Think Progress

FRC ties Colorado shooting to ’secular media.’»

In its Action Update today, the Family Research Council (FRC) partially cast blame for the tragic shooting at a megachurch in Colorado yesterday on “the secular media.” In the e-mail, which was sent under the name of FRC Action President Tony Perkins, the group says it’s “hard not to draw a line between” the shooting and “hostility” by “some in the secular media toward Christians”:

It is hard not to draw a line between the hostility that is being fomented in our culture from some in the secular media toward Christians and evangelicals in particular and the acts of violence that took place in Colorado yesterday. But I will say no more for now other than that our friends at New Life Church and YWAM are in our thoughts and prayers.

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229 Responses to “FRC ties Colorado shooting to ’secular media.’”


  1. Wayne Says:

    Fcking morons


  2. Evergreen2U Says:

    the SECULAR media???!!! ….don’t they mean the neocon corporate, free market, propaganda & pap ridden, monopolistic, no-longer government regulated media?

    Actually they’re only talking about TV media because none of their sheep read.


  3. joe cantwell Says:

    tony perkins reminds me of cold_hard_left.

    has anyone else noticed that?


  4. ignatov Says:

    There was some news about the maniac hating Christmas or something. It says more about the availabilty of guns more than secularism.


  5. battleax Says:

    Are these guys connected with FaRC in any way? Maybe we should change the acronym.


  6. kasinca Says:

    These people are just as bad as the fundamentalist they are wanting to wage war with. They give religion and Christianity a bad name.


  7. tombaker Says:

    8 - when it turns out the shooter was a liberal atheist, i’ll vote for R’s the rest of my life - - will you make the same bet, c_h_l???

    heck i’ll even throw in going to church to make things interesting


  8. tombaker Says:

    uh-oh! I win. Shooter was a “disgruntled” member, and a heroic security guard, Ms. Assam (gee, isn’t that a Middle Eastern name?) shot him down, thus saving the lives of who-knows-how-many others’ lives.


  9. j swift Says:

    The fundie definition of hatred of Christians is anytime a heathen fails to be converted or disagrees with a real Christian.


  10. tombaker Says:

    ironic results for a so-called “culture of life”

    how many were killed at the last “YearlyKos” convention?


  11. Red Pill Says:

    Yet another claim to victimhood for American Christians, who face no legal obstacles to worship, whose signature religious events are commemorated as federal holidays, and who at least putatively comprise over eighty percent of the American population. Tell me again how they are being persecuted?


  12. j swift Says:

    Yep, a 24 year old home-schooled fundie, shooting up his own.


  13. Daddy-O Says:

    Shorter Tony Perkins: Why couldn’t they have shot Ted Haggard…?

    These asswipes will, to their dying day, blame anyone and everyone but themselves. The real reason they love Bush so much is because nobody does that better than HE does.


  14. Xisithrus Says:

    Murray, 24, who was home-schooled in what a friend said was a deeply religious Christian household. Murray, the son of a neurologist who is a prominent researcher on multiple sclerosis, did not appear to have a criminal history.

    This has nothing to do with secular media.


  15. Marie Says:

    These frickin’ zealots are making me throw up.


  16. j swift Says:

    No,no, no X those deeply religious home schooling Christian households they have a television in every room and they are playing something besides Fox.


  17. overlap Says:

    HaHa

    Crazy gun enthusiasts on killfests are always pacifist liberals right?

    What news is he talking about ?

    Fox

    CNN

    ABC ?

    I WISH there was a secular media

    And by the way- do you all see how implicit in his criticism of the media–

    WHAT HE REALLY WANTS IS A CHRISTIAN MEDIA ?

    How scary is THAT ??

    CMON


  18. Xisithrus Says:

    No,no, no X those deeply religious home schooling Christian households they have a television in every room and they are playing something besides Fox.

    Comment by j swift — December 10, 2007

    Look, I’m a Christian and dont watch TV at all. What are you suggesting they watched?


  19. Marcus Aurelius Says:

    I have little doubt that the hatred of Christians promoted by sites like TP bears at least some of the blame for this shooting.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 9:18 pm

    Listen up, assnugget: YOU and your most unchristlike brethren - who have corrupted the name, philosophy, and memory of Jesus of Nazereth are the ones who started the war of religious ideologies (not that there is such a thing, in reality).

    You claim to be under attack, but this claim is a fabrication. You want conflict, so you play at being hated and persecuted.

    Just another fascist ploy.

    Take your sillyass on out of here. You’re a trouble maker.


  20. abarts Says:

    Fundie on Fundie crime.


  21. BillFromDover Says:

    Secular? WTF is it with these fine, fine Christians and their assault weapons anyway?


  22. Evergreen2U Says:

    Response to the FRC:
    Who owns most of the guns in America? Christians .
    Who owns & runs most of the media? Christians.
    What religion predominates in our prisoners? Christian.
    Who is the torture president of America? A spoiled Christian
    Who is the torture vice president of America? A scarey Christian
    In fact 80% + of our country is Christian.
    Ergo: It’s plainly the fault of the Christians.

    Why does the FRC feel the need to blame one group or another for an individual’s action? Can’t they just admit that humans are sometimes fallible and crazy, even those raised in Christian households ? The FRC attack on the “secular” world smells like prejudice and hate to me.

    Anyway it would be much more logical if they blamed our current Christian governmental leaders who have let us all know that it is ok to kill and torture people. Poor kids don’t have any good role models anymore.


  23. Xisithrus Says:

    I have little doubt that the hatred of Christians promoted by sites like TP bears at least some of the blame for this shooting.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 9:18 pm

    Your quite the finger pointer aren’t you? Look in your hand and you will see three pointing back. I see the remarks here about the great spaghetti God in the sky, and if what you say [inanely] is true, he would have seeked out a liberal to go shoot, but that didnt happen now did it. God your irrational.


  24. Jane E. Schneider Says:

    This Tony Perkins scares me waaaayyy more than the “Psycho” Tony Perkins.


  25. bob lahblah Says:

    Hey, did the secular media also make Ted Haggard gay?


  26. Marcus Aurelius Says:

    Look, I’m a Christian and dont watch TV at all. What are you suggesting they watched?

    Comment by Xisithrus — December 10, 2007 @ 9:42 pm

    They watched their spiritual “Christian” leaders, who bent and twisted the philosophy of Jesus until it was in direct contradiction to what they could read in the Bible (worst day in the history of Christendom was when the masses became literate - hard to lie when everyone has the same instruction manual). When they thought about it enough, the religious leader became a heretic, a pariah, and a tool of the devil, and as such, had to be shot. Christianity. Yeah, right.


