I think the difference is bolded, above.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Oct 2017, 10:33amWhat's the difference between a sociopath and a run-of-the-mill selfish person? I think we need to distinguish between a kind of ugly disinterest and maliciousness. Believing "I don't care if you get shot" is distinct from "I hope you get shot" or "I want you to get shot." I'm appalled by the former, I'm scared of the latter.
The Gun Politics Thread
Re: The Gun Politics Thread
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
Right, but in practice what is that extreme?Spiff wrote: ↑04 Oct 2017, 12:50pmI think the difference is bolded, above.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Oct 2017, 10:33amWhat's the difference between a sociopath and a run-of-the-mill selfish person? I think we need to distinguish between a kind of ugly disinterest and maliciousness. Believing "I don't care if you get shot" is distinct from "I hope you get shot" or "I want you to get shot." I'm appalled by the former, I'm scared of the latter.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
I fundamentally agree with you here. Legal solutions can only limit the problem so far. It does require a cultural change, whereby people actively reject the idea of a militarized civil sphere, be it of civilians or the police, and a rejection of profiting from arms sales, domestically and internationally. Don't ask me how to accomplish all this—I remain pessimistic about it all and my brain has never been good for conceiving practical solutions—but for now my hope is that Millennials and the generation that follows, having been raised in this environment of numbing mass slaughter and lockdown drills in school, will seek to create a society for their own children that is less fear based. Americans and their government weren't always so driven by fear and paranoia and acquiescent to paramilitary policing, so, in theory, it must be possible to alter conditions whereby these norms are reversed.eumaas wrote: ↑04 Oct 2017, 12:25pmI'm ambivalent about gun control. I would welcome the reduction in mass shootings that disarmament would presumably bring, but I also think that the police need to be disarmed and demilitarized if we are going to disarm the public, and yet there is little call among mainstream proponents of gun control to do just that. In any case, without a constitutional amendment, and with the USA being a huge arms manufacturer and dealer, it seems like we have a lot of institutional impediments to disarmament.
There's also the problem now of a highly armed, violent far right movement who have infiltrated the police, on top of police being largely sympathetic to their fascist aims. Should underprivileged communities and anti-fascist activists arm as a deterrent to neo-fascist attacks? I am largely pacifist in that I think political violence is usually not the answer, particularly in the Western democracies, but I do support self-defense, and after Charlottesville I can't blame those on the left who desire a deterrent.
I don't think people should arm in expectation of insurrection and revolution, however. In that kind of situation the military would be involved, and while a heavily armed populace might be able to turn it into a quagmire, victory seems unlikely. I don't think people's war or foquismo is all that practical with the USA having such a massive military. In the end it's more about convincing soldiers not to show up for duty or to disobey orders (which is more or less what happened in the October revolution, right?).
If there were a movement for popular disarmament, I would support it, but I would argue such a movement would need to be radicalized to 1. support the disarmament and demilitarization of the police and 2. institute severe regulations on weapons manufacture and sales. Think of all the bombs and guns sold to Saudi Arabia by Obama/Clinton and now Trump to slaughter the Yemenis. The massacres at home and abroad must be linked, and police violence must be understood in the same terms. While I have my doubts about the right-wing theory of guns as a check on tyranny (given the rightists actively support tyranny), I don't think leaving the police unreformed while totally disarming the public would be a good idea given how fascistic they have become.
I wrote this on my phone so if there are lots of typos, forgive me.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
Only one? No, a true patriot who is in no way terrified of the world—especially of those dark-skinned people who are just watching you in that way they do, right?—needs at least 20 of those bad boys.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
And that's why I avoid church.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
And why it will happen again and again.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
307 mass shootings in 309 days so far in 2017.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
Never ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
Exactly and very well stated. I keep thinking something will shake these people awake or that the tide of public opinion will grow to the point that it overwhelms the gun fetishists...but nothing ever changes. Thoughts and prayers. Great. I wonder when "thoughts and prayers" are going to stop mass shootings...Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 7:21amNever ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble
Re: The Gun Politics Thread
My idiot cousin, who tries (in vain) to sound intelligent on Facebook, thinks that any sort of gun violence prevention measures wouldn't work in small town America because, and I quote, "they may only have one sheriff." Or something like that. I have no idea what he's talking about. He also always likes my music posts. Whenever he does this, my inner 9th grade year zero demon comes out and I have to restrain myself from asking him, "So, without googling, name two X ray Spex songs."Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 7:21amNever ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
I HATE MY COUSIN.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
Americans need lots of guns because other Americans have guns and the first set of Americans need guns to protect themselves from the second group of Americans because police Americans don't have enough guns to protect the first set of Americans if the first set of Americans don't have gun to protect themselves from the second set of Americans with guns!JennyB wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 11:55amMy idiot cousin, who tries (in vain) to sound intelligent on Facebook, thinks that any sort of gun violence prevention measures wouldn't work in small town America because, and I quote, "they may only have one sheriff." Or something like that. I have no idea what he's talking about.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 7:21amNever ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Re: The Gun Politics Thread
Guns.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 12:53pmAmericans need lots of guns because other Americans have guns and the first set of Americans need guns to protect themselves from the second group of Americans because police Americans don't have enough guns to protect the first set of Americans if the first set of Americans don't have gun to protect themselves from the second set of Americans with guns!JennyB wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 11:55amMy idiot cousin, who tries (in vain) to sound intelligent on Facebook, thinks that any sort of gun violence prevention measures wouldn't work in small town America because, and I quote, "they may only have one sheriff." Or something like that. I have no idea what he's talking about.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 7:21amNever ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
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Re: The Gun Politics Thread
...on the roof.JennyB wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 12:57pmGuns.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 12:53pmAmericans need lots of guns because other Americans have guns and the first set of Americans need guns to protect themselves from the second group of Americans because police Americans don't have enough guns to protect the first set of Americans if the first set of Americans don't have gun to protect themselves from the second set of Americans with guns!JennyB wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 11:55amMy idiot cousin, who tries (in vain) to sound intelligent on Facebook, thinks that any sort of gun violence prevention measures wouldn't work in small town America because, and I quote, "they may only have one sheriff." Or something like that. I have no idea what he's talking about.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 7:21amNever ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
Re: The Gun Politics Thread
...of Brixton.Mimi wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 1:04pm...on the roof.JennyB wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 12:57pmGuns.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 12:53pmAmericans need lots of guns because other Americans have guns and the first set of Americans need guns to protect themselves from the second group of Americans because police Americans don't have enough guns to protect the first set of Americans if the first set of Americans don't have gun to protect themselves from the second set of Americans with guns!JennyB wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 11:55amMy idiot cousin, who tries (in vain) to sound intelligent on Facebook, thinks that any sort of gun violence prevention measures wouldn't work in small town America because, and I quote, "they may only have one sheriff." Or something like that. I have no idea what he's talking about.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑06 Nov 2017, 7:21amNever ever forget, whatever the lazy thoughts and prayers responses, to those who want loose(r) gun laws, every death, every ruined life, is an acceptable cost. Every dead kid, every orphan, ever widow and widower—that's all worth it to maintain conditions where they can buy and sell more and more firearms. That it doesn't prey upon their conscience—else they'd consider that the social consequences of these laws are unacceptable—tells you everything you need to know about their morality.
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