Gun. Gun. You just say it and instantly, you're tied to a culture of gun enthusiasts, of people preparing for an eventuality that will probably never happen, one that, even if it did come to pass, would spell for them untold amounts of legal fees and emotional distress.
Because really, that's the side of it nobody ever seems to consider.
Yes, I can ask you, "Would you take a human life to protect your family?"
And unless you're a wuss, you'd likely say, "Yes. Yes I would."
But the question bears more weight when it becomes, "Would you pay thousands of dollars in court costs to defend yourself from a wrongful death suit, and then endure the scorn and glances that people give you afterwards?"
The story doesn't end in your house when you shoot the home invader.
I admire and respect those who lawfully acquire and maintain firearms. The law is not on their side. Public opinion is not on their side. In many cases, their family and friends are not really on their side. And yet they do what is right and even necessary to ensure that they did all in their power to defend those that they love.
Even when those about whom they care couldn't care themselves.
Ignorance is bliss, but remember - apathy is the enemy of democracy.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Osama's Death Pictures, and Why We Ought To See Them
So Osama (or Usama) bin Laden is Osama (or Usama) bin Shot in the Head. Great. The entire Western hemisphere pretty much rejoiced, which is kinda interesting.
But now the PR-obsessed (and I do mean obsessed) White House is turning down its darkest road yet. In a recent interview for 60 Minutes, President Obama explained that "there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference," and that "There are going to be some folks who deny it," but that we "will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."
Backing up the official story like a good little wind-up Representative is Mike Rogers (R-MI), who said, "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway."
Point out any discrepancies in the pictures and you're a conspiracy theorist.
Bear in mind that we don't actually know that bin Laden was killed. We were told and so we believe it. And if you don't blindly swallow that little pill, oh baby, you're just a bin Laden birther.
As a very wise friend of mine once told me, "[You got] called a racist for asking a question. That'll teach you to ask questions, won't it?"
Because, you know, anybody skeptical of the government after the 2008 election is a racist birther. And anybody skeptical of the government before the 2008 election was a goddamned patriot.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney adds "There is no need to release these photographs to establish Osama bin Laden's identity."
Uh..what?
Dear Mr. Carney.
THAT'S LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON.
Yours respectfully,
Dinosaurgrowl.
Carney also states that "It is not in our national security interests to allow those images, as has been in the past been the case, to become icons to rally opinion against the United States."
Enemies of America hate us intrinsically. Releasing pictures of Osama bin Laden's mangled corpse won't change their minds one way or the other. They already hate us, and hated us long before this month for reasons we will never be able to change. The argument that it will threaten national security just doesn't hold water.
But you and I shouldn't have to wonder. The media should.
Where are they? Where's the watchdog of the government? The Fourth Estate? They're too busy drawing parallels between birthers and skeptics. Asking - demanding - to see the pictures should remind no one of birthers and everyone of good old American skepticism.We are at a point in American history where it is a mark of shame to question the official story. The day is fast approaching when we will tell our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America, when men were free.
Until then, I'll just be over here, questioning and making my tinfoil hat.
But now the PR-obsessed (and I do mean obsessed) White House is turning down its darkest road yet. In a recent interview for 60 Minutes, President Obama explained that "there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference," and that "There are going to be some folks who deny it," but that we "will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."
Backing up the official story like a good little wind-up Representative is Mike Rogers (R-MI), who said, "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway."
Point out any discrepancies in the pictures and you're a conspiracy theorist.
Bear in mind that we don't actually know that bin Laden was killed. We were told and so we believe it. And if you don't blindly swallow that little pill, oh baby, you're just a bin Laden birther.
As a very wise friend of mine once told me, "[You got] called a racist for asking a question. That'll teach you to ask questions, won't it?"
Because, you know, anybody skeptical of the government after the 2008 election is a racist birther. And anybody skeptical of the government before the 2008 election was a goddamned patriot.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney adds "There is no need to release these photographs to establish Osama bin Laden's identity."