  27. j swift Says:

    #20 Look, I’m a Christian and dont watch TV at all. What are you suggesting they watched?

    I was being sarcastic. I don’t think this guy, as a home schooled fundamenalist, watched much or anything of the secular media.

    Not only that but Tony Perkins may have known about who this guy was and made the statement anyway.

    You are right it is not about the secular media it is about tragic deaths and about dishonest Christians.


  28. joe cantwell Says:

    I have little doubt that the hatred of Christians promoted by sites like TP bears at least some of the blame for this shooting.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 9:18 pm

    interesting point of view for a satan worshipper like you, chl.

    “If you read these far-left websites, you’re a devil worshipper. You are.”
    - bill o’reilly, fox news “the o’reilly factor”, 12/07/07

    eh?


  29. Saint Augustine Says:

    From the Rocky Mountain News:
    A 24-year-old man embittered after being kicked out of missionary school three years ago carried out Sunday’s deadly rampages in Colorado Springs and Arvada, police said today.

    What follows is the Mission Statement of the organization:

    Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to presenting Jesus personally to this generation, to mobilizing as many as possible to help in this task, and to the training and equipping of believers for their part in fulfilling the Great Commission. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are called to love, worship, and obey our Lord, to love and serve His Body, the Church, and to present the whole gospel for the whole person throughout the whole world.

    We of Youth With A Mission believe that the Bible is God’s inspired and authoritative word, revealing that Jesus Christ is God’s son; that people are created in God’s image; that He created us to have eternal life through Jesus Christ; that although all people have sinned and come short of God’s glory, God has made salvation possible through the death on the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ; that repentance, faith, love and obedience are fitting responses to God’s initiative of grace towards us; that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth; and that the Holy Spirit’s power is demonstrated in and through us for the accomplishment of Christ’s last commandment, “…Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).


  30. Lefty Patriot Says:

    well, the Christians own this little dead shit, and his trigger finger. Nice try aiming the blame at the secular anything, once the facts are in.

    Murderers For Jesus, what?


  31. joe cantwell Says:

    Comment by Saint Augustine — December 10, 2007 @ 9:59 pm

    nothing in that mission statement resembles the comments made here by cold_hard_left.

    because she is of the devil.


  32. tombaker Says:

    whatever dude - spin youself silly - it’s the zealots who are dangerous - not the non-believers.


  33. Saint Augustine Says:

    Here’s the link to the article:

    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ news/ 2007/ dec/ 10/ cops-search-arapahoe-home/

    Y-WAM issued a statement this afternoon saying Murray did not complete missionary training because program directors “felt that issues with his health made it inappropriate for him to do so.”

    Was he too crazy for this group or not crazy enough?


  34. MCMetal Says:

    The gunman “hated Christians.” http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/12333551.html

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:09 pm


    Well , he was one of them.Probably hated himself for that , too.

    And who could blame him …………….


  35. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    I have little doubt that the hatred of Christians promoted by sites like TP bears at least some of the blame for this shooting.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 9:18 pm

    I don’t see TP as “hating” Christians. That is too blanket of a statement. I know many progressive Christians who do not like the BushCo.

    Do you seriously Jesus would approve of the Bible, The Inquisition, Witch Hunts, Presidents speaking to a Sky God that tells him to pre-emptively attack countries, torture, and lying?

    What you are talking about is a deep dislike of phony Christians, and not the Essene-Gnostic that Jesus and Joseph were. Mike Huckabee, GW Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove are so-called Christians. So you say these people follow Jesus teachings?

    And to top it off, most Spiritual people say you Live the Teachings, and not blindly follow gestures and sayings?

    How do you live your life according to Jesus’ teachings?


  36. Saint Augustine Says:

    I know I would feel so much safer knowing the church I worship at has armed security guards.

    /snark


  37. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Jeez, guys - it was a psychotic act by a pscyho.

    If you start to say it was home schooling or Christianity or anything else that drove him to it you are no better than the fool who said it was the secular media.

    People got killed. It’s a tragedy. No one but the guy with the gun is to blame.


  38. tombaker Says:

    don’t hate’em.

    just realistic about the situation

    i agree with the Founding Fathers on this issue.


  39. MCMetal Says:

    Based on what we can see in the anti-Huckabee and anti-Romney posts, most TP posters (like the shooter) hate Christians.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    Which makes plenty of sense , seeing that Romney isn’t a Christian but a Mormon ; and Huckleberry suggested that AIDS infected victims be “isolated” . Something Christian teachings , especially Jesus , would never consider or say , you ignorant religious yo-yo…………


  40. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Based on what we can see in the anti-Huckabee and anti-Romney posts, most TP posters (like the shooter) hate Christians.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    That is a totally irrational statement. Read my previous post.

    If you hated Bill Clinton when he was president, would that make you Un-American?

    What does disliking a person have anything to do with their belief system?

    Do you think calling yourself a Christian automatically makes you a holy person?


  41. Saint Augustine Says:

    How do you live your life according to Jesus’ teachings?

    Comment by Brain From Planet Arous — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    Armed to the hilt with a hatred of those that refuse to believe in The Way.


  42. Keltoi at Night Says:

    I know I would feel so much safer knowing the church I worship at has armed security guards.

    /snark

    Comment by Saint Augustine — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    A Christian friend of mine and I were talking about the irony of that very thing. But from what I understand, these Mega-Churches have 5 to 6000 people show up for service. That is a huge amount of people. Many rural towns are smaller, and they have security.

    I gather the woman guard who shot the shooter is an unpaid volunteer who carries a gun and provides security as an act of ministry.

    What a weird freaking world we live in.


  43. The Republic of Stupidity Says:

    I have little doubt that the hatred of Christians promoted by sites like TP bears at least some of the blame for this shooting.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 9:18 pm

    I’d laugh, but the comment’s just too ugly and stupid.


  44. joe cantwell Says:

    Based on what we can see in the anti-Huckabee and anti-Romney posts, most TP posters (like the shooter) hate Christians.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    you’re a tp poster chl.

    “If you read these far-left websites, you’re a devil worshipper. You are.”
    - bill o’reilly, fox news “the o’reilly factor”, 12/07/07

    eh?


  45. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Sounds like Bill Levinson is mistaking Religion and Politics. Of course a Bible Thumper is going to think that.

