What do you all think?

[steveb]

"guns dont kill people.......people kill people........."

 

i guess thats why its gun CULTURE, eh?

 

I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from on this. If there were no guns would you be complaining about the "sword culture"? People have been killing each other since time began with whatever was available. A hundred years from now you'll be complaining about the "super-destructo ray culture". What is your argument other than guns=bad?

[Shorin Ryuu]

Thanks for the arguments, everyone. Keep 'em coming! For the record, I do own an M-9 pistol.

[yamesu]

"guns dont kill people.......people kill people........."

 

i guess thats why its gun CULTURE, eh?

 

I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from on this. If there were no guns would you be complaining about the "sword culture"? People have been killing each other since time began with whatever was available. A hundred years from now you'll be complaining about the "super-destructo ray culture". What is your argument other than guns=bad?

 

wweeeeeeelll,

 

using a sword or close combat weapon brings you in close proximity to the life your going to take, you'll see the facial looks of dispare, youll taste blood and have to wash yourself of it.

 

using a gun takes this realty away, the reprocussions of using guns is not as hard-felt in the soul of the handler, the actuallity of murder no longer concides with the graphic violence with which it was traditionally associated. the ability to take life from a distance without any thought of actually taking life.

 

thats my problem with guns. that and the fact that one of my friends was taken into the bush and shot in the back with a .22 and then left to bleed to death, by a psycho whos family had brought him up with guns around him his whole life, and was 'on drugs' at the time and so couldnt have made a concious decision..................apparently..........

 

swords carry a certain type of honour.

 

weilding a sword is like saying "i knowingly take your life, but in doing so, i am also willing to share your blood, your essence of creation."

 

guns carry a type of cowadice.

 

shooting someone is like saying 'i knowingly take your life, but, i also have no will or judgement in the matter, and i refuse to come face-to-face with my own confrontations, or conflicts this may bring.'

 

and please, dont dribble on about MA and its destructive purposes, just look at arts like Aikido, Aiki-jujitsu and Kiatsu, all of which are based apon the creation and balance of the universe and its inhibitants, (and thats only a few of the japanese arts...) MA should lead to higher-consciousness, its just a shame that most people will learn this through the physical aspects, or by fighting.

 

also, i DONT own a gun, but i have shot at pistol clubs on occasion, and dont mind the sport itself, but people(the masses,) arent intelligent enough to control the power that comes with a gun.

 

Would you let a 17yr old walk out of your dojo with a pair of razor-sharp kama?

 

Then why should any drunkard be allowed to own a firearm and convey them about the streets at will with as little as a police check? no psych evaluation, nothing, just a computer scan that shows one previous convictions.

 

Anyways, if you read all my ramblings, then thanks.

 

Osu.

[steveb]

Ok, now at least people can understand where you are coming from, whether or not they agree with you.

using a sword or close combat weapon brings you in close proximity to the life your going to take, you'll see the facial looks of dispare, youll taste blood and have to wash yourself of it.

 

using a gun takes this realty away, the reprocussions of using guns is not as hard-felt in the soul of the handler, the actuallity of murder no longer concides with the graphic violence with which it was traditionally associated. the ability to take life from a distance without any thought of actually taking life.

 

I have to agree with you on this point. It is much easier to disassociate from the act when you are standing several yards away.

thats my problem with guns. that and the fact that one of my friends was taken into the bush and shot in the back with a .22 and then left to bleed to death, by a psycho whos family had brought him up with guns around him his whole life, and was 'on drugs' at the time and so couldnt have made a concious decision..................apparently..........

 

I am very sorry about your friend and I understand your anger but it is not "gun culture" that is to blame. This "psycho" who was "on drugs" could just as easily have stabbed your friend to death as shoot him. This was a result of the "bad parenting culture" and/or the "druggie culture" more than any "gun culture". This goes back to my earlier comment about thugs.

swords carry a certain type of honour.

 

weilding a sword is like saying "i knowingly take your life, but in doing so, i am also willing to share your blood, your essence of creation."

 

In a traditional Samurai ethic I would agree. But not all sword carriers were like that. What about medieval European bandits? They carried swords and acted like thugs, killing indiscriminately and robbing. No different from thugs today.

and please, dont dribble on about MA and its destructive purposes, just look at arts like Aikido, Aiki-jujitsu and Kiatsu, all of which are based apon the creation and balance of the universe and its inhibitants, (and thats only a few of the japanese arts...) MA should lead to higher-consciousness, its just a shame that most people will learn this through the physical aspects, or by fighting.

 

I never said anything about MA's destructive purposes. However, with the exception of the arts you mentioned above, most MA's teach you how to disable, hurt, even kill opponents. I agree that MA's should be more than just that and for me they are. Also, I have never achieved any sort of enlightenment through fighting.

also, i DONT own a gun, but i have shot at pistol clubs on occasion, and dont mind the sport itself, but people(the masses,) arent intelligent enough to control the power that comes with a gun.

 

Would you let a 17yr old walk out of your dojo with a pair of razor-sharp kama?

 

Then why should any drunkard be allowed to own a firearm and convey them about the streets at will with as little as a police check? no psych evaluation, nothing, just a computer scan that shows one previous convictions.

 

Would you allow a 17yr old access to your kitchen? There are dozens of razor sharp knives there that are no less deadly than a pair of kamas. Do you require background and psych checks for them?

 

I stand by my statement that the problem is not the guns, it is the thugs who use them to cause harm. Take away the thugs and you won't have to worry about the guns. Take away the guns and you still have to worry about the thugs, and now you're down a weapon.

 

With respect

[47MartialMan]

Yeah, if you burried the gun, another weapon would be used. it is not the weapon, it has not trained thought or concious, it is the brain behabnd the hand of the weapon.

 

A least with firearms, a smaller, weaker person has accesible and easy power to defend

[yamesu]

I am very sorry about your friend and I understand your anger but it is not "gun culture" that is to blame. This "psycho" who was "on drugs" could just as easily have stabbed your friend to death as shoot him. This was a result of the "bad parenting culture" and/or the "druggie culture" more than any "gun culture". This goes back to my earlier comment about thugs.

that is what i call gun culture...

swords carry a certain type of honour.

 

weilding a sword is like saying "i knowingly take your life, but in doing so, i am also willing to share your blood, your essence of creation."

In a traditional Samurai ethic I would agree. But not all sword carriers were like that. What about medieval European bandits? They carried swords and acted like thugs, killing indiscriminately and robbing. No different from thugs today.

even if they were thugs, they still had the courage to deal with their actions face-to-face

Would you allow a 17yr old access to your kitchen? There are dozens of razor sharp knives there that are no less deadly than a pair of kamas. Do you require background and psych checks for them?

i wouldnt let my child in the kitchen without thouroughly evaluating their mental condition. Do you have children?........

the problem is not the guns, it is the thugs who use them to cause harm. Take away the thugs and you won't have to worry about the guns. Take away the guns and you still have to worry about the thugs, and now you're down a weapon.

that is what i would say is a perfect example of gun culture,

 

guns dont kill people-people kill people, the culture is the stigmas and myths we create about firearms, it is the firearms themselves and it is the use of the firearms aganst other innocents.

 

dont get me wrong, i wouldnt strip the army of guns, just those who own weapons for no apparent reason, for 'protection' as it were....(dry cough..)

 

there is NO need for civillians to own firearms, and the hype created about owning a gun, especially amongst the youth of our western nations saddens me greatly....

 

how will our world ever reach peace?

 

Osu.