[lit-ideas] Re: Didn't I tell you so?


LH: As Taylor tells us, we have a lot of reasons for the things we believe and do. You live in Canada and don?t want a gun because guns kill people. The implication being that you don?t want a gun because you don?t want to kill anyone. I wasn?t raised with any idea like that. Guns are offensive or defensive depending upon who has them and what his intention is.

I don't want a gun, because, as I TRIED to explain in my rather long explanation, they are killing machines and I don't want to contribute to needless, inevitable violence against another person.

The guy coming to rob you and kill you if necessary intends his gun for offensive purposes, but you, if you had a gun could use it for defensive purposes.

The thing is... there IS NO guy coming to rob me because no one has guns and they aren't readily available AND... our culture simply isn't a cutthroat situation where people just rob others.

You could let him know you had a gun and perhaps that would cause him to leave yours tackle a less-defended house, or you could actually use it for defense if he were persistent. But, of course if there are few criminals in Canada who use guns to do such things as I described, then why bother?

Exactly! What a country! Are you going to beat your chest and say "USA is better because our criminals use guns"?

In such a peaceful environment only hunters, target shooters, and perhaps war-paraphernalia collectors would be interested in owning guns.

Yes... I agree and apart from a few organized biker gangs and fringe maniacs, few people do commit acts of violence with guns in Canada.

At Boeing years ago, my office was across the aisle from a very Liberal fellow who was against the owning of guns. His wife was Canadian and he used to travel up there regularly ? claimed to be treated rather shabbily by the Canadians by the way.

Yeah, that's because we generally suspect Americans of loving guns. The statistics bear that out.

This fellow lived near the beach and had something of a hippy life-style. Sometimes on holidays people who used the beach would park in his driveway so that he couldn?t park his own car there. He had a lot of confrontations with them. He was a big guy and despite his Liberal leanings could confront with the best of them. He also had a baseball bat in his bedroom for defense.

You have to hit a person a LOT of times to wound a guy with a bat. With a gun... a 100 pound nancy boy can kill Nicolai Valuev.

If you don?t feel comfortable with a gun because you were taught certain things about them, had certain experiences with them, or you can?t remember why but just don?t like them, then you shouldn?t have a gun.

I don't NEED a gun and nobody should -- unfortunately, in your culture, lots of people need them. The reason is because lots of people have them. It's a microcosm of MAD.

Get a baseball bat or get good locks on your doors and windows and hope if someone ever does try to break in that the police will get there before they get to you.

I've lived here for 39 years and nobody has ever broken in to ANYBODY I know's house.

Furthermore, your chances are probably good no one will target your house. 

Yes... very good.

Only 16% of men will contract prostate cancer sometime in their lives. The chances of your being robbed in your home are probably much lower than that. I think it entirely reasonable to rely upon the laws of chance and take no precautions against either eventuality.

Me too. Because a whole lotta people get killed with guns every year JUST because they exist.

Paul

_________________
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Paul Stone
pas@xxxxxxxx
Leamington, ON. Canada

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