    Progressives use their minds and creativity more than Conservatives. Conservatives tends to be emotional and fearful, thus creating a Vengeful Sky God, that has the same characteristics as the people who create their particular myth.


  46. candide Says:

    WWJD? A disturbed man that was not given the mental health care the nation should have provided committed a horrible act of cruelty against his fellow men, and some unutterably awful people have, in the name of religion, turned this into a political spectacle. “Jesus wept.”


  47. Loonie Says:

    cold_hard_left, I’ve seen more depth in a puddle than in your thinking.


  48. joe cantwell Says:

    I never said I was a Christian.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:18 pm

    we know you’re not a christian, chl. and so does bill o’reilly.

    “If you read these far-left websites, you’re a devil worshipper. You are.”
    - bill o’reilly, fox news “the o’reilly factor”, 12/07/07

    eh?


  49. MCMetal Says:

    I never said I was a Christian. But I stand by my statement that Progressives hate Christians. http://bsimmons.wordpress.com/ 2007/ 03/ 02/ the-democratic-left-and-anti-christian-hatred/

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:18 pm

    As I will stand by mine ……..

    You’re a goddamn imbecile.


  50. MCMetal Says:

    cold_hard_left, I’ve seen more depth in a puddle than in your thinking.

    Comment by Loonie — December 10, 2007 @ 10:19 pm

    A puddle ?

    More like in a drop of bug urine……….


  51. pete Says:

    As usual, the trolls didn’t read, or comprehend their source material.

    If you read this passage:Murray participated in a Youth With a Mission training program 5 years ago but his health barred him from doing field work and going further with the program, YWaM director Peter Warren said at a separate press conference in Arvada.

    In the past few weeks, he sent string of messages expressing his discontent about the program to the program and its director, authorities said.

    Earlier today, a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it appeared Murray “hated Christians.”
    http://www.denverpost.com/snowsports/ci_7682958

    One could form the opinion that he hated these “Christians” because they ostracized him. There is little doubt that he was clearly disturbed and, it’s possible this tragedy could have been averted with proper care. And, one could make an educated guess that, his condition was worsened by the exclusivity of these particular “Christians”.

    It’s apparent they didn’t draw him in, comfort and heal him, or recognize the signs.


  52. OxyCon Says:

    It’s people like Tony Perkins who give us Christians a bad name.


  53. Saint Augustine Says:

    Comment by Keltoi at Night — December 10, 2007 @ 10:18 pm

    I’ll bet that the church employes the guards, to protect that which is most valued by that church’s leaders, the offering!

    Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.


  54. FactsOnly Says:

    Murray hadn’t been part of that church for five years, and much like most TP posters, he “hated Christians.” Fortunately, there was an armed, Christian security guard to take him down.

    http://www.denverpost.com/snowsports/ci_7682958

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:06 pm

    Err.. the title of that article reads: Church shooter wanted to be missionary

    And they wouldn’t let him do it so he blows a gasket and goes to shoot them up.

    When cold_hard_left pops his cork and goes postal on his fellow members of his White Power militia we will, inevietably, get blamed for it as well!

    Something about us being against supremacists too, or some such …


  55. tombaker Says:

    Progressives and Christians are old friends, and have been since the days of the Underground Railroad.

    Can we take up a collection, and get an American History book for this guy?


  56. The Republic of Stupidity Says:

    You progressives may as well have pulled the trigger yourselves. It’s a good thing there was a Christian guard there to put a hole in your anti-Christian soldier.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:24 pm

    Hey, you hideoulsy empty excuse for a human being…

    “The police confirmed at the news conference that Mr. Matthews had been kicked out of the missionary training program.”

    One of their own…

    Christ Almighty, you’re disgusting.


  57. The Republic of Stupidity Says:

    We don’t hate Christians, we’re just exhausted from dealing w/ the self-serving, delusional blather of freaks like you.


  58. tombaker Says:

    Can someone also do a Lexis/Nexis search, and put together a list of Liberal/Atheist murderers, who have victimized the Faithful, over the last few years?


  59. gummitch Says:

    Can we take up a collection, and get an American History book for this guy?

    Comment by tombaker — December 10, 2007 @ 10:25 pm

    It would require the troll to be able to read; good luck with that.

    All this creep is here for is to provoke progressives and get some kind of reaction — which translates into attention. If you simply ignore the moron, it eventually will tire of the game and go back to playing Grand Theft Auto.

    The constant repetition of “liberals hate Christians” is intended to p!ss people off, so they lash out at the troll — and it gets the attention it apparently never got from Mummy and Daddy.


  60. joe cantwell Says:

    “The police confirmed at the news conference that Mr. Matthews had been kicked out of the missionary training program.”

    One of their own…

    Christ Almighty, you’re disgusting.

    Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — December 10, 2007 @ 10:26 pm

    ooops, satan worshipping chl ignoring the facts. again.


  61. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    You progressives may as well have pulled the trigger yourselves. It’s a good thing there was a Christian guard there to put a hole in your anti-Christian soldier.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:24 pm

    You Zealots would love to line up all the gays, feminists, environmentalists, vegetarians, atheists, Anti-war activists, the ACLU, liberals, progressives, Pagans, Muslims, Buddhists, and shoot them all?


  62. Marcus Aurelius Says:

    Rev_Dr_David_M_Berman_ThD

    Cited by Cold Hard Left

    ThD? Bwahahahahahahahhaaahhhhhhaha!

    Ha!


  63. tombaker Says:

    To the grownups, who are shocked at the tragedy, and some of the comments here:

    Perkins invited this upon all of his kind, by voluntarily politicizing something that was clearly a case of a nutjob-over-the-edge.

    Think Progress, nor anyone else, did that. What was reported here was FRC’s p.r. campaign, not anyone else’s.


  64. joe cantwell Says:

    ThD? Bwahahahahahahahhaaahhhhhhaha!

    Ha!

    Comment by Marcus Aurelius — December 10, 2007 @ 10:33 pm

    the devil made him do it.


  65. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Can someone also do a Lexis/Nexis search, and put together a list of Liberal/Atheist murderers, who have victimized the Faithful, over the last few years?

    Comment by tombaker — December 10, 2007 @ 10:28 pm

    Wouldn’t want to waste my time swimming in that sewer…I remember right after Columbine reading about one of the killers mockingly asking a girl if she loved Jesus right before putting a bullet between her eyes.

    BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER. By definition, insanity defies normal human understanding. It comes in all shapes and sizes. Communism is officially Atheist. Bin Laden is extremely devout - so were the psychos that ran the Inquisition. Crazy is crazy, you can’t attach the actions of a sociopath to the group they spring from. All groups produce them.


  66. wisedup Says:

    wingnut thinking: ‘Now if everyone in the school had guns,they could have….


  67. Keltoi at Night Says:

    72 - Well said.

    The freak who did this is just that - a freak.

    The sorry excuse for humanity who tries to make a political point out of it? Beyond disgusting.


  68. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    the devil made him do it.

    Comment by joe cantwell — December 10, 2007 @ 10:38 pm

    This shooter had some bizarre dichotomy inside of himself, the devil and a god in perpetual war. What happens to some people is their inner conflict such as this manifests in such violent acts. Other, less violent people turn it in on themselves, and become drug addicts and lying presidents. You would think that after thousands of years, humans would live by compassion, art, and science instead of myths and fear.

    My wife said that in Catholic School, the nuns would hit your left hand if you tried and use it. I wonder whether it was an unconscious reaction by the nuns to prevent kids from activating the Right Brain Lobe, the center of spacial, progressive, and creative thinking.?


  69. tombaker Says:

    And I’m not going to do that, until someone like Tony Perkins starts talking about how this is the fault of my “community”.

    TP didn’t lead with a “Christians are Killers” headline.

    FRC led with a “seculars are to blame” headline, and I, for one, am not going to let that go unanswered.


  70. Bruce Gorton Says:

    cold_hard_left

    You are aware that the site you linked to which claims he “hated Christians” was citing an anonymous source (Who probably made the statement in light of this shooting) and includes a little gem like the shooter having enrolled in a Christian university last year don’t you?

    Oh, and the headline? “Church shooter wanted to be missionary”

    Hardly spells anti-Christian fervour to me.

    Which is to say, reading comprehension isn’t terribly high on your list of skills now is it? But then, I suppose you were home schooled.


  71. alpuz3 Says:

    The religious right is going to be the downfall of the GOP. I enjoy reminding the republicans I know, just how much of an influence these fanatics have.

    They know… I recently heard a remark about “christian fanatics”
    from an elderly women who is very well versed in the way of the world.

    She is a Christian.

    Keep pushing buttons CHL. I love pointing the level headed on “your side” this way.

    you’re doing a heck of a job.


  72. Saint Augustine Says:

    I wonder if the shooter would have been filled with hate if he had never gone to that church or become involved with Y-WAM?

    You have to be carefully taught to hate.


  73. Lefty Patriot Says:

    Keltoi is assuming a psychotic break, but we don’t know that for a fact. maybe the devil made him do it.


  74. cd Says:

    Much as I would love to blame his killing spree on the rise of
    Antagonistic Atheism*

    At this point it seems that he may have been hearing voices.

    Either way I doubt the media is to blame unless he watched alot of fox.

    *http://dkosopedia.com/wiki/Antagonistic_Atheism


  75. Jane E. Schneider Says:

    “wingnut thinking: ‘Now if everyone in the school had guns,they could have….”

    Comment by wisedup — December 10, 2007 @ 10:45 pm

    Which is kinda what Huckabee said to Chris Matthews recently: If more people had guns, the “bad guys” might think twice before trying to mug someone. Jeez, the hospitals would be overflowing with gunshot-wound patients if Huckabee had his way.


  76. pete Says:

    Forgive me for being repetitious but, please identiry where the troll’s article says “seculars, progressives, or libruls,” had anything to do with this.

    As usual, the trolls didn’t read, or comprehend their source material.

    If you read this passage:Murray participated in a Youth With a Mission training program 5 years ago but his health barred him from doing field work and going further with the program, YWaM director Peter Warren said at a separate press conference in Arvada.

    In the past few weeks, he sent string of messages expressing his discontent about the program to the program and its director, authorities said.

    Earlier today, a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it appeared Murray “hated Christians.”
    http://www.denverpost.com/snowsports/ci_7682958

    One could form the opinion that he hated these “Christians” because they ostracized him. There is little doubt that he was clearly disturbed and, it’s possible this tragedy could have been averted with proper care. And, one could make an educated guess that, his condition was worsened by the exclusivity of these particular “Christians”.

    It’s apparent they didn’t draw him in, comfort and heal him, or recognize the signs.

    Does not the family and community not share some of the blame?


  77. cd Says:

    Huckabee and his ilk don’t seem to understand that not everyone is qualified to carry a gun.


  78. Lefty Patriot Says:

    Does not the family and community not share some of the blame?

    Comment by pete — December 10, 2007 @ 11:08 pm

    Are you nuts? progressives’ War On Christmas drove him around the bend, so he had to take out some missionaries and a bunch of folks at church. That’ll show us.

    Today’s lesson: No matter what faith you are, don’t go to a church that needs an armed security force.


  79. Bruce Gorton Says:

    4,392 Catholic priests have been accused of molesting children. That’s apparently about 4% of the total population of priests in America.

    Not only that, the Church is known for sheltering its pedophile priests by moving them from location to location in order to both avoid the scandal, and seemingly to give the priestly predators access to new and unsuspecting pools of victims.

    Note the example of Fr Ramos.

    Joseph Ratzinger, the current Pope, in 2001 declared allegations of pedophilia against Catholic priests subject to pontifical secret. Sheltering pedophiles yet again.

    I would link you to it but it is in Latin.

    So the article you have linked to, would much rather have children getting molested, their molesters getting away with it, and the Catholic Church doing nothing about this serious problem in their ranks, than have the Catholics getting mildly offended by people pointing this problem out - so that, you know, their children don’t end up getting diddled by pervert priests.

    It doesn’t actually argue in favour of the Catholic Church so much as it argues in favour of pedophiles thriving within the Catholic Church.

    And you guys call the left imoral.

    Note that this information is mostly off of wikipedia and easily found right down to source materials.


  80. pete Says:

    Today’s lesson: No matter what faith you are, don’t go to a church that needs an armed security force.

    Comment by Lefty Patriot — December 10, 2007 @ 11:11 pm

    That’s a creed I could get behind. I can’t imagine being taken in by a fraud like Ted Haggard would do one’s self-confidence much good.

    BTW, I meant: “Does not the family and community share some of the blame”.


  81. Juan C. Says:

    That’s the excuse Cho used to kill all those people at VA Tech. “They” made him do it.

    He has no guilt. That’s how sociopaths do things.


