MotoRacerX36 Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Continued from the "Are we on the Brink" topic. FarinU, what do you mean by your historical background? How does that dictate whether or not you own a gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 my historical background? you know... the second World War? We tend to be rather suspicious about guns. I don't know how many privatly owned guns there are in Germany, but out of all the people I know there's only one who owns guns and he's a professional forest warden/hunter. of course edna is right when she said (in another thread) that you need weapons to defend yourself, but against whom? I don't know about the crime statistics of where you live, but I never was in a situation where I thought "now a gun would be good"... and even if you were in fear of being robbed, wouldn't, i don't know, Pepperspray suffice? "I don't know with what kind of weapons the Third World War will be fought, but the fourth will be fought with sticks and stones" Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoRacerX36 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Ok, I understand the whole WW2 concept, but I honestly didn't know that it effected your outlook on gun ownership. In the U.S., at least where I am from, and the people I associate with, the general concensus is "better be safe than sorry". In a place where any Joe Schmo can walk up behind you, put a gun to your head, and pull the trigger because of the kind of car you have, or the watch on your wrist, I'm not going to wait for the police to show up to defend me. I am going to take matters into my own hands. Thats just one of the many things I love about my country. The right to bear arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Why a gun? If, God forbid, the time comes that you need to defend yourself anything can be a weapon. But a gun is a rather explicit expression of violence. Carrying a gun may be a part of the job descripton, but privately owned... I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 when I first mentioned our different history (and now that I think of it, I can add "mentality") I wasn't just thinking of the German, but more about the American... I'm not going to wait for the police to show up to defend me. I am going to take matters into my own hands. Thats just one of the many things I love about my country. The right to bear arms. Nobody here would even think that, let alone say it... In a place where any Joe Schmo can walk up behind you, put a gun to your head, and pull the trigger because of the kind of car you have, or the watch on your wrist to be fair, that also doesn't happen... so I come to the conclusion: It's not just a historical, but more a cultural issue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoRacerX36 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I've always had the feeling that European people, as a whole, are much more peaceful people. I also get the feeling that people in Europe deal with thing differently. Even the criminals. I might be wrong. If that is true, and I lived in a place like that, I wouldn't be as "paranoid" as I am here in the U.S. And yeah, Levi, you're kinda right. Guns are a pretty drastic measure. But, come on, I don't want to be the one bringing a knife to a gun fight if you know what I'm saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Jane 61 Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 First of all, I hate violence of any kind. I will not own a gun, ever. I understand service personel and police officers having guns, but for the average citizen, I don't like that thought. I feel guns contribute to alot of the violence in the world, especially with kids. You read too many stories where a kid or a teen killed people with a gun. Too many innocent people and kids are killed with guns everyday. And it is scary that some kids think it is cool to have a gun. No, it is not cool, not in any way shape or form. I hate them, I really do. I am a peace loving person and feel we would be a better place without such easy access to guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 (edited) My friend at work and her husband are proud gun owners, and that's fine. I don't own one and don't choose to, and that is fine, too. I don't feel like I could be attacked at any minute, but that could be because I live in a suburban/rural area. Still, I lock my car, my house, practice safe behaviors, etc. I certainly don't invite criminals. The most important thing in my opinion is to be responsible. I think a lot of people buy guns and have no idea how to use them safely or properly store them, and that's how accidents happen. OK, that's my everyday view.....if someone ever hurts my kid, though, I'll be hiring Moto to blow them to smithereens.... Edited August 10, 2006 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoRacerX36 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I'll be hiring Moto to blow them to smithereens.... Don't get me wrong. I'm not some gunslinger from the wild west. I do, however, practice my right to bear arms. I don't feel safe going to the 7-11 after dark in the town where I'm stationed, without some type of protection. Back home (Ohio), on the other hand, I don't even bother taking the keys out of the ignition of my truck when I go into the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I didn't mean to say you were a gunslinger, Moto, I'm just saying that I would be using your sniper skills in that event...no trial, no "justice", just take out the trash. Sorry, when it comes to people who hurt children, I have zero sympathy or tolerance. In Sussex County, where I live, there are a lot of people who own guns, whether for personal reasons or hunting. They don't go flashing them around...and even though we joke about hicks, I have yet to see a gun rack...then again, I haven't gone to the county fair this year during the tractor pull and demolition derby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible_r Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I don't like guns, and the idea of walking amongst people who carry guns does freak me out. it's definitely a cultural thing and I personally do not see the point, what would I do with it, shoot whoever might attack me? it just seems utterly pointless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I don't like guns, and the idea of walking amongst people who carry guns does freak me out. it's definitely a cultural thing and I personally do not see the point, what would I do with it, shoot whoever might attack me? it just seems utterly pointless exactly! violence causes counter-violence if the others have a knife, I need a gun. If they have a gun, I need a bigger gun - a machine gun ... it's a vicious circle :wacky: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoRacerX36 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 if the others have a knife, I need a gun. If they have a gun, I need a bigger gun - a machine gun ... it's a vicious circle Or just be a good shot with the gun you have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 with that logic it would be enough to train in hand to hand combat... no need for guns... