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If you were a member of my generation, you would know that having a gun nearby while taking a bath saved Tuco's life. It is a lesson we all should heed.
What is it with these nutcase Christian leaders many of them pastors, who keep coming up with these incendiary comments?
This is not some 34 church member pastor that heads a Westboro Baptist church group, but Jerry Falwell Jr, who heads the largest Christian university in the United States. This is a mainstream evangelical Christian, and one whose words way too many people in the United States of America listen to.....
"Fascism will come to America wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
And guys like this will help make that happen. They want a Franco style state.
Maybe Falwell noticed that none of the people killed in the recent attacks were armed. If they had been armed, maybe they could have fought back instead of being shot.
If the students at Liberty Univ start killing each other, he will probably change his policy. Let's see what happens.
This is largely a myth -- a result of Americans having seen far too many action movies for their own good. People have the mistaken impression that carrying a gun will save their lives. What's more, this belief only encourages even more reckless behavior.
If everyone was packing heat, intimidation through the implied threat of being summarily executed over every petty dispute will become common practice. Thus, while all of these gun-toting Americans are waiting for a terrorist to kill, they'll use their weapons to bully, threaten, intimidate, and coerce those who do not have weapons (and even those who do) risking the horror of turning every minor dispute into a wild west shootout.
Our excessively violent culture is only exacerbated by irresponsible laws such as those "stand your ground" laws that grant justification to shoot someone dead if you just THINK you MIGHT be in danger.
However, the fact is, a person who walks into a building with the intent to kill will almost always get the drop on his intended victims. He's thinking about killing a hell of a lot more than you're thinking about defending against a killer. You won't even know there is a murderer among you until you hear the first shot and see the first person go down. By that time, the killer's gun is out and yours is still tucked in your holster with the safety on. Are you going to risk trying to "fast draw" against the killer who is already prepared and hyper-vigilant? Chances are, people having guns in circumstances like San Bernardino will only ensure that the killer will end up with more guns after he takes them from the people he's holding at gunpoint.
If guns truly made a society safer, well, considering America has more guns per capita than any other nation on earth, our country should be the safest country in the world by leaps and bounds. (America has more than double the number of guns per capita than the number-two nation which is Serbia.)
But is America twice as safe as the next safest nation? Of course not ... not even close. Bottom line: countering gun violence with more gun violence is like trying to cure blindness in your left eye by gauging out your right eye.
And no, I'm not some ultra-lefty who crusades against gun ownership. Not at all. But Americans need to stop thinking of themselves as a nation filled with Chuck Norris wannabes despite most gun owners being untrained and unused to reacting with a cool head in the face of danger. Just watch their hands shake like a man with a palsy as they try to aim that weapon. Shooting milk jugs behind the ol' farmstead isn't the same thing as trying to shoot someone who is shooting back.
What I find interesting is, yet again, even the issue of gun violence and gun control is split almost precisely down the secular vs. religious line. Those who seem to be preaching the value of packing heat and running in fear of the Muslims are far more religious than those who are not.
Right-wing American conservative Christianity is a joke -- and this is just one more reason why. It's just too bad that so many Christians have decided to become members of the ultra-right and are now gulping down the Kool-Aid of fear that people like Trump are handing out by the keg. Of course, those Muslims who commit acts of terror against the West are guzzling down the very same Kool-Aid so that we can have both Muslims and Christians staring at each other, both sides filled with fear and hatred.
It's just too bad that horrible, bloody shooting at a Sikh temple a few years ago hasn't taught anyone a lesson. Those gun-toting yahoos couldn't tell the difference between a Muslim and a Sikh. Ergo, if they have brown skin, wear a turban, and are not Christian, pull the trigger and worry about their guilt or innocence at a later date.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers" which is why I'm not all that surprised that so many Christians want more untrained people wandering around packing heat. It always seems like far too many right-wing American Christians only know what Jesus taught so they can always do the exact opposite.
However, the fact is, a person who walks into a building with the intent to kill will almost always get the drop on his intended victims.
I agree the person might "get the drop" on the first couple of victims. But will they "get the drop" on 14?
Hey, this is fun! I haven't heard the phrase "get the drop" since I was a kid watching Roy Rogers on TV. It is kind of like George Costanza enjoying using the phrase "slip him a mickey".
