CRS
Chandler, Arizona, United States

There's an old saying. If you don't want someone to join a crowd, you ask them, "If everyone were jumping off of a cliff, would you?" Well, I have. So my answer would be "Yes". True story.
Profile continued . . .

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"Think Twice, Because I Won't"

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

this entry brought to you by nine inch nails, "discipline"





For about a month after the Newton shooting, Bill Maher was bringing up the same question to each set of guests on his show Real Time. Like me, Maher thinks guns are bullshit and that the constitution should be amended to get rid of them, much in the same way we got rid of that whole "5/6ths of a person" thing. Nevertheless, to round out the argument and play the Devil's Advocate, he was asking his guests, if you were in one of these mass shootings, "Would you be glad the only person with a gun was the crazy guy?"

Salman Rushdie said the following, and I'm paraphrasing: "I was once in a prolonged situation that I do not wish to dwell on where my life was in danger. Now, England does not ordinarily allow guns, but they make rare exceptions, and they said to me, we can give you a gun, Mr. Rushdie. We can teach you how to fire it. And I turned the offer down, because I was not sure if, when it came down to it, I could take a human life, even if I felt threatened."

And I felt so... happy to hear somebody say that. I'm so sick of hearing otherwise rational people saying, "I would never hurt anybody, but when it comes to my family, you bet I'd put a bullet between a motherfucker's eyes and blah blah blah." Suddenly everyone thinks that if there's a scenario where if their loved ones life is threatened, that they would be in a Desperado situation, and, in such a situation, they would always be the victor because they want it more.

Why do you think that that would be your only option in that circumstance? Why does it sound so much like you cannot wait for someone to threaten your family? Why do you go on and on about how someone can never get between you and your family, as if your unflinching devotion to murder someone in the name of protection is somehow unique or rare? Everybody would protect their family if it came down to it.

Do I think I'm capable of killing a man? Yes, I honestly do. All human beings are. But what is so fucking great about bragging about how you'd kill another person if you weren't given the choice? How do you know you won't have other options? Why does every scenario have to end with kill or be killed? And why are you so prepared for this very small chance of this happening? Are you this prepared for absolutely all life threatening situations, no matter how remote?

What if your life is being threatened by a confused and scared human being who somehow got themselves in a horrible situation, and calm minds are the only way for nobody to die? Are you prepared for that? What if someone who swore they would never kill another person, entered your house not expecting anyone to be home, and the mere presence of you bursting out of the darkness with a gun frightened them enough to fire their own weapon in response? What if merely shouting "Get the hell out of my home!" would have spooked him enough to leave?

What if nobody has to die, and the only way for that to happen is for you to think twice?
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with love from CRS @ 2:19 PM 

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