Blind leading the stupid...

Interesting conversation today. I work with people of all views, and all are, for the most part, very polite when talking about them, though some can’t help but cough up a hairball or two about how much they hate George Bush and the horse he rode in on.

A few of the ladies in my department were talking about the weekend and one (who just so happens to be a single mother in her mid 30s) talked about a scare she had on Saturday night. She thought she heard someone in her house and didn’t have anything with which to defend herself so she called the police. They dutifully came to her house and quietly checked it out (did a walkthrough). Finding nothing they talked her off of her ceiling and told her that she should think about something for home protection (ie: alarm, gun, dog etc).

While talking about this several other ladies in my department piped up and said “Oh yeah, I have a gun and I know how to use it”. Others (those of different views I spoke of) were appalled at even the idea of owning a gun or having one in their houses. One is German, so the European sensibility is to be expected. The other is what you might call a hard-core left wing feminist. And I do. Often.

Her take on owning a gun is that you’re obviously just paranoid and are more likely to have it used on you than actually use it to defend yourself. Well, like the good (and informed) gun owners we are, those of us talking shop just smiled and gave her a verbal pat on the head and then ignored her. One lady asked her why she cares one way or the other if other people own guns she simply said “I’m pro peace”.

Interestingly enough, this particular person has a bumper sticker on her car that reads “Your silence will not save you”, which is a quotation from noted feminist writer Audre Lorde. This, in my opinion is a very profound statement that speaks to everyone on this earth in many situations. However, in this case it merely paints our anti-gun friend into a corner. (Instead of wasting breath and valuable work time by bringing this argument out to her I’ll just post it here where people are open to something other than their own quests for gender domination.

I would be willing to bet you that she has never been physically attacked. I’m sure there are many people just like her who watch the news, read the papers etc. and know that criminal violence is a problem, but have never experienced it for themselves. For this I am thankful, many are not that lucky. People who are removed from such discussions in that way have the luxury of making judgments based on ignorance. When asked the “what if” question about things like home invasion they simply blow the whole thing off by saying “that’s what the Police are for”. I am never one to speak ill of the police and the job they do as a whole. These are individuals, much like our armed forces, who’s lives are spent putting themselves in danger for our protection. Like any other profession there are good ones and bad ones. To generalize and say that all cops are power hungry thugs is to do the same disservice as liberals do to our soldiers every time they open their mouths. That being said, the police are not perfect, and very much subject to the same human constraints as we are. A cop who is a mile away from your house may take as much as 10 minutes to get there. That leaves enough time for a well focused criminal to kick down your door, shoot you, your family, take some valuables and run out the door and into the night. He might be caught, tried, convicted, and executed and that’s good…but you and your family are still just as dead.

I’ll just sum this whole thing up and move on to happier topics.

My argument is this:

Refusing to own a gun doesn’t make you immune to attack.

Relying on others (especially the government) for your safety and that of your family is folly.

Vilifying others for not relying on the government for their protection is ignorant.

Hypocrisy in one argument only weakens any further arguments you may have.

Any questions?