Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," where we welcome deep questions from our commenters!
Wow. Should we be passive in the face of danger? Would you feel better walking around if you had the trusty Glock tucked inside your jacket? Or that black belt in karate?
Given the choice of the two, I'd take the black belt. But then again. One of my high school classmates is buried in the cold, cold ground. And another is doing life in the pen. Why? She pulled a black belt move on him. He yanked out the handgun and shot her at point blank range.
Perhaps the better rhetorical question would be, "Would you feel more comfortable if you knew two out of every three people were carrying concealed handguns?"
If you are more comfortable owning a gun, you have a bleak view of your species. As perhaps you should. But you'd better be sure the person you're shooting really deserves it, and the cops aren't confused by the action, and your gun works, and you don't misfire and hit some kid playing on a curb.
The majority of violence is domestic. If my diagnosed psychotic mother had owned a gun, she would have killed me, my father, and my sister during one of her manic episodes. Or, conversely, I would have killed her. And then I'd have been stuck at the age of 16 trying to prove self-defense, and living with the guilt of popping my mama.
Take it from someone who lived in Baltimore four years, Detroit four years, and the environs of Camden, New Jersey for 20 years. It is possible to avert danger by taking a middle ground between passive and aggressive. Once I was being followed at night in Baltimore. I started singing at the top of my lungs, bluegrass songs. I don't know if that is passive or aggressive, but my pursuer cut off the chase.
Here at "The Gods Are Bored," we don't like "either-or." And we stand by yesterday's premise that doling out Glocks pell-mell will not cut down on gun violence.
If you disagree, rock on! Or should we say, Glock on?
FROM ANNE
THE GUN-SHY MERLIN OF BERKELEY SPRINGS
5 comments:
I prefer not to live my life paralyzed by fear. If I had to carry a gun with me, the unnamed "evil" would have won.
I've got nothing against those who want to hunt. Matter of fact, I enjoy a good venison steak. But a handgun has no purpose other than killing people. I try not to hurt others in any way, so why would I carry an implement with no other purpose?
I've been accused of being passive aggressive on yet another blog. It's okay, weak people can only take the passive part and want no part of looking at themselves in a mirror.
If they won't allow my comments, no problem, I can address those things on my blogs, it's not like they can shut me up just because they won't allow my comments on their blogs.
I don't like guns myself, but it's stupid not to own one for personal protection as this world goes to hell.
I have two guns, haven't shot one for years but I'm a damn good shot. Anarchy is on the way, I hope you have a gun also. But will only use it for personal protection.
There are too many idiots in the world that, without gun control, we would all die. Quickly.
BTW- I absolutely love your blog. You have wonderful style and are incredibly humorous.
We're in the process of acquiring a gun-it's a long deal of training and justifying and licensing.
But here in Joburg, where even petty criminals are violent, it does make a small amount of sense.
On the other hand, I too don't want to have given in to that nameless evil, thank you mountainlaurel. I rely mostly on being lucid in life, being present and paying attention-that, plus a couple of egregores I have created on my property!
Thinking about it some more, I don't really believe that we have more violent crime here than elsewhere-I think that our Propertied Class is just perhaps a touch more paranoid about it.
Love,
Terri in Joburg
Well, I do like my guns. My .22 Winchester rifle belonged to my grandfather and even though there are much more accurate and lightweight weapons to squirrel hunt with, I insist on using that one. A pistol is a nice thing to have during the summer during snake season on the farm. You sort of have to have guns on a farm for other, sadder reasons. I had to put a goat down for the first time with one two years ago.
But I am very sane. And I have absolutely no problem with the laws governing who can keep a gun being much tougher. I'm not really clear about the hard stance the NRA takes on absolutely no gun controls. It hasn't been my experience that all responsible gun owners share that.
It's so hard to explore solutions because every time any one tries, there is such an outcry. I'd be all for a national or state gun licensing program. It could be like the DMV...but for guns. If you went in for your 4 year review and had lost your cookies...you can't have guns. And I totally don't get why we have assault weapons available anyway.
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