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I´m lucky enough to live in places where I don´t need a gun. And I feel safe knowing that there is Police to protect me and an Army in case the ugly b******s choose to invade or attack or drop a bomb or whatever just cause I´m not one of them, don´t believe in their god or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Thats just one of the many things I love about my country. The right to bear arms. Maybes you're just the best wind-up merchant we've seen around here since...PaulEdwardWagemann??? "The right to bear arms" seems a most peculiar basis for outspoken patriotism. To many of us, your "right to bear arms" , (coinciding (incidentally) with a proliferation of civilian-against-civilian gun-crime unheard of to those of us living in a more civilised world), is symbolic of how screwed-up the country you love is perceived to be. Have your debate by all means, but the notion that your streets cannot be walked without the risk of having your face blown off is really nothing to be proud of. I live in one of the UK's biggest cities and work in one of the roughest areas, yet (to my knowledge) I don't know anyone who possesses a fire-arm. There are parts of Leeds I wouldn't fancy walking round late at night, because of fear of being mugged. However,the risk of my being held at gun-point or shot is infinitesimally small. Allow people to have guns, even on the spurious grounds that they may be needed "in self-defence", and I believe that risk increases enormously. At least at the moment, the only people having / using guns are a pretty small minority of criminals, some of whom are merely impressed by the machismo of violence; an all-too common phenomenon. As it is, at least if I am shot, I'll have the reassurance of knowing it was by a genuine low-life psycho criminal, rather than by a member of "the law-abiding majority". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I am well-known for being naieve and wishing the world would join hands and live harmoniously and drink Coca Cola in a glorious sunny meadow. Then again, I know there are situations in which you do need to defend yourself. Mr. Peaches and I live in his grandfather's house. We live in the south and Papa was a big believer in guns. We have at least 6 shotguns, unloaded and locked up tightly. They scare the piss out of me, and even if I could get to them easily, I wouldn't know what to do with them. I suppose I could throw one at a burglar and hope I hit him in the head, rendering him unconscious. What I'm rambling on about is that I can see both sides. I don't live in the safest environment in the world. Our tiny little stretch of road is okay, but the projects are right up the street. A man was shot and killed at his place of business not five miles up the road from us just a couple of months ago. Personally, I don't think I could shoot a gun, but like Jenny said, if it came to my family's well-being, there is no limit to what I could do. To put on blinders and say there is no place for guns is just as irresponsible as having a gun and using that as an excuse to escalate a situation until it becomes deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel2Velvet Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I have never owned anything more forceful than a rodent-killing pellet gun. I do know how to fire and care for a rifle or revolver. But I (like many) have seen actual gunfire deaths. I know people who have taken the lives of others with gunfire. Before one owns a gun to protect one's property, one must ask, "Am I prepared to use this on another human being? To line them up in my sights and pull the trigger with the intent (or at least a good chance) of ending their existence? Could I stand there as he sputters his last breath at my feet and retain the state of mind I bear today? In the movies, that act can seem noble, cathartic and even laudatory, with no lasting (or even short term) effects. In reality, taking another's life is a terrible film clip playing over and over in the mind. A burden with which one must either learn to coexist; or attempt to purge from memory in any number of ways. I suppose it is a good thing that there are those "Dirty Harry" types to protect others from those who regard life so cheaply that they would risk all for a few dollars, but as a nod to honesty, he was never portrayed as "Happy Harry." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 To put on blinders and say there is no place for guns is just as irresponsible as having a gun and using that as an excuse to escalate a situation until it becomes deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoRacerX36 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I'm about to get off work, then I need to go to the gym. Don't count me out of this conversation, because I have a looooooong winded reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible_r Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 To put on blinders and say there is no place for guns is just as irresponsible as having a gun and using that as an excuse to escalate a situation until it becomes deadly. I am sorry but I will put "blinders" on and disagree. as Farin said, violence perpetuates violence. I live in London, and although I don't hang out in the worst of areas, you almost never hear about people being victims of gun crime. That is not true of most cities where guns are legal, I would assume. I have never lived anywhere where guns are legal, and I have never felt the need to have a gun. I do not think that will ever change, and it probably applies to most europeans. Personally, I feel a lot safer knowing that people do not carry guns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Jane 61 Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I don't have on blinders, I just think that there are too many guns that are easy access for people who are into violence. Yes I believe in peace and want the best for our world, but as I said service personel and police officers are who I want holding a gun, not the bozo down the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daslied Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 There is a place for guns, but it's not anywhere near me. Cops, soldiers, etc. - go to town with them. But what am I going to do with one? I could buy one for safety, but it would be pointless unless I learned how to use it. Like Peaches said, I could throw it at somebody. But there is just as big a chance of my daughter finding it than there is of me actually needed it for defense. There are so many bad things that can happen to you, and you could spend every waking moment preparing for them. And it still might not matter. I'd rather spend my time doing as much of what I love and things for the people I love until one of those bad people actually gets me. I'd probably just shoot myself in the junk anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Of all the places you could shoot yourself, please don't let it be your junk. You would have nothing left to think with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daslied Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Maybe I'll shoot myself in the eyes, as I wouldn't have to read your inanity anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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