Putting the Boston Bombing in Perspective

[897tgigvib]

 

[peteyfoozer]

I wasn't going to comment on this thread, because I don't like to get into these debates. But I do feel compelled to say a couple of things.
Sandy Hook, Aurora, Boston, and other were all horrible, truly horrible events perpetrated by either the mentally ill or terrorists, in every incident. They were also gun free zones.
The fact that these events occured had nothing to do with guns. Guns just happen to be the modality used in some of these tragedies.

Vfem. Just thought I would mention, I, and most of my family are NRA members. In my family we have multiple firearms. Handguns, rifles, shotguns and yes, AR-15's. I have family members who are invovled in competition shooting which requires great skill. I also have family involved in mounted shooting, another great sport. I have a son who is a professional hunting guide and has 2 large gun safes to hold his many weapons used for work, sport and also for protection. He has a concealed carry permit and keeps his handgun on him at all times. One reason for that, is that we insisted, after I was attacked by a group of men and was able to defend myself because I had my handgun with me, that all of our children old enough for a permit keep a handgun with them. You never know when it will save your own or someone elses life.

There is also no such thing as an "assault rifle'. These guns, like others, are one trigger pull, one shot. They are not machine guns. Having a clip that holds more than 10 shots could make the difference between life and death in a situation such as my son runs into, while he is scouting on the 260,000 acre ranch he guides on and runs into a group of drug runners, who would happily kill him and bury him without a second thought. We have the same scenerio here, only with drug runners AND cattle thieves. Therefore my nephew has to ride his circle with a gun that has a high capacity clip.

We need to make some changes in the mindset of American youth and the culture. Address mental illness and the seemingly sociopathic mentality that is becoming an epidemic.

Denying our constitutional rights is not going to be the solution we are all looking for.

I too, am done with this thread.

 

[dickiebird]

I wasn't going to comment either but petey took the words right off my keyboard.

The 2nd amendment is what gives me these rights, and the 1st amendment gives me the right to say this!!!

THANX RICH

 

[OldGuy43]

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea mxima culpa.

I apologize to all who were offended by the wording of my initial post. It was meant to shock and did accomplish that, in most cases to well apparently.

It does however, prove one thing. Like Sandy Hook and Boston, both sad days to be sure, it created a knee-jerk reaction in many when we should back off and look for the root cause and attack that problem.

Did anyone notice that on an average day we kill 90 people in traffic accidents, or were you so blinded by my reference to the tragedy in Boston that you skipped right past that salient fact? The two primary causes of traffic fatalities are (1) Driving While Intoxicated and (2) Speeding, and yet where is the hue and cry for justice for those killed by the drunken or speeding driver?

Here in Texas, if you take a life while driving while intoxicated you will be charged with Vehicular Manslaughter and the maximum penalty is 20 years. In some states the penalty is much less.

I say the charge should be Murder in the First Degree with the death penalty a possibility. The drunken driver chose to get drunk. He/she than chose to get into a 3000 pound missile and attempt to operate it. He/she killed someone with malice aforethought, therefore he/she deserves the same penalty as if he/she had taken a gun and shot someone. The same logic holds true for speeders, They chose to speed. They killed someone, etc.

I would ask all who were offended to look for the truth contained in a statement, before lashing out in a blind rage

As Sheriff Buford T. Justice said, "That's an attention getter!"

 

[digitS']

Old Guy, do you ever have time for gardening or just searching out things about the government that you can complain about?
Steve

First, I'm not clear on how you equate posting statistics with complaining about government.

Second, you're always suggesting that there are "other forums". I challenge you to find one that has a following that is a wide cross section of the population like we have here.. Not right-wing, not left-wing, just folks of differing opinions.

Oh that's right, we were supposed to go on to a discussion about "the death penalty."

Somehow, I was lost between the 1st and 2nd post on this The Political Garden thread.

Steve

 

[OldGuy43]

One of the things I really like about an active forum; I can scan through the topics, find the ones that interest me and the rest I mark as read without ever opening them. The ones I really find interesting I subscribe to.

But than, that's just me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Ive been holding back too, mainly to gather my thoughts and let them simmer.

I enjoy a good discussion as long as it is civil and respectful. I see nothing wrong with exchanging views as long as it is done with respect. It helps me clarify my thoughts. If I cant defend my position, then maybe I need to rethink my position. That doesnt happen often but it happens. It also helps me weed out the chaff in the issue. Speeches by politicians are normally full of chaff with very little substance.