  82. cd Says:

    accused=/=guilty


  83. Silver Owl Says:

    FRC is irresponsible and extremely foolish. The Police Officer was out of line and irresponsible in his statement as well.

    The young man’s rage was directed specifically at Youth With a Mission from which he was ejected. Neither his family nor those who received the hate mail paid much attention to or did not notice Murray’s emotional instability.

    I also think the guard was irresponsible in portraying her training and actions as God orchestrating a shoot out at the OK corral type thing rather than a direct consequence of her choice to carry gun and training. People use guns not deities.


  84. alpuz3 Says:

    Spot on, Bruce. This is the same trend of GOP. I bring this up over and over again around the “republican” people I associate w/ and they turn the ole deaf ear.

    It’s insane. That- i belive - is the reason most “clear headed” republicans turn their back on it. It’s just too bitter a pill to swallow. The demonization of “liberals” really struck a chord.

    fruckin’ fear. fear of the unknown really rallies the “troops”.


  85. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Today’s lesson: No matter what faith you are, don’t go to a church that needs an armed security force.

    Comment by Lefty Patriot — December 10, 2007 @ 11:11 pm

    That’s a creed I could get behind. I can’t imagine being taken in by a fraud like Ted Haggard would do one’s self-confidence much good

    Comment by pete — December 10, 2007 @ 11:18 pm

    I dunno, guys, even the Amish had a church shooting, though the shooter was not Amish.

    The sad truth is, random gun violence is just a fact of life in the US. You never know when your going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t choose to carry a gun around with me because I am not that paranoid and I figure you gotta die of something. But I can understand why people want the right to carry. And it is their Constitutional right.


  86. tombaker Says:

    The kid needed help from a medical professional, and all he could get was help from “spiritual professionals”.


  87. Lefty Patriot Says:

    And it is their Constitutional right.

    Comment by Keltoi at Night — December 10, 2007 @ 11:37 pm

    Well, actually, it isn’t, unless they belong to a well-regulated militia. But I would expect a foreigner to get that wrong; I just don’t understand why American citizens are so stupid. and if you are foolish enough to go to a church that has armed security, then I guess you’re not too bright.


  88. Marcus Aurelius Says:

    I don’t hate Christians, or Muslims, or Jews, or Hindus, or anybody else, for that matter. I simply don’t understand religious devotion, and I tend not to trust those who claim to be the most devoted. As an atheist, I believe that I have much to fear from these people (I seem to be the embodiment of their devil).

    I wish I could make them take one step back from their “faith” to take an honest look at what they have been taught (evolution/creationism, for example).

    I feel sorry for them because they have missed the point of being here.


  89. cd Says:

    Comment by tombaker — December 10, 2007 @ 11:39 pm

    You’re guessing.


  90. Juan C. Says:

    And it is their Constitutional right.
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    When dinosaurs roamed the Earth…come on.


  91. Keltoi at Night Says:

    And it is their Constitutional right.

    Comment by Keltoi at Night — December 10, 2007 @ 11:37 pm

    Well, actually, it isn’t, unless they belong to a well-regulated militia. But I would expect a foreigner to get that wrong; I just don’t understand why American citizens are so stupid.
    Comment by Lefty Patriot — December 10, 2007 @ 11:40 pm

    Foreigner? Is that a lame insult or factual error?

    And I am not getting into a 2nd Amendment debate with you, Lefty. The 2nd is so ambiguously worded and so anachronistic relative to a frontier society of 3 million versus an urban society of 300 million and muzzle loading smoothbores versus modern firearms that you could come to any conclusion about what Patrick Henry and John Adams would say about it in 2007. But the courts have spoken on this issue. Depending on what state you live in, you have a legal right to carry if you jump through certain hoops. And anyone who is going to commit mass murder will find a way to get a gun - no law is going to stop them or they wouldn’t be murdering people in the first place.


  92. Juan C. Says:

    I feel sorry for them because they have missed the point of being here.
    Comment by Marcus Aurelius

    Nahhh, religion is not the problem at all. The thing is that people try to shape the religion teachings around their own prejudices and fears.


  93. tombaker Says:

    98 - As is my right.


  94. Juan C. Says:

    no law is going to stop them or they wouldn’t be murdering people in the first place.
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    As in Canada?


  95. Lefty Patriot Says:

    As in Canada?

    Comment by Juan C. — December 10, 2007 @ 11:54 pm

    forget about it. keltoi is going to spin his wheels no matter what. The Party of personal responsibility, you know.


  96. Keltoi at Night Says:

    When dinosaurs roamed the Earth…come on.

    Comment by Juan C. — December 10, 2007 @ 11:50 pm

    See my comment at 100.

    I am essentially agnostic on this issue - I can see both sides and don’t denigrate either viewpoint. I own lots of guns, but only rifles and shotguns for hunting and the possiblity of something really crappy happening Armageddon-wise. I don’t own handguns as I have children and it just isn’t worth it. I happen to play in the SCA and have swords and clubs stashed around the house for defense.

    But when my kids are grown and gone and I am too old to fight anymore? I can totally see buying a pistol and I’ll be glad to have that option to protect my home and my wife.


  97. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    #97 — Well said, Marcus. I’ve known very spiritual people, both clergy and lay people, and none of them was “in your face” about their faith.

    Those who proclaim the loudest how important God is to them are, to me, pretty transparently seeking to convince themselves above all. I can and do respect a faith in the Bible or in Christian values. But when their faith seems divorced from the world around them, when they seem to cling to their dogma like a security blanket, that tells me there’s something wrong.

    Most truly spiritual people I’ve encountered have used their faith to explore difficult questions. Most religious-but-not-spiritual people seem to use their faith to AVOID difficult questions.


  98. Juan C. Says:

    having guns for defense? Having clubs and swords for defense? Defense from what? Stop paying State Police Offices, if you are going to defend yourself that way.

    Now, it’s been some 200 years since the US hasn’t been attacked…so, is getting pretty lame the defense excuse.


  99. Juan C. Says:

    keltoi is going to spin his wheels no matter what. The Party of personal responsibility, you know.
    Comment by Lefty Patriot

    But I guess he is right in the sense that no law is going to stop this kind of tragic events.

    Just looking at the TV for 1 hour in the States and you really get all cranky.


  100. Keltoi at Night Says:

    no law is going to stop them or they wouldn’t be murdering people in the first place.
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    As in Canada?

    Comment by Juan C. — December 10, 2007 @ 11:54 pm

    Or as in every totalitarian state in history?

