OT: Americans love their guns

[Bengt Richter]

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 05:36:03 -0000, Steve Lamb <grey at despair.dmiyu.org> wrote:
[...]
>
>    What you've all missed is that violence still happens.  The
Are you talking to me? ;-)  (when you say "all")

If you read my post, you will note that I didn't say you should not be allowed
to make the choice of owning a gun. I just suggested (indirectly at that) that
maybe we should regulate ownership and operation of firearms at least as well as
we do cars. 

I suggested that this might have a good influence on the odds of bad things happening.
I didn't say I expected them to stop happening. In fact, I said/wrote
"""
You seem to be hoping that education and attitude (which you don't mention a way of
improving, enforcing, or QA-ing) will prevent all the temporary quasi-insanities that
normally reasonable humans are capable of.
"""

I suggested that a risk management approach might be reasonable. Risks vary, as I also
mentioned. I understand what happens in one's mind if one receives believable threats
of bodily harm, and my sympathies if it has happened to you. I understand that there
are contexts where arming oneself is rational, just as there are contexts where wearing
a parachute is rational. You have to calculate your own odds. There is a non-zero
probablility that you'll be pushed off a high place where a parachute would do you some good.
Or jumping might be part of your job.

Anyway, try not to be in the wrong place during thunderstorms etc., and never point a banana
at an armed person, not even a police officer you know ;-)
(well, never say never. Someone probably has bluffed their way out of a bad spot with
a banana. But how many got called on it is another thing to consider ;-)

Human life structured mainly according to fears is a kind of hell. It is certainly not
freedom. We must be careful that our curative measures don't contribute to the disease.

Enough OT ;-/

Regards,
Bengt Richter