mahailia
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Post by mahailia on Dec 18, 2012 13:27:27 GMT -5
water moccasins, not out here, but yes, bears are coming up from Mexico because of the drought, I haven't seen any yet, but they have been seen in our area. Ferral hogs can weigh up to 350 lbs. and can kill a horse. A pack of javelina can be viscious, and there are no trees around here to climb up to get away from them. Add to that rabid skunks. Many of you ask why I would own a gun, knowing that it can kill a person. We don't own guns so that we can kill any persons. I shoot targets and beer cans, and an occassional rattlesnake. My husband shoots deer, 1 per year according to our hunting liscense, and we process it and eat it. Course there aren't many deer out here since the drought has been going on for the past 7 years. We have gone without deer meat for the past 4 years. A rabid skunk climbed over our rock fence and attacked my dog and her 6 two week old puppies. My son got me out of bed, I grabbed a pistol, and had to shoot 3 times to kill the skunk. It was dark, and the skunk was moving around, and I am not that good with a pistol. All but 2 of the puppies were killed, and we had to pen up the mother for 3 weeks to make sure she didn't have rabies. My dh and his best friend, both vets, slept through the whole thing. This all occurred 12 yards from my back door. Welcome to my world.
Ok. But why an assault weapon?from my original post on this issue: I live very near the Mexican border, and the drug cartels are moving in very fast down here. They have plenty of assault rifles. If we don't, how will we protect ourselves? The Border Patrol can't even protect themselves, and are not allowed to shoot these invaders. If they do, they get sent to jail. ....... We live in an area where there is real danger. I am NOT in favor of banning assault rifles. The drug cartels have them, the criminals have them, the gangs have them. If they are completely banned, the above mentioned groups will still find ways to get them and use them. Law abiding citizens will not be able to protect themselves, and will be out gunned and unable to defend themselves. The bottom line is that if these guns are banned, the outlaws and crazies will still find them and use them, and good people, like me, will be unable to protect ourselves. These guns are being made and sold, and will continue to be available, and a ban on them will only drive the black market and more criminal activity. Read more: atop.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=socialaction&action=display&thread=332&page=9#ixzz2FQfaagO9as to specifically why we bought one? They are fun to shoot, and we enjoy shooting targets and beer cans. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2012 13:49:55 GMT -5
When I used to teach high school, one of the first lessons I taught students about online research was to always consider the source, and how that shaped the argument, choice of selective statistics, etc. the Wall street journal article above is written by Dave Kopel, from wiki: "Kopel opposes gun control and is a benefactor member of the National Rifle Association. ..In 2003, Kopel wrote in National Review "Simply put, if not for gun control, Hitler would not have been able to murder 21 million people." He is also a research director of a conservative think tank, the Independence Institute, and a policy analyst at a libertarian think tank, Cato (I'm mostly familiar with their active denials of climate change and global warming). Grandduchesses extensive quote about assault weapons comes from guncite.com which while presenting lots of articles and information, seems to be primarily concerned with defense of the second Amendment and seems to do a lot of quoting of Dave Kopel above -- such as the section about assault weapons quoted here (although they also reference Reason,  ) Just food for thought and something to keep in mind when reading about these issues. Good point Rabbit. I think on any position, when you want to have a valid well thought out response, all points of view should be taken into account. Every one will probably have a bias, an agenda if you will. I like to read, fact check and to set it against the criteria: is it reasonable, logical or realistic or is it sensationalized or motive generated. Its why I love statistics but even there the analysis of those stats can be bent to someones view point. Whew! Its a wonder I have an opinion at all! I remember a odious article about Wal-Mart a few years ago that I researched. Come to find out it was written by the union trying to break the retailer. I put that article under: motive generated Of course my dh bleeds from the ears when he sees me reading Huff Post or Mother Jones! But we do tend to have the same or similar view points on most things and enough of a difference to have lively conversations! Now I have to go read the article about Hitler  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2012 16:15:36 GMT -5
