Two Plus Two Older Archives  

Go Back   Two Plus Two Older Archives > Other Topics > Politics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #51  
Old 09-30-2005, 01:41 AM
theweatherman theweatherman is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 82
Default Re: I favour a small efficient government

Hobbes is famous for saying that life outside of society is "nasty, brutish and short." The idea being that humans form societies so that they dont have to always watch their backs. It creates a situation where people can live in peace without the fear of violence always hanging over them.

This is not the wild west of the 1870's. Its time to put away our six shooters and find a more civil answer to our problems then living by the barrel of a gun.

While i agree that most muggers will not turn to killing they will turn to harsher treatment of victims if they suspect that they are armed. Suddenly the old lady goes from losing her purse with 50 dollars in it to hanving a concussion and a hospital stay after being cracked in the skull with a bat. A lot of good that gun did her.

As I said before my dad is a cop. He always told me that ther are certain things you just dont do, like carry around a weapon you dont know how to use. The problem with this is that if i pull out a kinfe, gun, chain etc. to defend myself with then the criminal will put out his own weapon. I'll be willing to bet that a couple of days at the firing range is no match for years of life on the street when it come to weapon handling. If the mugger is ten yards off then the old lady does have an equalizing tool in the gun, but most muggings are up close events. Even with a gun the lady will be overpowered and may even end up arming an otherwise unarmed attacker.
Reply With Quote
  #52  
Old 09-30-2005, 01:59 AM
BCPVP BCPVP is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Whitewater, WI
Posts: 830
Default Re: I favour a small efficient government

[ QUOTE ]
This is not the wild west of the 1870's.

[/ QUOTE ]
You're right. In some places, it's probably much worse.

[ QUOTE ]
Its time to put away our six shooters and find a more civil answer to our problems then living by the barrel of a gun.

[/ QUOTE ]
This rhetoric is nice and all, but it won't solve the problem of crime and the willingness of criminals to use whatever means at their disposal to commit those crimes. Solve that problem and you'll get rid of many guns. Until then, disarming the law-abiding population is a sure way to get more innocent people mugged/raped/killed.

[ QUOTE ]
While i agree that most muggers will not turn to killing they will turn to harsher treatment of victims if they suspect that they are armed.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not arguing that a gun is the be-all-end-all for self-protection. I'd argue that awareness is far more important. Simply having a gun is not enough; you have to be aware of your surroundings.

[ QUOTE ]
As I said before my dad is a cop. He always told me that ther are certain things you just dont do, like carry around a weapon you dont know how to use.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is excellent advice. You might be better off not carrying it at all.

[ QUOTE ]
The problem with this is that if i pull out a kinfe, gun, chain etc. to defend myself with then the criminal will put out his own weapon.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, presumably you wouldn't pull a weapon on someone who hadn't attacked you yet. In the case I stated, the thug is already armed.

[ QUOTE ]
I'll be willing to bet that a couple of days at the firing range is no match for years of life on the street when it come to weapon handling.

[/ QUOTE ]
Again, maybe maybe not. It's certainly better than nothing at all.

[ QUOTE ]
If the mugger is ten yards off then the old lady does have an equalizing tool in the gun, but most muggings are up close events. Even with a gun the lady will be overpowered and may even end up arming an otherwise unarmed attacker.

[/ QUOTE ]
You're talking as though this is a foregone conclusion. Say the lady is overpowered. She's certainly not that much worse off if she felt she was in danger. Say the thug plans to rape and kill her. Is she worse off for trying to defend herself and failing? No. She's still dead. But it would (and does) certainly help in many other cases.

But like your father said, if you're going to carry a weapon like that, you should take the time to become familiar with it or it won't make much difference. And a gun is certainly not a cure-all. It is an equalizer. That's the point. It takes back some of the edge the criminal already has. The lady may not win every time, but she would certainly win a higher percentage of the time than if she was unarmed and helpless.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.