[extropy-chat] weaponry

[Kevin Freels]

> >If a weapon other than a bullet is even invented that will
> >just as reliably stop a 280 lb attacker that is running at me from 20
feet
> >away
>
> These are serious questions:
>
> Does this happen to you often?
>
> Has it ever happened?
>
> Do you expect it to happen?
>
> Can you think of any way to avoid getting into situations where it's
likely?
>
It has never happened to me. Nor to I expect it to. But I wouldn't drive
from Indiana to Florida without a spare, even though I have never had a flat
tire. I do not expect to have a flood or go without power for extended
lengths of time, but I do keep jugs of water on hand just in case. I do not
expect a lot of things, but that does not mean that I should not be
prepared. I carry a pocket knife and I have a lighter in my glove box even
though I do not smoke. Will I be stranded in the woods in the near future? I
seriously doubt it.

How do you avoid a flat tire? You don't drive. You can prevent getting into
such situations by simply avoiding people. You know as well as anyone that
risk is a very difficult thing to define. Assuming that there is no heaven
and no God, I have this one life and that's it. The odds may be 10000:1 that
I will have a situation that will call for a handgun, but those odds change
according to where I go, what I do, the number of people I interact with,
where I live, and even what I look like. Whatvever those odds actually are,
they are not zero.

Of course, if I could avoid it I would. Only an idiot goes looking for a
fight. Violence may be the last resort of the incompetent, but that assumes
you have full control over every aspect of your life. Personally I think
that total control over one's life is an illusion. Random events occur, or
"shit happens", however you prefer it.

There are many things beyond my control that may kill me. I'll be damned if
I let something within my control do it.

Some may call this paranoia. I don't. To me, that line is crossed when fear
creates behavior that is inconvenient. Carrying a gun is no more
inconvenient to me than carrying a wallet. Noone calls me paranoid for being
afraid of being stuck somewhere with no ID or money.

I fail to see why the fact that I carry a gun could bother anyone. It's not
going to "go off" on it's own. The safety needs to be dropped, then about 14
lbs of rear pressure applied to the trigger. The hammer itself has to travel
rearward, and then forward. Dropping it on the hammer will not cause the
weapon to discharge. The only thing that you would have to fear is that I
would one day decide to take your life. If I make that decision, I do not
need a gun to do it.

Does this mean that everyone should have a gun? I don;t know. Convicted
felons, batterers, people with mental problems, I would say "no" to. Decent
law-abiding people that do their best to even avoid speeding tickets though,
I doubt that a gun will turn them into monsters.






w people who *have* been menaced by criminals and have shown weapons
> to deter them.)
>
> Damien Broderick
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> extropy-chat mailing list
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/extropy-chat