It's just too bad that horrible, bloody shooting at a Sikh temple a few years ago hasn't taught anyone a lesson.
Take heart, Shirina!! Some people learned a lesson after that shooting, as we see in this post written 2 1/2 years ago by one of our most esteemed Jewish posters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theflipflop
Pegotty, you would be welcomed in my shul, although a quick head's up to the Rabbi before coming would be best form. The OP of this thread would be more likely to be shot should he have come to my shul unannounced and with a camera. I'd say 25% of the men in my shul carry concealed weapons, and most of them would use them should they feel threatended.
This is largely a myth -- a result of Americans having seen far too many action movies for their own good. People have the mistaken impression that carrying a gun will save their lives. What's more, this belief only encourages even more reckless behavior.
If everyone was packing heat, intimidation through the implied threat of being summarily executed over every petty dispute will become common practice. Thus, while all of these gun-toting Americans are waiting for a terrorist to kill, they'll use their weapons to bully, threaten, intimidate, and coerce those who do not have weapons (and even those who do) risking the horror of turning every minor dispute into a wild west shootout.
Our excessively violent culture is only exacerbated by irresponsible laws such as those "stand your ground" laws that grant justification to shoot someone dead if you just THINK you MIGHT be in danger.
However, the fact is, a person who walks into a building with the intent to kill will almost always get the drop on his intended victims. He's thinking about killing a hell of a lot more than you're thinking about defending against a killer. You won't even know there is a murderer among you until you hear the first shot and see the first person go down. By that time, the killer's gun is out and yours is still tucked in your holster with the safety on. Are you going to risk trying to "fast draw" against the killer who is already prepared and hyper-vigilant? Chances are, people having guns in circumstances like San Bernardino will only ensure that the killer will end up with more guns after he takes them from the people he's holding at gunpoint.
If guns truly made a society safer, well, considering America has more guns per capita than any other nation on earth, our country should be the safest country in the world by leaps and bounds. (America has more than double the number of guns per capita than the number-two nation which is Serbia.)
But is America twice as safe as the next safest nation? Of course not ... not even close. Bottom line: countering gun violence with more gun violence is like trying to cure blindness in your left eye by gauging out your right eye.
And no, I'm not some ultra-lefty who crusades against gun ownership. Not at all. But Americans need to stop thinking of themselves as a nation filled with Chuck Norris wannabes despite most gun owners being untrained and unused to reacting with a cool head in the face of danger. Just watch their hands shake like a man with a palsy as they try to aim that weapon. Shooting milk jugs behind the ol' farmstead isn't the same thing as trying to shoot someone who is shooting back.
What I find interesting is, yet again, even the issue of gun violence and gun control is split almost precisely down the secular vs. religious line. Those who seem to be preaching the value of packing heat and running in fear of the Muslims are far more religious than those who are not.
Right-wing American conservative Christianity is a joke -- and this is just one more reason why. It's just too bad that so many Christians have decided to become members of the ultra-right and are now gulping down the Kool-Aid of fear that people like Trump are handing out by the keg. Of course, those Muslims who commit acts of terror against the West are guzzling down the very same Kool-Aid so that we can have both Muslims and Christians staring at each other, both sides filled with fear and hatred.
It's just too bad that horrible, bloody shooting at a Sikh temple a few years ago hasn't taught anyone a lesson. Those gun-toting yahoos couldn't tell the difference between a Muslim and a Sikh. Ergo, if they have brown skin, wear a turban, and are not Christian, pull the trigger and worry about their guilt or innocence at a later date.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers" which is why I'm not all that surprised that so many Christians want more untrained people wandering around packing heat. It always seems like far too many right-wing American Christians only know what Jesus taught so they can always do the exact opposite.
Some good points Shirina. I missed ya!
"Comprehensive Gun Control" should be based heavily on training. And not the requirements they have now. REAL training...like what I got in the Army. Not just how to operate the weapon and marksmanship. And that should be for even rifle ownership...and much, much more to be able to have a pistol and carry it around...with that being ultra stringent.
Many of the people that claim they are trained are far from it. And they HAVE a permit to carry.
That we have security issues is a understatement though...and we must figure out some sensible solutions. These theologically motivated killers are for real...and we are not at all prepared & ultra vulnerable, and they know that. Big problem...and about to get bigger.
Right now, I bet al-Hayatt Media is incorporating that into their latest Daesh propaganda video.
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