are useable as weapons. Look at Okinawan martial arts. All those funny weapons are farm implements.
It isn't the hardware, it's the software, and it seems to be part of the non-EEProm (if such a thing exists anymore ;) )