CCCToad on 9/1/2011 at 14:26
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
However, one thought on the old "guns don't kill people" line of reasoning: some people are whackjobs, so doesn't it logically follow that it'd be better if those whackjobs didn't have access to instruments of mass death? It's a lot harder to kill 18 people with a blunt object or knife without being stopped.
Then take the guns away from whackjobs, not everyone else.
Sulphur on 9/1/2011 at 14:45
Oh look, a gun control thread.
Forget the whackjobs and the fact that the general public isn't segregated into 'whackjob', 'non-profiled probable whackjob' and 'non-whackjob' for the moment; there is the fact that people are inherently assholes. It doesn't take much to use a gun or the threat of using one except for a lack of conscience; and in the end, a conscience is something that is all to easy for people to do away with if circumstances demand it.
Of course, you could replace 'gun' with 'pointy stick' or 'sixteen inch dildo' and the meaning doesn't change much, but there is the fact that a silenced gun makes the act of killing far too easy and discreet.
AR Master on 9/1/2011 at 15:30
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Oh look, a gun control thread.
Forget the whackjobs and the fact that the general public isn't segregated into 'whackjob', 'non-profiled probable whackjob' and 'non-whackjob' for the moment; there is the fact that people are inherently assholes. It doesn't take much to use a gun or the threat of using one except for a lack of conscience; and in the end, a conscience is something that is all to easy for people to do away with if circumstances demand it.
Of course, you could replace 'gun' with 'pointy stick' or 'sixteen inch dildo' and the meaning doesn't change much, but there is the fact that a silenced gun makes the act of killing far too easy and discreet.
a suppressed gun does not work like in the movies
life isnt a fucking movie you goddamn goons. people dont swirl around in their chairs and pet their cat and menace about were it not for that pesky gang of kids/british agent/pitiful "morality" they'd be strolling shirtless down mainstreet with a chaingun in each hand and a raging hardon mowing down children and liberals
heres a helpful hint for those whose pensies and sense of shame have atrophied beyond use: if your experience with life comes mainly from WoW and academia do not share it
demagogue on 9/1/2011 at 15:39
Quote Posted by Shakey-Lo
(
http://www.slate.com/id/2280619/) Severe mental illness, on its own, is not an explanation for violence, but don't expect to hear that from the media in the coming weeks.
"Disturbed" as I used it doesn't necessarily refer to his mental illness, nor does it for all the people that wrote disturbing letters to my congressman. (And it might not be the best term for what I was thinking about.) So this article isn't inconsistent with my thinking, though it helpfully adds more complexity to think about.
I think my general point was there are people that direct paranoia towards politics and it has nothing really to do with a specific political attitude or rational calculation, as these people will crack no matter what the political situation is and at most use the current situation as a lens to focus their paranoia. That was my hypothesis anyway and why I wanted to know about the distribution of killings over different periods (different from, say, the 19th century when many assassinations really were rational political calculations AFAIK). That's different from saying it's merely mental illness and that explains everything. I don't doubt that there is more going on than just the illness since there is a lot more people with illness than incidence of violence. But from what I've read the guy is familiar to me from those letters I read of people quite detached from reality that let their paranoia get out of hand. And I'd be interested to read what other factors may be involved. So in that respect, I don't disagree with the article.
Sulphur on 9/1/2011 at 15:42
Quote Posted by AR Master
a suppressed gun does not work like in the movies
life isnt a fucking movie you goddamn goons. people dont swirl around in their chairs and pet their cat and menace about were it not for that pesky gang of kids/british agent/pitiful "morality" they'd be strolling shirtless down mainstreet with a chaingun in each hand and a raging hardon mowing down children and liberals
heres a helpful hint for those whose pensies and sense of shame have atrophied beyond use: if your experience with life comes mainly from WoW and academia do not share it
Stuff it, AR. The next time you have a gun pointed at you while tending a store counter, we'll have a talk about morality.
I didn't say that a suppressor eliminated all sound, did I? It attenuates the sound a bit and reduces the flash, which is good enough to be useful.
Vivian on 9/1/2011 at 15:45
hey guys FUCK HOMESCHOOLING.
AR Master on 9/1/2011 at 16:35
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Stuff it, AR. The next time you have a gun pointed at you while tending a store counter, we'll have a talk about morality.
I didn't say that a suppressor eliminated all sound, did I? It attenuates the sound a bit and reduces the flash, which is good enough to be useful.
did TIME SLOW DOWN?????
stiff upper lip old chap
Sulphur on 9/1/2011 at 16:44
Oh man, death by Hollywood trope.
Hey, question? Why did you choose the nick AR Master anyway?