Uh..what?
Dear Mr. Carney.
THAT'S LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON.
Yours respectfully,
Dinosaurgrowl.
Carney also states that "It is not in our national security interests to allow those images, as has been in the past been the case, to become icons to rally opinion against the United States."
Enemies of America hate us intrinsically. Releasing pictures of Osama bin Laden's mangled corpse won't change their minds one way or the other. They already hate us, and hated us long before this month for reasons we will never be able to change. The argument that it will threaten national security just doesn't hold water.
But you and I shouldn't have to wonder. The media should.
Where are they? Where's the watchdog of the government? The Fourth Estate? They're too busy drawing parallels between birthers and skeptics. Asking - demanding - to see the pictures should remind no one of birthers and everyone of good old American skepticism.We are at a point in American history where it is a mark of shame to question the official story. The day is fast approaching when we will tell our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America, when men were free.
Until then, I'll just be over here, questioning and making my tinfoil hat.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Hunting, and Why It's A Great Idea
So you don't like hunting. The thought of killing defenseless little animals troubles you.
Tough.
You're here because somebody, somewhere down the line, got past the hand-wringing and unleashed his inner predator. I can't even start with the kind of frustration such nonsense inspires in me.
Sure, we don't have to hunt. In today's society, other people do it for us. Normally they just grow animals like we'd grow flowers, so I can't quite say "hunt," but you follow. I don't need to hunt fish because I can just go buy some fish sticks at Wal-Mart.
But there are two thoughts here. First, what does it matter if I kill the animal with my own hands and ingenuity or if Fish Sticks LLC does? Secondly, imagine the power goes off one day and doesn't come back on. I sure would like to know how to find, capture, dress, clean and prepare food so I can live beyond that.
Let's backtrack. Nobody should go out and kill any animal, big or small, just to do it. That's pretty stupid. Outright slaughter for no reason but slaughter itself is unbecoming of humankind and despicable.
I've said in conversation before that one of the most manly things anyone can do is snap a rabbit's neck with their bare hands. The dichotomy is almost poetic - defenseless innocence sacrificed at the altar of cognitive aggression. But I would like to rescind that thought.
Slaughtering game isn't manly at all. It's practical. I made a mistake when I began to go down the "this is manly" path. Who gives a damn if it's the most effeminate thing anyone can do? It's useful. Knowing how to live off the land is a skill few have, one I'd like to get.
Still yet another point of view is that, since we needn't kill game in American society thanks to no shortage of food, killing game is acceptable only in an emergency situation.
To that, I argue that learning now, when there's no pressure, how to properly prepare game and also to utilize as much of the animal as possible (bones as forks? pelt as blankets?) is a great idea.
It well may be the best insurance policy you ever invested in.
Tough.
You're here because somebody, somewhere down the line, got past the hand-wringing and unleashed his inner predator. I can't even start with the kind of frustration such nonsense inspires in me.
Sure, we don't have to hunt. In today's society, other people do it for us. Normally they just grow animals like we'd grow flowers, so I can't quite say "hunt," but you follow. I don't need to hunt fish because I can just go buy some fish sticks at Wal-Mart.
But there are two thoughts here. First, what does it matter if I kill the animal with my own hands and ingenuity or if Fish Sticks LLC does? Secondly, imagine the power goes off one day and doesn't come back on. I sure would like to know how to find, capture, dress, clean and prepare food so I can live beyond that.
Let's backtrack. Nobody should go out and kill any animal, big or small, just to do it. That's pretty stupid. Outright slaughter for no reason but slaughter itself is unbecoming of humankind and despicable.
I've said in conversation before that one of the most manly things anyone can do is snap a rabbit's neck with their bare hands. The dichotomy is almost poetic - defenseless innocence sacrificed at the altar of cognitive aggression. But I would like to rescind that thought.