grandduchess, do I come off that way? Like I would grade people? :( I hope not. Thank you for your detailed response, it was great! I am a Texan, but a city girl in one of the most liberal cities in the country. I hear all sides and I am just trying to learn. You cited one of the main reasons I don't have a gun myself. I know I'm not capable of using it correctly. Anybody remember Barney Fife on Andy Griffith and his one bullet? That would be me. I do think people have fantasies about self-defense at times that very few who do not have police or military training would be able to carry out. To me a gun would just be a valuable target for a burglar, an accident waiting to happen, and a bad thing to have around in moments of despair. adamuse, I won't play dueling articles. That article you posted was great, very informative. I read many things that friends and family bring to my attention -- everything from Reason to Mother Jones, Commentary to the Atlantic, everything in between. That's how I learn. I thought the guy's point was well-taken that we all tend to fall back on our comfortable tropes when something like this happens. I'm thankful for this thread. I've never joined in on this thread before, but I want to learn some things. I think there is middle ground for us all to stand on -- at least I hope so. All too often the middle ground is cut away and then people just retreat to their defensive positions and no progress is possible. There was an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal this morning that I wanted to share. It is called "Guns, Mental Illness, and Newtown": online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323723104578185271857424036.htmlThis story is really interesting. It addresses the fact that homicide has fallen by 50% in the US since 1980, with a corresponding drop in gun homicides. But random mass shootings have increased dramatically -- from 18 in the 1980s to 87 in the 2000s. He goes on to talk about the fueling of mad obsessions by the 24-hour news cycle and the deinstitutionalizing of the mentally ill. Again I cannot agree that that is an excellent article. The only part that I think does not have an NRA bias and I can find common ground on is that cuts in services for the mentally ill have left many with ho help. The article that Kay linked on Page 11 reinforces this from a Mother of the Assailant point of view. The part about how having no gun free zones keeps everyone safer is beyond my belief. If that was to happen then I would think about leaving America with my family. Luckily I have that choice. I can see why Mahailia needs to own a rifle and have no problem with this but will never accept that anyone needs to own an assault weapon. Let me explain that I come from a country where not even the police are armed and I felt extremely uncomfortable sending my kids to school here with armed policemen in the building. I think it is a sad state of affairs that Americans need to see armed people with authority in order to feel safe. If no one has guns then no one dies from being shot. I'm not naive enough to think that America could ever be gun free but you do have to start somewhere. A complete ban on the sale of assault weapons and a buy back from those who already own them would save so many lives. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2012 17:14:25 GMT -5
adamuse, I've been thinking some reading today's thread and what's been posted, and I'm not sure what the answer is, if there is one. We are all people with complexities and beautiful human nuances. But somehow our efforts to communicate just get reframed into the usual "types," easily negated and dismissed. I'll go so far as to say I'm in a desolate place these days as far as discourse on any current events. For various reasons I'm a political independent. During the recent election I had someone tell me that meant I didn't have any principles.  Yeah, when it comes to political matters, I seem to have stepped into a long-running play that was cast a long time ago, and I just can't seem to play according to script as I once did. Once I knew what "side" I was on on every issue; I miss that certainty a lot, actually. Sigh. Carry on --
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2012 17:15:22 GMT -5
Hey rabbit! You have me reading a lot. I have a headache, need chocolate. Thought you might be interested in this one. I had never heard of the Hitler/Gun connection before. But the first article I read seemed rife with non-conclusive evidence. www.law.uchicago.edu/files/files/67-harcourt.pdf |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2012 18:30:42 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2012 22:32:38 GMT -5
adamuse, I've been thinking some reading today's thread and what's been posted, and I'm not sure what the answer is, if there is one. We are all people with complexities and beautiful human nuances. But somehow our efforts to communicate just get reframed into the usual "types," easily negated and dismissed. I'll go so far as to say I'm in a desolate place these days as far as discourse on any current events. For various reasons I'm a political independent. During the recent election I had someone tell me that meant I didn't have any principles. Yeah, when it comes to political matters, I seem to have stepped into a long-running play that was cast a long time ago, and I just can't seem to play according to script as I once did. Once I knew what "side" I was on on every issue; I miss that certainty a lot, actually. Sigh. Carry on -- It is easier to be definitely on one or the other side of an argument. I know which side I am on and if it seemed I was attacking you instead of the article then I apologize as that was not my intention. I modified my posts because I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable about having an unpopular view or linking articles from the other side of the debate. |
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mahailia
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Post by mahailia on Dec 19, 2012 0:23:25 GMT -5
very cool, thanks for bringing this here, it is a great idea. I love the pay it forward stuff. |
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Post by Jablea on Dec 24, 2012 11:57:29 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2012 18:41:30 GMT -5
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