    What if the students at Tianamen Square had had guns?

    But like Lefty said in 104, nevermind. The thread really isn’t about Gun Control, anyway.


  101. Dr. Matt Says:

    Based on what we can see in the anti-Huckabee and anti-Romney posts, most TP posters (like the shooter) hate Christians.
    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    Huck and Mutt are not Christians….just like you are not. They simply pander to the reich-wing crowd.


  102. cd Says:

    ” it’s been some 200 years since the US hasn’t been attacked…so, is getting pretty lame the defense excuse.”

    wtf?


  103. Juan C. Says:

    What if the students at Tianamen Square had had guns?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    China would be capitalist, of course…

    Come on…


  104. JPV Says:

    Gee, I wonder why there’s “hostility” by “some in the secular media toward Christians”.


  105. Juan C. Says:

    wtf?
    Comment by cd

    Can I help you?


  106. Keltoi at Night Says:

    having guns for defense? Having clubs and swords for defense? Defense from what? Stop paying State Police Offices, if you are going to defend yourself that way.
    Comment by Juan C. — December 10, 2007 @ 11:59 pm

    Robbers? Rapists? I don’t have a State Trooper stationed in my living room.

    Like I said, I am not paranoid, but some precautions seem reasonable. Your get farther with a kind word and a sword than you do with just a kind word.


  107. cd Says:

    Juan C. are you saying it’s been 200 years since theres been an attack on America?


  108. tombaker Says:

    “What if the students at Tianamen Square had had guns?”

    …pretty sure “tank” beats “gun” - here at least, if not in China.

    Gun control proponents will, no doubt, make some hay over this - how could they not? On another note, If the shooter had only a .410 single-shot, instead of an assault rifle, there’d probably be fewer fatalities, too.


  109. jb Says:

    I don’t hate Christians, but I do hate the sanctimonious holier than thou attitude that some “members of the club” sport with such arrogance. A man’s religion is his own business, so don’t try and shove that crazy babble down my throat.


  110. Juan C. Says:

    Robbers? Rapists?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    People with swords at home?
    :)

    Like I said, I am not paranoid,
    Sure…

    Well, let’s say I’m against people having guns. Let’s get on topic.


  111. Juan C. Says:

    Juan C. are you saying it’s been 200 years since theres been an attack on America?
    Comment by cd

    Yes, in American soil.

    Pancho Villa and some drunken mexicans in the North Division of the Revolutionary Army back in 1910’s.

    Pearl Harbor was a colony. And they have plenty of guns there, btw.


  112. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Based on what we can see in the anti-Huckabee and anti-Romney posts, most TP posters (like the shooter) hate Christians.
    Comment by cold_hard_left — December 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

    Seems a crime to even dignify this post with a response, but it prbably hasn’t occurred to CHL that Romney and Huckabee are hardly representative of the Christian daith and “anti-Romney” or “anti-Huckabee” posts are most likely just that: anti-Romney, or anti-Huckabee.

    Hillary Clinton is a Christian, so whe CHL bashes Hillary, does that mean CHL hates Christians? Apparently it does, by his own standards.


  113. Keltoi at Night Says:

    China would be capitalist, of course…

    Come on…

    Comment by Juan C. — December 11, 2007 @ 12:03 am

    Well…I don’t think it is completely off base.

    I am not normally a big bumper sticker as wisdom sort, but I remember seeing one that said “The Experts Agree - Gun Control Works!” with pictures of Hitler, Stalin and Mao above the caption, all of whom passed strict gun control legislation.

    But I am not a fanatic on the issue. You live/work in Latin America, Juan? Do you think gun control works?

    Crap! I AM getting sucked into a 2nd Amendment debate. Anyone pull the rip cord whenever you want….


  114. Bruce Gorton Says:

    Keltoi at Night

    A gun isn’t a particularly good defensive weapon. It is a good offensive weapon, but for most people, well you are better off learning martial arts because if that robber has a gun, chances are all your gun is going to do is get you shot.

    Okay, the following three groups of non-criminal people should not have guns.

    1: Crazy people. This should go without saying, but guys like Cho (History of mental instability) should not have guns. This is the primary point the gun lobby is fighting, because lets face it, a fair chunk of the gun lobby isn’t exactly, well, right in the head. After all, they tried to argue that the Virginia Tech massacre was a strong argument against gun control.

    2: Stupid people. These are people who ignore the basic safety rules of owning a gun, and thus end up either hurting themselves, or going to their kid’s funeral, not due to malice, but due to them being too thick to figure out that a gun is a lethal weapon and not a toy.

    3: Cowardly people. These are not the guys who live in bad areas and feel justifiably threatened, these are the guys who bought guns shortly after 9/11, because hey a bullet is really going to stop a 747 crashing in their houses. These are the people who just can’t sleep at night without the ability to kill people being close at hand.

    There is a certain amount of overlap between all three groups.

    Now, I agree the second amendment needs changing. The constitution needs amending to take into account those guys the founding fathers didn’t think of because, hey back then this wasn’t such an issue. This does not mean doing away with the right to bear arms, but rather with the right-to-bear-arms-no matter-what.


  115. Lefty Patriot Says:

    FRC tying this shooting to the “secular media”, whatever that is, are just generalizing out of fear and ignorance. We don’t know what caused this, nor do they, but it certainly wasn’t the secular media.


  116. tombaker Says:

    Question for everyone:

    How would this thread have gone so far, had the shooter been a black city kid, and the victims other black city dwellers?

    I’m not saying I know, and I’m not offering that up as a loaded question - just think it’s worth considering. How much would it be said the shooter was “product of his environment”, or that all involved were less worthy of our sympathy, or deserving of blame of one kind and another?


  117. jb Says:

    Seems to me that Blackwater working for GOOPers are more likely to take your guns than the inept and politically expedient Dems.


  118. Bruce Gorton Says:

    What if the students at Tianamen Square had had guns?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    They would have still been killed, China would still be communist, and the effect of their deaths would have been halved.

    Tanks versus guns, tanks win. Trained military personel, versus students, military wins.


  119. cd Says:

    *sigh* Juan

    1) Pancho Villa and his army weren’t drunk.

    2) North America was in fact attacked by both Japan and Germany + We were lucky enough to capture a number of saboteurs.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Attacks_on_North_America_during_World_War_II

    3) We were Likely attacked durring WWI

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_Explosion

    4) The WTC has been attacked twice in my life time.


