----- Original Message ----- From: "Ronn!Blankenship" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 8:11 PM Subject: Re: An armed society ...
> At 08:05 PM Monday 12/5/2005, Robert Seeberger wrote: > >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Dave Land" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[email protected]> >>Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 6:53 PM >>Subject: RE: An armed society ... >> >> >> > Ritu wrote: >> > >> >> You don't have to be fan of SF to appreciate what he was trying >> >> to >> >> say. >> >> According to my observations, the more lethal the members of a >> >> society >> >> are, the more emphasis the social norms lay on politeness. As >> >> John >> >> explained to me in Korea, when a stare is taken as an invitation >> >> for >> >> verbal abuse, and the wrong tone of voice or wrong body language >> >> can >> >> spark of fight with black-belts, people learn to be scrupulously >> >> polite. >> > >> > First, with respect to the idea behind the Heinlein quote, it is >> > generally true that (reasonable) people are scrupulously polite >> > in >> > the face of deadly force. Most hostages treat their captors with >> > strenuous courtesy, even if they would rather rip their >> > intestines >> > out and feed 'em to them. In my high school, we had fairly high >> > racial tensions. It was generally known that not showing respect >> > to >> > certain kids would result in a beat-down, so those kids were >> > accorded undue politeness and deference. >> > >> > An armed society is a society in which everyone is capable of >> > dealing death. I will not live in fear. I do not want to live in >> > a >> > society where "politeness" is enforced by the fact that if I do >> > not >> > suck up to someone appropriately, they'll give me hot lead brain >> > surgery. >> > >> > The whole argument smells way too much like "Well, at least the >> > trains ran on time." for my liking. I don't want to live in a >> > "distributed dictatorship", which is what the libertarian utopia >> > of >> > an armed society looks like to me. >> > >> >>Lest we forget that swords can cut with two >>edges........................... >> >>The greatest effect firearms have had upon history is to remove the >>advantage the large and powerful have always had over the small and >>weak. >> >>But if you really fear firearms and have no faith in your fellow >>humans, you should rid your kitchen of large cutting >>blades........just in case you piss off someone in your family and >>happen to go to sleep at an inopportune moment.<G> > > > > Particularly if your wife's name is Lorena . . . > > > Unkind Cut Maru > > Bobbit......the name itself is a tasty irony. xponent The Ironic Chef Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
