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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
Oh, I'm sure it was exaggerated by the media, but I'm not concerned about the average American. This thread was always about that subset of the militia folk who really think that the government is out to get them, that socialism is coming, and the liberals are destroying freedom, etc.
And the subset to that subset I mentioned above is what worry me the most. Those who are "getting ready" for "when the shit hits the fan" and the shit is going to hit the fan, and they're going to be ready. It's this subset of the subset who've "had enough" and "aren't going to take it anymore" and must "fight and die for freedom or freedom itself will die...." Blah, blah, blah. I know this is a minority, but it sounds like an ignorant and readily violent minority. And, hey, this is Tilted Paranoia. Can I not entertain the idea of pockets of people around the country who are ready to band together and do something stupid?
And what would it take to set something bigger off? Play on others' fears and frustrations? Are there powder kegs to these nutjobs' fuses?
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There are certainly people who think that the American government is being destroyed by leftie swine. There are also people preparing for when the SHTF. But I don't think the two are always connected. For most people, SHTF is riots, environmental disaster, social unrest, etc. Stocking up on guns, ammo, food, water, etc. isn't just because you think the Redcoats are coming. Look at Hurricane Katrina, the LA riots, major snowstorms, race riots, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, or even smaller localized issues like long term power outages. Will your family have food? Will you be able to protect them? Will your car have gas? Simple things that most Americans never dream to prepare for, living paycheck to paycheck, whose lives will devolve into complete chaos if their paycheck isn't direct deposited on time, or if the local grocery store is closed for a few days.
I'm sure there's people who want to revolt, it's being discussed in blogs and other media pretty regularly now. It concerns me too, I don't want to see one. Many seem to forget that the founding fathers fought a brutal house to house set of battles for many years against the Brits before we had our independence. I think even a smallscale rebellion would turn into a SHTF situation, not the shooting at soldiers kind, but the figure out how to feed your family and protect them from predators taking advntage of the situation kind.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
You say America "has a problem"; I say it's an epidemic. Just looking at the stats, it's appalling. I don't watch American local news, which is where you'll find the biggest spin and sensationalized responses. There is nothing (or very little anyway) popping up on this Canadian's radar that would suggest spin. The Canadian homicide rate is 1.9 per 100,000 people (2004). The U.S. has something like 5.5 homicides for every 100,000 (2004), which is more than double the average for industrialized nations (2.5 per 100,000), and as you can see, this approaches nearly 3 times the Canadian rate. So if I move down to the U.S., I can expect to nearly triple the likelihood of being murdered, all depending on where I move, as I'm certain it's far worse in certain areas and at least marginally better in others.
Beyond these numbers, though, I admit that I don't know much about how violent the U.S. is. I haven't spent much time there. All I know is if I look at the numbers, there are a lot of murders. I'm not sure how skewed the gun statistics are, but these numbers mean something, don't they?
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Something like half the murders in the US are of convicted felons, even more are males aged 16-25. Looking at flat numbers makes it seem like grandmothers are being lynched in the streets. The huge majority of violent crimes other than murder are committed by repeat offenders, career criminals. There is definitely a problem, the source of it is probably complex as any other societal issue, but who's compiling stats and why plays a role in what you hear.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
I think it's in Obama's interests to get the economy and the deficit back on track. I'm not an American voter, so it's a non-issue for me with regard to my political expectations, but I sincerely think that he played an important role in averting economic disaster. It doesn't take foreign economies/investors much to walk away from American interests. As much as the deficit looks alarming, the consequences of not having done enough were far more dire. But it's much easier to see what's there than what "could have happened." It's like a bitter medicine. You complain about how it tastes like shit going down and it might even give you the runs, but, hey, at least you aren't dead from a festering disease. Not yet anyway.
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I think he slapped a bandaid on a gushing wound. The simple fact is that we spend much more than we make. The debt is outrageous. Neither side of the two party system is willing to take an honest look at which purse strings need to be completely severed.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
But is the misreporting because of some liberal or lefty agenda? Or are they doing what news does? If it bleeds it leads. Sensationalization sells. Like I said, I don't really know what the media is like as much as I do here in Canada. But even here, again, most media barely ventures left of centre despite the fact that a large proportion of our federal government seats are filled with out-of-the-closet social democrats. We're talking about guys and gals who would be literally reviled by uncountable Americans.
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I think it's the latter. News is a business.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
Maybe a thread on the politicization of guns is in order. I know you gun guys like to keep your Tilted Weapons politics-free, but if a big complaint of yours is media perceptions of guns, then why not talk about it?
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I'd love to. That section hasn't seen much action lately anyway.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
This statement is made with the assumption that burning the Quran is no different than burning any other book. There is a difference. There is a Muslim belief that the physical manifestation of each Quran is sacred, and that defiling or destroying it is an affront to their faith and to Allah. To many Muslims, destroying a Quran would be as devastating as destroying important American landmarks would be to American patriots. There is value in the physical manifestation itself, not just the ideas. You can destroy the Statue of Liberty and say, "Well, at least the idea of liberty is still intact!" Yet, I'm sure you'd have some rather angry and violent Americans ready to exact revenge. At least one, let's say.
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It's certainly possible that there'd be one person upset with the loss of Lady Liberty.
The difference is that national monuments aren't privately owned items that can be obtained at a local bookstore. Publicly destroying personal property is not a crime, no matter what it represents to the people who don't own it.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
I get that. But my point is that if you value religious freedom, you don't burn Qurans, Bibles, Torahs, Vedas, Sutras, etc.
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While I agree with you, my point is that religious freedom is a two way street.