Human Nature

[Wasillaguy]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Suuuure. You probably drive trucks on ice too

Pete

Don't make me come out of this igloo and go all "baby seal clubbing" on your ass!

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by Wasillaguy

Please provide some examples of my bravado here. I think you guys have seen too many Alaska reality shows. I'm just a normal guy who happens to live in Alaska. I'm not big and tough and macho. The macho types are the ones who don't think they need a gun. I know there are plenty out there who could kick my ass in a heartbeat, and I have a family to protect, thus I have firearms.

Well, there was that time you talked about killing all the Muslims before they had a chance to kill you.

And, no, I'm not going to bother to look it up. I remember it very clearly and I think you do too.

John

[icenine]

I would imagine most people killed by handguns are friends and relatives of the owner of said weapon.

If I bought a 9mm Barretta for personal protection for it do me any real good I would have to carry it all the time with a round chambered. Having it stored away like a piece of unused vintage gear would make it worthless. Even carrying it 24/7 would not prepare me for a surprise attack. And if a big guy hit me he could disarm me and kill me with it. I do not know if I have what it takes to shoot first and ask questions later. Ok here come the armchair wannabees...

[piece-itpete]

was, lol!

Who wants to go clubbing with baby seals anyway?

Pete

[Wasillaguy]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Well, there was that time you talked about killing all the Muslims before they had a chance to kill you.

And, no, I'm not going to bother to look it up. I remember it very clearly and I think you do too.

John

Nope, don't remember that one John. I remember saying something similar about terrorists, not an entire religion though. And I believe I was referring to supporting our military's mission, not that I was personally going Rambo.

You tried the same accusation before, didn't work then either.

You may be better off looking it up, it seems your memory isn't too accurate.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by baconshorts

Dude. The 3rd paragraph tied this to guns. Did you just blow past don's post and focus on mine?

Dude. Did you only read the third sentence?

John

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by d-ray657

Time for some dime store philosophy. (A first aside - isn't the term "dime store" obsolete now, anyway?)

We have quite the free-for-all here, and that's what political discussion is. Politics is one area where passions run high. Pretty soon, one person or another will respond to one position or another with an insult. (And this occurs from participants on the left and the right.) Well, being the humans we are, we respond in kind. Quite often the dispute escalates to the point where the original issue becomes secondary to the battle of wills.

This IMHO is why the proliferation of firearms is problematic, to put it lightly. Here, we only have battle of words. I'll throw a few nasty bits into cyberspace, and you'll respond in kind. But, outside of the virtual battle we have going on here, more and more people are packing. When slight or perceived slight begets insult, begets further insult, begets shouting, begets blows - escalation of a dispute leads to violence, and if those engaged in the violent dispute are armed, well it can become deadly.

What's the answer? I don't know. Hope we continue to evolve as a species, I suppose. I just hope we survive long enough to continue the process.

Regards,

D-Ray

Can rational people act irrationally? I know that collective action by groups of people can surely result in irrationality despite that all individuals are acting rationally. Traffic neck-stretching is the classic example. The economist, Thomas Schelling, discusses this in his academic papers. Interesting point on the inevitability of escalation, but the dynamics are different in real world meetings. For one, the people that tend to participate in political forums are usually there to find opposition IMHO. Personally, I enjoy reading opposing viewpoints and seeing the different sides to issues. Sadly, I'm beginning to think the proportion of rational people in the so-called real world declines with every passing year, but then, perhaps that is nature of successful societies—a continued cycle of rise and decay.

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by Wasillaguy

I don't hate Muslims. I don't even hate Islamic extremists. I just want to kill all of them so they can no longer kill us. You know, like with grizzly bears.

I can seldom turn down a challenge to conduct some research. This is the result. I don't see qualifications being made at the time this was posted.

Regards,

D-Ray

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by Wasillaguy

Please provide some examples of my bravado here. I think you guys have seen too many Alaska reality shows. I'm just a normal guy who happens to live in Alaska. I'm not big and tough and macho. The macho types are the ones who don't think they need a gun. I know there are plenty out there who could kick my ass in a heartbeat, and I have a family to protect, thus I have firearms.

Viewed like that, one would think that liberals would view guns as being good for their goal of egalitarianism.

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

was, lol!

Who wants to go clubbing with baby seals anyway?

Pete

I do. I can only imagine all the girls it would attract.