  120. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Interesting question, Tom Baker. If the shooter had been a black city kid shooting up his neighborhood, I doubt that we’d be discussing it, because the media doesn’t seem to care unless it’s a white society under attack.

    Were there a lot of posts on this thread that suggested these churchgoers were less than worthy of our sympathy? I certainly don’t feel that way.


  121. Juan C. Says:

    But I am not a fanatic on the issue. You live/work in Latin America, Juan? Do you think gun control works?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    I live in Mexico…which is a very bad place in the sense of criminality. For example, we have by far the most savage bands of drugdealers in the world, along with the Russian mob, I guess. They own lots of guns, but you know what, they don’t kill civilians, they only kill Police or MIlitary personnel (which we all know they are killing rival drugdealers), so they kill people with guns…and they don’t seem to help them any bit.

    Have you been in Mexico city in rush hour? If you had, imagine that and everybody holding guns… (gulp)


  122. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Robbers? Rapists?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    People with swords at home?
    :)

    Like I said, I am not paranoid,
    Sure…

    Well, let’s say I’m against people having guns. Let’s get on topic.

    Comment by Juan C. — December 11, 2007 @ 12:08

    Dude - I am a medieval recreationist - the swords are just really neat costume pieces that I know how to use and have a certain utility for home defense.

    As far as on topic goes, agreed. The FRC guy is a jerk. And the shooting is a tragedy.


  123. tombaker Says:

    according to the coverage i’ve been watching this pm, and first-hand testimony of parties to the tragedy, it seems that somehow, god had the guard shoot the shooter and that was good, yet had nothing to do with the shooter being there doing the shooting in the first place, so, it’s awesome that god did that, and that only a few people died for the sake of god getting some solid p.r. today.


  124. tombaker Says:

    129 - me either Ralph - not what I meant at all, and these people should never have had to endure this event - none of them.


  125. Bruce Gorton Says:

    cd

    Okay, Pancho Villa is the last one where an armed populace would have made any real difference.

    WWII, you had spy rings infiltrating the nation. Guns didn’t solve that issue, people noticing them did.

    WWI, I have yet to see a gun that can disarm a bomb.

    And the two WTC attacks, again guns don’t disarm bombs and it would have taken an inordinately large calibre gun to stop those planes hitting the two towers.


  126. Keltoi at Night Says:

    I live in Mexico…which is a very bad place in the sense of criminality.Comment by Juan C. — December 11, 2007 @ 12:17 am

    What ARE the gun laws in Mexico? For civilians I mean, not the gangs or police?


  127. tombaker Says:

    my point was not about where we do or do not direct our sympathies, but about how we go about the analysis, explanation, and speculation-as-to-the-nature-of these kinds of events when they happen.


  128. Juan C. Says:

    1) Pancho Villa and his army weren’t drunk.
    No, they were not. They were pretty good. But I doubt there was a huge rush in Washington.

    2) North America was in fact attacked by both Japan and Germany + We were lucky enough to capture a number of saboteurs.
    Oh, yeah, and Spain attacked the US by sinking the USS Maine. And
    that’s why you had to take Cuba.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Attacks_on_North_America_during_World_War_II

    3) We were Likely attacked durring WWI
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_Explosion

    Likely being the operative word. Now, I know it is a secondary discussion, but please, a WW because some guy dies?

    4) The WTC has been attacked twice in my life time.
    Comment by cd

    Sure? Which army? So VA Tech was also attacked by an army named Cho? And this guy that killed members of its church, is also an attack to America?

    Please…I don’t want to belittle CRIMINAL ACTS against your country, but those are not WAR ACTS, otherwise you would be still fighting China after bombing their embassy in the old Yugoslavia.


  129. Bruce Gorton Says:

    Keltoi at Night

    Swords are over-stated. I like my naval dirk just fine all on its own.


  130. Juan C. Says:

    Cd, Bruce beat me to it. I wanted to finish by saying that guns wouldn’t have solved those situations, which is the whole point.

    Thanks, Bruce.


  131. cd Says:

    bruce Juan claimed there had not been an attack on American soil in 200 years.

    That’s patently false.


  132. jb Says:

    Guns often make a problem worse. But I like mine.


  133. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Tanks versus guns, tanks win. Trained military personel, versus students, military wins.

    Comment by Bruce Gorton — December 11, 2007 @ 12:16 am

    Quick! Someone tell the insurgents in Iraq this so we can just win and get the hell out of there!


  134. jb Says:

    Insurgents are often well trained, often by us. And they are on their own ground.


  135. Juan C. Says:

    What ARE the gun laws in Mexico? For civilians I mean, not the gangs or police?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    Great question. First, here we don’t have the ultimate, fancy, super-duper guns you have in your country or all the advertisement invested on them. I have never seen an ad dedicated to a gun. People here spend their money in food and tequila. So there is not a whole subculture of violence and firepower.

    You can get a gun in the black market which is easier, but it will be an old, rusty revolver or something like that. Now, if you are a drug dealer, you will get machine guns (AK-47), grenades and bazookas. But people that buy those know how to use them (former military men) and know who are they gonna blow up with those. So civilians spend almost all part of our lives without seeing one gun.


  136. gummitch Says:

    Swords are over-stated. I like my naval dirk just fine all on its own.

    Comment by Bruce Gorton — December 11, 2007 @ 12:26 am

    Hey! I like my katana just fine. If someone is foolish enough to invade my home when I’m there, and I can get to the sword before they notice, I’m in great shape. It might take awhile to explain to the police why the guy is missing his head, but still . . .

    Of course, I don’t wear the thing to work, so the whole timing issue is somewhat critical. But if the circumstances are just right, I’m ready.

    Otherwise, not so much. But still, better than the Ken Onion/Steven Segal knife. Longer.


  137. cd Says:

    “not a whole subculture of violence and firepower”?

    lol what horseshit.

    g night


  138. Bruce Gorton Says:

    Keltoi at Night

    The insurgents include trained military personel from the old regime (A nice little side effect from disbanding the military), people trained in anti-tank warfare going back to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and guys who had been rebelling against Saddam for years. They are not unfocused university students leading a peaceful protest, they have some idea of what they are doing.

    Further, if you look at their tactics they are not going up against tanks directly, but using explosive devices while leading a guerilla war against America’s infantrymen and against each other. If they united America would be suffering much higher casualty rates by a rates, but right now they are more concerned with killing each other, than killing Americans.


  139. Keltoi at Night Says:

    So civilians spend almost all part of our lives without seeing one gun.