Im aware the people doing the discussion are not likely to change their positions. There is a lot of fun in a good debate and trying to shoot holes in the other persons argument while defending your own, but trying to change their minds is not the purpose, as far as I am concerned. The target audience is the person that has not yet made up their mind or hasnt even thought about it. Debate can help them clarify their thinking or maybe just get them to thinking.

I also have a problem with censorship. I dont believe the 1st Amendment gives us the unbridled right to say anything we want. There are rules, such as slander and libel. You dont yell fire in a crowded movie theater just for the fun of seeing people scramble. But the 1st Amendment is pretty powerful. If someone is abusing their 1st Amendment rights, the courts are the way to handle it. On this forum the proper way to handle someone abusing the rules of the forum is to report it to a moderator. Dont feed the troll. Let the moderator take care of it. That helps keep it civil between us and avoids mob rule.

This is not the first time OldGuy has pulled the bait and switch, posting something pushing peoples hot buttons then coming back later and saying it was really about something else. Hes also posted some good gardening questions. The collective experience and wisdom of this forum have helped him and probably some other people that have had the same questions but hadnt asked. Ill continue to open OldGuys posts to see if it is something I want to respond to. But based on experience Ill be very careful which ones I respond to.

Im not into trying to stop people from posting on here. I figure it is up to me to decide if I want to open it or ignore it, respond to or just skip it. Ive even occasionally reported a post to a moderator, though that is usually over on the chicken forum.

There is another poster that occasionally shows up here that I just dont open any more. Experience has shown it is best for me to not even open those. Others on here really seem to enjoy those posts. Im not going to try to take their pleasure away from them but they dont need my input. Its my choice whether I choose to participate or not.

 

[OldGuy43]

Thank you for your understanding and support RR.

As for my using "bait and switch tactics", that's never my intent. It's just that my logic is so convoluted that it sometimes takes weird turns that, while obvious to me are not apparent to others. As an example, after reading your post for the third time I thought, "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Even I'm not sure how I got there, but it seemed a perfectly logical comment at the time.

 

[thistlebloom]

I wasn't going to comment on this thread, because I don't like to get into these debates. But I do feel compelled to say a couple of things.
Sandy Hook, Aurora, Boston, and other were all horrible, truly horrible events perpetrated by either the mentally ill or terrorists, in every incident. They were also gun free zones.
The fact that these events occured had nothing to do with guns. Guns just happen to be the modality used in some of these tragedies.

Vfem. Just thought I would mention, I, and most of my family are NRA members. In my family we have multiple firearms. Handguns, rifles, shotguns and yes, AR-15's. I have family members who are invovled in competition shooting which requires great skill. I also have family involved in mounted shooting, another great sport. I have a son who is a professional hunting guide and has 2 large gun safes to hold his many weapons used for work, sport and also for protection. He has a concealed carry permit and keeps his handgun on him at all times. One reason for that, is that we insisted, after I was attacked by a group of men and was able to defend myself because I had my handgun with me, that all of our children old enough for a permit keep a handgun with them. You never know when it will save your own or someone elses life.

There is also no such thing as an "assault rifle'. These guns, like others, are one trigger pull, one shot. They are not machine guns. Having a clip that holds more than 10 shots could make the difference between life and death in a situation such as my son runs into, while he is scouting on the 260,000 acre ranch he guides on and runs into a group of drug runners, who would happily kill him and bury him without a second thought. We have the same scenerio here, only with drug runners AND cattle thieves. Therefore my nephew has to ride his circle with a gun that has a high capacity clip.

We need to make some changes in the mindset of American youth and the culture. Address mental illness and the seemingly
sociopathic mentality that is becoming an epidemic.

Denying our constitutional rights is not going to be the solution we are all looking for.

I too, am done with this thread.

Thank you Petey. You said everything I wanted to, only much more articulately.


And to OldGuy, there is a difference between willful mass murder and traffic fatalities.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thank you for your understanding and support RR.

Don't get me wrong. I find your first post in this thread repulsive. But at the risk of getting political, I find our Constitutional Rights pretty meaningless when things are easy. It's when you have to hold your nose due to the stink to support the person's right to say something that Freedom of Speech mean anything.