Baraka_Guru

Would you prefer banality instead? This is the Internet, after all....

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

boink

heh, in my personal experience, I have worked with a dude who carried a loaded .22 Derringer in his jeans pocket every day. probably loaded w/ hollow points.
I'd trust him w/ my life and I did. since I work w/ metal in a shop and in the field I need to trust my co workers with my life. guns or no. if I worked where people email co workers 3 cubicles away, I'd go insane with the absurdity of my existence.

if I worked with a wacko I'd be uncomfertable with him weather he had a gun otr not.

I don't own any guns aside from my cap gun collection. there are a few WW2 era guns I'd love to own, Broomhandle Mauser w/ shoulder stock and a Luger, also w/ detachable shoulder stock. these IMHO are some really cool examples of industrial design and I'd imagine fun to shoot at a range. but I've never gone to a shooting range so...ehh...maybe someday.

but I'd be really PO'd if my right was taken away to collect these guns someday
Florida is a high crime state, the Gunshine state...a lot of gang activity. alot of drugs coming in.

the fact is criminals and wackos will always have weapons. personally I wouldn't feel safer knowing I couldn't buy a gun if I chose to.

I don't really think "the people" can defend themselves against the Govt. with just guns, if the Govt. wants to drop the hammer they will and they have much bigger guns. our only hope in this case is a revolt of the military towards the Govt. (which is a really good reason to have everyone serve some time in the military, not that I ever did) if it really came to that there's nothing an "insurgent" in Iraq can do that an American can't figure out how to do too. it sure wouldn't be pretty.

if I needed a gun, but couldn't buy one I'd just make one. you can't legislate reality away.

just my opinion anyway.

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when you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way.

debaser

But a very valid one. I for one am glad to see someone who sees guns as art. There is no one thing that sums up the aesthetic of the late industrial age for me like an M-2 machine gun.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to assure you that the military is not filled with mindless drones. If I was ever ordered to act against US citizens I can assure you that it would not be a simple "Yes sir!" that left my lips...

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Baraka_Guru

Yes, I especially admire their homo- and autoerotic overtones (which can easily be interpreted from a postmodern perspective). The M-2 is no exception.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

debaser

I guess it's a matter of interpretation...

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Baraka_Guru

Of course. We were talking about art. I tend to go to the most straightforward interpretations of the more current sociocultural criticisms and theories. And when you start talking about historical objects as art, one tends to be informed by the postmodern and conceptual movements of the 20th century.

Guns as tools rendered as guns as fetishized objects. That is a powerful thing to think on, especially when there are those who see them--whether consciously or not--as fetishized tools. Maybe this last idea is much of what is wrong with gun culture in America. Do we really need to bring them to work with us?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Jinn

Turns out that you're totally wrong, and the Supreme Court agrees.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

MSD

As long as there's no foolproof way of preventing the bad guys from getting one to where I am, I want the option of lethal force in self defense as a last resort.

I have a dilemma since I work at a University. I first want to make it clear that I do not carry a weapon or anything that can be construed as a weapon to work because I'm prohibited by school policy and state law.

Schools have consistently been targets of spree shooters because they present a high target density and low chance of being confronted with armed resistance. Additionally, there have been over 40 gang-related shootings or stabbings within one mile of work and the walk to the train station in the past year, with significant gang activity within line-of-sight of that walk.

Several times in the past year, I have encountered individuals or groups of individuals who were clearly up to no good and clearly armed; fortunately, I was alert, aware of my surroundings, and able to quickly plan what I would do if things went bad, and nothing ever happened. Violent crime has a fairly low event occurrence, but as sample size of encounters with people likely to perpetrate violent crime increases, the chance of being a victim of violent crime increases.


Finally, it's not just bringing guns to work it's having one everywhere between work and home.