[The E]

You didn't say that, exactly, but saying  "Let's see what they say when they find out that at least 108 000 (and up to 2.5 million) people go from victim to citizen every year (in the USA alone) by pulling out a gun." certainly implies it, wether you meant to do it or not. And even Victims are Citizens, believe it or not. They were citizens before the crime, they stay citizens during it, but explain to me how someone loses the magical quality of citizenship by being a victim of a crime?

And, that worldnetnewsdaily.com thing..... Let's just say that people with "liberal" leanings should avoid it at all cost.

[General Battuta]

You didn't say that, exactly, but saying  "Let's see what they say when they find out that at least 108 000 (and up to 2.5 million) people go from victim to citizen every year (in the USA alone) by pulling out a gun." certainly implies it, wether you meant to do it or not. And even Victims are Citizens, believe it or not. They were citizens before the crime, they stay citizens during it, but explain to me how someone loses the magical quality of citizenship by being a victim of a crime?

And, that worldnetnewsdaily.com thing..... Let's just say that people with "liberal" leanings should avoid it at all cost.

Yep, that.

[Rick James]

And, that worldnetnewsdaily.com thing..... Let's just say that people with "liberal" leanings should avoid it at all cost.

/takes a peek

What the Christ?

¯\(°_o)/¯

[maje]

I don't really have that much of a problem with worldnetdaily, though generally, the only articles I read are usually by Pat Buchanan since he doesn't really tow Republican Party rhetoric and is fair-minded in his opinions.

Sometimes I venture over to Ann Coulter's articles too, and while I agree with certain points, she really is just preaching to the choir and is more of an attacker for the right if anything.  With that said, I could easily see why some people are put off by her.

[karajorma]

the only articles I read are usually by Pat Buchanan since he doesn't really tow Republican Party rhetoric and is fair-minded in his opinions.

Thanks a lot! I gave myself a headache laughing at this comment.

[iamzack]

Why is worldnetdaily banned at my school? :[

[The E]

Because they want to preserve what little sanity is left in their students?

[TrashMan]

I'm not sure how this will stack up against the second amendment, since basically its infringing on people's right to bear arms.

http://www.flixgadget.com/video79338.aspx

A don't subscribe to the idea that if everyone had a gun there would be no violence (hell just go to Mogadishu were you can buy a Kalishnokov at the corner store real peaceful there) but this certainly isn't going to curb most violence and is basically going to infringe on responsible folks' rights.

Methinks everyone should be required by LAW to own a gun...and also to shoot at least 100 people with it. that way we will get rid of all problems on the planet. No man, no problem.

[NGTM-1R]

The problem is that there's no way to really test this except for actually killing someone.

On the contrary. You don't have to succeed to know you have the capablity.

[General Battuta]

The problem is that there's no way to really test this except for actually killing someone.

On the contrary. You don't have to succeed to know you have the capablity.
[/quote

David Grossman would like a word with you.

While many people (particularly teenage males) think they're stone-cold killers, the data seems to suggest that without some kind of conditioning (or some kind of condition) it's a difficult task.

Most people are suprised by how they react to violence, and it's often not in accord with their own expectations.

This is not to say it's impossible or even an ordeal for everyone -- some people can quite accurately predict that they're killers -- but it's often unpredictable or sensitive to conditions.

[Scotty]

none of which really matters. 

And would that be Colonel David Grossman?  The guy who thinks that violent video games are the cause of today's, oh what did he call it, "Virus of violent crime that is raging around the world?"

John Stossel looked into this in his book Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity:

"Self-appointed experts are sometimes so successful in propagating their arguments that the original source gets lost in the confusion..."

"Even the Surgeon General's Office told us, 'The Marines use the game Doom to desensitize recruits.' Where did they learn that? From Grossman. We called the Marines, They said (Doom) is not used to desensitize Marines, They say they used a version of the software to teach eye/hand coordination and teamwork. Period."

Stossel continues: "Do we, individual parents, get to decide for ourselves and our children, or will the government appoint some expert, maybe David Grossman to decide for us? After all, he's the source of the 'conventional wisdom' on the subject. Get out the shovel."

Link: http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/288356.html

Personally, Grossman seems full of s*** to me.

[NGTM-1R]

David Grossman would like a word with you.

I'm sure he would, but then I'm a reprobate who grew up with video games. I would recommend a more reliable source, like S.L.A. Marshall.

However I chose my phrasing more carefully than you credit for. You don't have to succeed to know you have the capablity to. But you do have to make a serious attempt at it. Say, knocking someone down and choking them with a serious intention to see them dead for approximately thirty seconds before you realize this is not proportional response.

In a way, a gun is a lot easier than that, a lot simpler. Knowing that I can is something that I usually find more frightening then anything else.

[General Battuta]

Are you certain you know who Grossman is? He based his work on S.L.A. Marshall's research and doesn't differ from Marshall in many significant ways. (And, man, calling Marshall 'reliable' is opening a pretty huge can of worms! There's a lot of historiographic controversy around his reliability, particularly the statistics in 'Men Against Fire'. I'm not sure what I think myself.)

In any case, if you want to talk about yourself then I certainly say anything since I don't know you. My comments regarded populations at large.

I pray you never have to find out. Try not to make it too much a part of your personal narrative construction, though.