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roachboy · 07-05-2004, 10:42 AM

i am skeptical of arguments that run: if everyone is strapped, then the murder rate will go down---simply because:

i cannot see the value of the dodge city 1880 western film model for interaction betwen civilized beings.

second it assumes that, again like a western film, everyone who is strapped will have their six gun in a handy holster at thier side and be able to whip the thing out at the critical moment without fucking up.

third because i do not think it is necessarily a good idea for everyone to have a gun in a situation that generates some level of fear--it seems to be a handy way to bypass negociation and go straight to a situation where people are likely to end up dead....

fourth because i would not personally feel any safer if i had a gun on me--i would worry far too much that if i were to use it in a stupid situation, that through no fault of my own, quite apart from my intentions, some passer-by might end up dead or maimed because even if i were to take a sudden interest in weapons and go to a firing range and practice ad infinitum, it would seem to me that in moments of real stress, real fear, my control over the minutae of the physical mechanisms required to be in more-or-less total alignment so as to aim the thing properly could not be counted on, and again, someone passing by, or sitting in a nearby apartment watching tv or talking to a friend, maybe a kid, could end up dead or maimed because of a stray bullet...and because regardless of your experience with weapons like this, it cannot be deined that a gun is something of an abstract mechanism the projectiles from which rip through all bodies/materials without differentiation.

and it would seem that walking down the street and happening upon such a situation would not be comparable with being in a war scenario because in a war scenario, such situations are part of the expectations you bring into the game. surprise like what i talk about above seems to me totally different.

i do not know how i would handle the balance between my sense of personal space and its defense as over against mowing down some kid by mistake. i dont know if i could deal with it. but i **do** know that once the gun was out, i could not be certain of what was going to happen.

as for credibility, i would think that one should have it granted in this kind of scenario because it requires only that one have lived a certain period of time as a human being, be able to imagine scenarios, and know something about your own reactions.

07-05-2004, 10:42 AM	#51 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	i am skeptical of arguments that run: if everyone is strapped, then the murder rate will go down---simply because: i cannot see the value of the dodge city 1880 western film model for interaction betwen civilized beings. second it assumes that, again like a western film, everyone who is strapped will have their six gun in a handy holster at thier side and be able to whip the thing out at the critical moment without fucking up. third because i do not think it is necessarily a good idea for everyone to have a gun in a situation that generates some level of fear--it seems to be a handy way to bypass negociation and go straight to a situation where people are likely to end up dead.... fourth because i would not personally feel any safer if i had a gun on me--i would worry far too much that if i were to use it in a stupid situation, that through no fault of my own, quite apart from my intentions, some passer-by might end up dead or maimed because even if i were to take a sudden interest in weapons and go to a firing range and practice ad infinitum, it would seem to me that in moments of real stress, real fear, my control over the minutae of the physical mechanisms required to be in more-or-less total alignment so as to aim the thing properly could not be counted on, and again, someone passing by, or sitting in a nearby apartment watching tv or talking to a friend, maybe a kid, could end up dead or maimed because of a stray bullet...and because regardless of your experience with weapons like this, it cannot be deined that a gun is something of an abstract mechanism the projectiles from which rip through all bodies/materials without differentiation. and it would seem that walking down the street and happening upon such a situation would not be comparable with being in a war scenario because in a war scenario, such situations are part of the expectations you bring into the game. surprise like what i talk about above seems to me totally different. i do not know how i would handle the balance between my sense of personal space and its defense as over against mowing down some kid by mistake. i dont know if i could deal with it. but i do know that once the gun was out, i could not be certain of what was going to happen. as for credibility, i would think that one should have it granted in this kind of scenario because it requires only that one have lived a certain period of time as a human being, be able to imagine scenarios, and know something about your own reactions. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite Last edited by roachboy; 07-05-2004 at 10:45 AM..