    Comment by Juan C. — December 11, 2007 @ 12:34 am

    Okay….but CAN you buy a gun? Are there sporting goods stores that sell them? Surely people hunt in Mexico…does the government regulate firearms or do they just throw in the towel like they do on most things?


  140. Juan C. Says:

    Hey, Keltoi…I like swords too. I played with them when I was 18 and rolled the dices over the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game. Heh. No, I agree you are not a loony for having those at home.


  141. Bruce Gorton Says:

    gummitch

    I once held a museum piece broadsword and it just totally ruined modern swords for me. The weighting is just wrong somehow, the craftsmanship questionable and, well, I would rather stick with my dirk.


  142. Bruce Gorton Says:

    Typo, left out words.

    By a rate of thousands.


  143. jb Says:

    No home should be without tequila.


  144. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Comment by Bruce Gorton — December 11, 2007 @ 12:37 am

    I gotcha, Bruce. But the point remains, whether you are going up against Jiang Zemins murdering bastards or Pancho Villas raiders, if your choice is a fist or a gun, give me a gun every time.


  145. tombaker Says:

    Viva Che!


  146. Juan C. Says:

    ol what horseshit.
    g night
    Comment by cd

    Well, just look at the murders by firepower you have in your country.

    does the government regulate firearms or do they just throw in the towel like they do on most things?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    Sorry, forgot that. Yes, there is regulation, I don’t know how strict but, bodyguards are entitled to have guns, but that’s the only case I can mention of civilians having guns legally. Tell you what, police officers almost NEVER use their guns. You know why? Because, they have to buy their own bullets…how’s that? Hehehe.


  147. pete Says:

    I fenced in college. I was pretty good too and played around with several different hand weapons. I’m also a life-long hunter.

    I wouldn’t even consider grabbing a knife, sword, shuriken, throwing ax, or spear; in a self defense scenario. I would grab my 12 gauge shotgun, or, a base-ball bat; whichever was closer.

    But, that’s just my opinion.

    I also think that responsible people should be able to own weapons. I also, also, think that someone was, by definition, irresponsible in the care of this, particular weapon, or, weapons.

    There must be a way, to keep most weapons out of the hands of most psychopaths. Largely through a process where existing regulations are enforced.

    I think a great place to start would be training by existing police forces. It would provide income and ensure that some of the responsibilities of gun ownership are taught, if not learned. Gun ownership should be, at least, as difficult as earning a drivers license.

    If you are really frightened of Them coming to seize your guns; I would assume you have enough ammo to hold them off a good while.

    But, that’s just my opinion.


  148. Juan C. Says:

    No home should be without tequila.
    Comment by jb

    I’m with you.

    Viva Che!
    Comment by tombaker

    He is a dead man that can’t stop being born. (It’s a song)


  149. Juan C. Says:

    Keltoi…hunt what in Mexico?

    You can just set up a trap and the animal will come to you.


  150. pbg Says:

    Actually, cd, the worst attack on America began with the bombardment of on Fort Sumter.


  151. Juan C. Says:

    Hey, pete, great post.


  152. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Hey! I like my katana just fine. If someone is foolish enough to invade my home when I’m there, and I can get to the sword before they notice, I’m in great shape. It might take awhile to explain to the police why the guy is missing his head, but still . . .
    Comment by gummitch — December 11, 2007 @ 12:34 am

    You DO play SCA, don’t you Gummitch? Anyone who can instantly come up with obscure points of linguistic history AND has a katana at bedside Must be in the Society. If not, you should check it out. They are mainly liberals, it started in Berkely, after all.


  153. jb Says:

    We can only wish that the cops in USA had to buy their own bullets. Great Idea, think I’ll bring it up at the next City Council meeting.


  154. Bruce Gorton Says:

    pete

    Speaking as a South African, (If you look up our murder statistics you will see why this comes into the discussion.)

    Its not about ammo. Its about the following: Hijacker tries to take your car, you reach for your gun, or even if your hands go out of sight, this guy shoots you then and there. He is jumpy, doesn’t want to get shot.

    Someone invades your home, generally they are ready to shoot before you are because they pick a time when you are likely off guard and chances are you don’t have your gun on you. You pull a gun, they shoot you, you are dead.

    The same is true for a knife, dirk, sword or whatever but at least you go out in style.

    Criminals aren’t going to come at you when you are ready for them, and for most people, this means a gun is worse then worthless in a defense situation.


  155. tombaker Says:

    I’m with Pete right down the line - good post.

    And Juan.

    I’ve lived in all kinds, and I mean all kinds, of places in my life, and had exactly zero occasions arise that required the exercise of any self-defense of any kind. I’m not a pro linebacker sized dude, either - I’ve just never had anything like that happen to me or mine, and come to think of it, don’t even know anyone who has.


  156. jb Says:

    Che may have been a murdering bastard, but he was our murdering bastard.


  157. jb Says:

    I’ve just never had anything like that happen to me or mine, and come to think of it, don’t even know anyone who has.

    Comment by tombaker — December 11, 2007 @ 12:52 am

    My experience too….smile and a handshake solves most problems. Maybe a few toe to toe arguments, but that eventually worked too.


  158. Keltoi at Night Says:

    Keltoi…hunt what in Mexico?

    You can just set up a trap and the animal will come to you.

    Comment by Juan C. — December 11, 2007 @ 12:48 am

    Well, I didn’t want to seem ethnocentric…besides, aren’t there deer in the Sierra Madre? I grew up in the Southwest and live in the Northwest now. I am easily the worst hunter in my state.


  159. Juan C. Says:

    Ok, Keltoi, first, I would agree hunting just for food. Otherwise it is a really cruel activity, like bullfight, if you ask me.

    Then, you need a shotgun to kill a deer? Or a really sophisticated weapon? Nahhh, weapon companies in the US are one of the wealthiest companies in the world, with oil companies. There is huge money there, so they will convice you that rats need to be flamethrown.


  160. Keltoi at Night Says:

    I’m not a pro linebacker sized dude, either -I’ve just never had anything like that happen to me or mine, and come to think of it, don’t even know anyone who has.

    Comment by tombaker — December 11, 2007 @ 12:52 am

    Well, ironically, that poor kid from the Washington Redskins WAS a professional athlete with a machete, and he died. Guns suck.

    You can get more with a kind word and a sword than you can with just a kind word, but I would agree you can get more with a kind word and Tequillia than you can with most anything else.

    I think I am going to go put in a Steely Dan CD.