It’s really weird to see people in the US from both the left and the right protect the 2nd amendment and see it as some sort of mechanism to protect against authoritarianism. In fact, weird is putting it lightly - it’s actually kinda insane.
I’ll spare you the whole debate format because I don’t think there is any real arguing with the science and statistics behind the mass spread and use of guns in the US. I also don’t think there is any stopping the gun culture in the current paradigm because the dogma behind it has been parrotted and regurgated so much that it’s basically part of the nation’s psyche.
Guns only matter as much as the ideas of the people carrying them. Most guns in the US are not used for self-defence or to protect against government overreach, are they? When it comes down to it those are not the real reasonS why most people buy and use guns, are they? They sure make it easy though, not just to buy and use but also to rationalize and justify violence and killings.
Fighting fire with fire creates an inferno. You’re not going to put out the fire with more fire. You’re just gonna make it worse and feel self-righteous while doing it, creating an insidious cycle of violence.
It’s the 21st century. The name of the game is cognitive warfare and liberty-loving people are losing badly. Guns won’t change that.
I was following your argument right up until this point. I never thought I’d be in a position to defend guns in any way, but here we are.
Guns only matter as much as the ideas of the people carrying them. Most guns in the US are not used for self-defence or to protect against government overreach, are they?
I think answer you’re begging for here is “crime” or “violence against other humans”, but realistically I think most guns in the USA are use for putting holes in sheet of paper from a distance for practice or sport. The second most used reason is likely for sport hunting of animals.
I fully acknowledge there is absolutely problems with gun crime and violence against other humans, but as a percentage of gun use its likely much smaller than sport shooting and hunting in the USA.
When it comes down to it those are not the real reasonS why most people buy and use guns, are they? They sure make it easy though, not just to buy and use but also to rationalize and justify violence and killings.
Okay, you’ve now switched to combining “buying” and “using” as one measure. I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I’m betting lots of guns are purchased for personal defense and perhaps never fired (even for practice) or only a few times (again for practice). My grandfather (WWII vet) carried a revolver in his car and to the best of my knowledge never fired or even brandished it. That was a different era though. Fifty years ago school shootings weren’t a thing. My father-in-law also had a pistol that he kept in the house for over two decades and never fired it once. In his old age, he lived way out in the country and occasionally we’d find out he got it out because he heard something that scared him outside (rural thefts weren’t unheard of in his area), but again he never even showed it to another person as a means of intimidation. Neither of these men were criminals, violent or otherwise.
Again, I’m not taking away any of the weight of gun violence in the USA especially when some of its victims are the most innocent such as children. I don’t believe what we have today is sustainable as a society.
The reason I’m going into all of this explanation, is that, while gun violence is absolutely a problem, painting every gun owner as a violent criminal looking to kill people weakens your argument immensely. Even if the solution that ends up being implemented is ending all gun ownership, its important to be honest with where the problem lies and what solutions have been explored so we know how to get there.
I’d rather be in a civil war than Republicans having access to minorities that can’t fight back.
2A is needed.
In a perfect world it wouldn’t be needed, but this isn’t a perfect world.
It’s really weird to see people in the US from both the left and the right protect the 2nd amendment and see it as some sort of mechanism to protect against authoritarianism. In fact, weird is putting it lightly - it’s actually kinda insane.
I’ll spare you the whole debate format because I don’t think there is any real arguing with the science and statistics behind the mass spread and use of guns in the US. I also don’t think there is any stopping the gun culture in the current paradigm because the dogma behind it has been parrotted and regurgated so much that it’s basically part of the nation’s psyche.
Guns only matter as much as the ideas of the people carrying them. Most guns in the US are not used for self-defence or to protect against government overreach, are they? When it comes down to it those are not the real reasonS why most people buy and use guns, are they? They sure make it easy though, not just to buy and use but also to rationalize and justify violence and killings.
Fighting fire with fire creates an inferno. You’re not going to put out the fire with more fire. You’re just gonna make it worse and feel self-righteous while doing it, creating an insidious cycle of violence.
It’s the 21st century. The name of the game is cognitive warfare and liberty-loving people are losing badly. Guns won’t change that.
I was following your argument right up until this point. I never thought I’d be in a position to defend guns in any way, but here we are.
I think answer you’re begging for here is “crime” or “violence against other humans”, but realistically I think most guns in the USA are use for putting holes in sheet of paper from a distance for practice or sport. The second most used reason is likely for sport hunting of animals.
I fully acknowledge there is absolutely problems with gun crime and violence against other humans, but as a percentage of gun use its likely much smaller than sport shooting and hunting in the USA.
Okay, you’ve now switched to combining “buying” and “using” as one measure. I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I’m betting lots of guns are purchased for personal defense and perhaps never fired (even for practice) or only a few times (again for practice). My grandfather (WWII vet) carried a revolver in his car and to the best of my knowledge never fired or even brandished it. That was a different era though. Fifty years ago school shootings weren’t a thing. My father-in-law also had a pistol that he kept in the house for over two decades and never fired it once. In his old age, he lived way out in the country and occasionally we’d find out he got it out because he heard something that scared him outside (rural thefts weren’t unheard of in his area), but again he never even showed it to another person as a means of intimidation. Neither of these men were criminals, violent or otherwise.
Again, I’m not taking away any of the weight of gun violence in the USA especially when some of its victims are the most innocent such as children. I don’t believe what we have today is sustainable as a society.
The reason I’m going into all of this explanation, is that, while gun violence is absolutely a problem, painting every gun owner as a violent criminal looking to kill people weakens your argument immensely. Even if the solution that ends up being implemented is ending all gun ownership, its important to be honest with where the problem lies and what solutions have been explored so we know how to get there.