Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dksuddeth
The problem with your perception is that you're painting everyone who carries or wants to carry with the same brush and in the same color. That's what ends up dividing the issue and making it so confrontational.
People need to understand that there are people who don't care about others and will use whatever violent means necessary to obtain their objectives over someone weaker than them.
For those people, having that gun means having control over those without one and so your perception for THOSE people would be spot on. For the others, they don't want to be 'better', they just want to not be controlled by the former. I don't think that's trying to be superior, it's just trying to protect ones self.
|
I see your point. I have a problem finding the right words to describe how I feel on this site, I don't know why. Nevertheless, I think my internal thoughts, the ones I meant to convey, are being missed; I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. Weapons, in any form, are tools to achieve some sort of superiority.
So there are horrible people who would kill someone else, yes? And you're point is, if the time and place were somehow ever to come about, you would kill that person first?
You see my point as a broad generalization because you don't see yourself within that generalization. You take yourself out of that group, then label the others evil doers. What confuses me is you are both willing to perform the same acts. Yet, you are right, while he is wrong.
You can argue he was going to do it first. Why would he? He felt threatened, hurt, without rights? He was poor and felt his only path was the one leading to your door and your death and, eventually, to your cash. You are his superior, in his eyes, and he wishes to equal the playing ground.
You see him and say "It is a crime for him to do this, etc". You see he has a gun, or access to them. Your thinking "The human race is certainly capable of this, so I need to defend myself". When he shows up, you're already to blow his ass to smithereens.
Don't you see that it goes both ways?
But, when I say there are better ways, I don't mean inviting the gun wielding man into your home for coffee, convincing him violence isn't the way, then giving him a pat on the ass and sending him on his way. I mean find a way to never have the situation happen.
I'm not perfect. I don't want my kids to be killed at school, or my wife raped and beaten, or have me be mugged and stabbed. But I don't want my neighbor to think I'm willing to do that to him. And I hope that he doesn't think the same about me. But, if I were to assume the worst about him, I think that gives him the right to assume that about me.
You justifying this, gives your potential "enemy" reason to justify their actions as well. Maybe I'm wrong.