Slaughtering game isn't manly at all. It's practical. I made a mistake when I began to go down the "this is manly" path. Who gives a damn if it's the most effeminate thing anyone can do? It's useful. Knowing how to live off the land is a skill few have, one I'd like to get.
Still yet another point of view is that, since we needn't kill game in American society thanks to no shortage of food, killing game is acceptable only in an emergency situation.
To that, I argue that learning now, when there's no pressure, how to properly prepare game and also to utilize as much of the animal as possible (bones as forks? pelt as blankets?) is a great idea.
It well may be the best insurance policy you ever invested in.
Hatred, and Why You Should Give In Today!
Let's be clear. Hate is a powerful word. On top of that it's a powerful feeling.
But beyond those things, it's a natural feeling. One can't go through life without wanting, at one point or another, to violently slaughter another person, or to beat some defenseless thing senseless, et cetera, ad nauseum.
Tonight we supposedly got an intriguing glimpse into the psyche of American hate. American, not liberal or conservative, nor right or left, but American. This, because pretty much all of us gave in to what would normally mortify sensible people - celebration over someone's death.
Is it right? I've heard a few people now express shame over our glee at Osama Bin Laden's death. Those people are frankly idiots. Also, their heads are in their asses. And up in the clouds. At the same time, somehow.
If we want the depth of our thinking to be lines from Star Wars, enjoy the miniature brain. Otherwise, recognize what happens tonight for what it is - closure.
Osama Bin Laden, short of ramming the planes into the Towers by his own hand, is directly responsible for the horrors of 9/11, horrors some of us are all too eager to forget. Few things are more enraging than the denial people have for such things, the open desire to forget or ignore atrocities like September 11th.
3,000 Americans died ten years ago September. Most were quick, or so we hope, either in an explosion or by being crushed. Some were not so lucky. Still others will be forever marked with what they saw that day, what they heard. People such as myself, far away from everything that happened then, still bear the burden of watching the Towers fall, people still inside, live on TV. People jumping, live on TV. People burning inside the towers live on TV.
So when someone says this is hatred, what we do tonight is hateful, they are wrong.
This kind of delight in retribution, joy at bringing criminals to justice, joy at having a future free of an exceptionally evil man, only a sheep would fail to see that it is justified.
Sheep are led to slaughter in the end. Be a sheep. See where that gets you.
But beyond those things, it's a natural feeling. One can't go through life without wanting, at one point or another, to violently slaughter another person, or to beat some defenseless thing senseless, et cetera, ad nauseum.
Tonight we supposedly got an intriguing glimpse into the psyche of American hate. American, not liberal or conservative, nor right or left, but American. This, because pretty much all of us gave in to what would normally mortify sensible people - celebration over someone's death.
Is it right? I've heard a few people now express shame over our glee at Osama Bin Laden's death. Those people are frankly idiots. Also, their heads are in their asses. And up in the clouds. At the same time, somehow.
If we want the depth of our thinking to be lines from Star Wars, enjoy the miniature brain. Otherwise, recognize what happens tonight for what it is - closure.
Osama Bin Laden, short of ramming the planes into the Towers by his own hand, is directly responsible for the horrors of 9/11, horrors some of us are all too eager to forget. Few things are more enraging than the denial people have for such things, the open desire to forget or ignore atrocities like September 11th.
3,000 Americans died ten years ago September. Most were quick, or so we hope, either in an explosion or by being crushed. Some were not so lucky. Still others will be forever marked with what they saw that day, what they heard. People such as myself, far away from everything that happened then, still bear the burden of watching the Towers fall, people still inside, live on TV. People jumping, live on TV. People burning inside the towers live on TV.
So when someone says this is hatred, what we do tonight is hateful, they are wrong.
This kind of delight in retribution, joy at bringing criminals to justice, joy at having a future free of an exceptionally evil man, only a sheep would fail to see that it is justified.
Sheep are led to slaughter in the end. Be a sheep. See where that gets you.
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