one which inevitably ends in the endless drumbeat of gun massacre
That's where I need to stop you, because you're tripping over into the delivery of the more strident anti-gun side, not to mention coming across like a sideways commentary that any gun support is (as I mentioned in the post) somehow complicit in the next atrocity. Having a gun in the house does not make me a part of a particular culture, any more than having a car in my driveway, unless by "particular culture" you mean "part of a massive faceless mass of whom there is nothing in constant consistent common except for the fact of owning this particular item" -- which amounts to no culture at all. Really. Or a culture so broad it's pointless to use it as a definition.
My agreement was not that we need to educate people because owning guns means they're complicit in eventual manslaughter-- hell, I can't even rephrase your commentary without being incredibly offended. I've known you long enough I'm pretty sure you don't mean it personally, but I would appreciate you think twice in how you're framing the situation.
To get back on topic: the unintentional irony of my suggestion to find a way to reduce the 'rugged individual' (not impacting society) part of gun ownership... is that this is exactly what NRA has done. It's formed a massive organization where the gun owners do see themselves as part of a larger whole, with responsibility shared among them. So it's not impossible to shift the cultural value, in that way. We just need to find someone willing to do it more positively -- and with less tyrannical lobbying muscle -- than the NRA.
no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2012 02:55 am (UTC)That's where I need to stop you, because you're tripping over into the delivery of the more strident anti-gun side, not to mention coming across like a sideways commentary that any gun support is (as I mentioned in the post) somehow complicit in the next atrocity. Having a gun in the house does not make me a part of a particular culture, any more than having a car in my driveway, unless by "particular culture" you mean "part of a massive faceless mass of whom there is nothing in constant consistent common except for the fact of owning this particular item" -- which amounts to no culture at all. Really. Or a culture so broad it's pointless to use it as a definition.
My agreement was not that we need to educate people because owning guns means they're complicit in eventual manslaughter-- hell, I can't even rephrase your commentary without being incredibly offended. I've known you long enough I'm pretty sure you don't mean it personally, but I would appreciate you think twice in how you're framing the situation.
To get back on topic: the unintentional irony of my suggestion to find a way to reduce the 'rugged individual' (not impacting society) part of gun ownership... is that this is exactly what NRA has done. It's formed a massive organization where the gun owners do see themselves as part of a larger whole, with responsibility shared among them. So it's not impossible to shift the cultural value, in that way. We just need to find someone willing to do it more positively -- and with less tyrannical lobbying muscle -- than the NRA.