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poliphiloI did a foolish thing yesterday; I let myself get drawn into a debate on gun control in a friend's LJ. Now his friends are coming after me wielding statistics.
Apparently there are more guns per head of the population in Switzerland than there are in the USA. Erm- I must say I didn't know that.
But whatever the statistics say, I stick with my gut feeling that it's a bad thing to have so many guns washing around in the culture. Before guns came along murder was pretty much a contact sport (and involved much greater immediate risk to the murderer.) Guns facilitate killing and maiming.
But the fetish for guns is one of the things about America that baffles Europeans. We don't understand why feelings run so high. We stick our snooty noses into the debate and we get trashed- as is the fate of all who interfere in family quarrels.
Minute men, Bunker Hill, the Continental Army, Davy Crockett, we fired our guns and the British kept a comin', Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, John Wayne, G Men- we know the myths and even love then at a distance, but I guess we don't feel them here (strikes chest.) We think that they can be sweetly reasoned away. Huh!
Apparently there are more guns per head of the population in Switzerland than there are in the USA. Erm- I must say I didn't know that.
But whatever the statistics say, I stick with my gut feeling that it's a bad thing to have so many guns washing around in the culture. Before guns came along murder was pretty much a contact sport (and involved much greater immediate risk to the murderer.) Guns facilitate killing and maiming.
But the fetish for guns is one of the things about America that baffles Europeans. We don't understand why feelings run so high. We stick our snooty noses into the debate and we get trashed- as is the fate of all who interfere in family quarrels.
Minute men, Bunker Hill, the Continental Army, Davy Crockett, we fired our guns and the British kept a comin', Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, John Wayne, G Men- we know the myths and even love then at a distance, but I guess we don't feel them here (strikes chest.) We think that they can be sweetly reasoned away. Huh!
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Date: 2004-09-12 05:57 am (UTC)