#I am literally blowing 7 years of dust off this account

[sevenbates]

Petulance & Firepower

You probably noticed this week that we've got a pretty big problem with a sizable number of people in this country thumbing their nose at the safety of their fellow Americans. It might make you question how they can think this way. How they reached their conclusions.

You're probably curious why they're acting like angry, petulant children who want unfettered access to their toys, regardless of how sensible people are trying to explain that it's dangerous.

Well, that's not a caricature of your friends and family. That's an accurate description, and if you want to know how they reached this point in their reasoning, look no further than the shared sense of resentment and bitterness you find in every one of them.

Do you think they woke up this morning, hoping their neighbors would be shot and killed? Do you think these friends of yours who quote gun lobby rhetoric, started the day off with hopes that Americans would be murdered?

Of course they don't.

Your gun-loving friends and family are normal people. They're not mentally deranged, and they're likely not immoral sociopaths either.

What they are, however, are spoiled brats. Like many who dig in their heels, because they want something and they resent anyone who suggests they shouldn't have it, they've completely disregarded empirical evidence, reason, and logic - because they have become emotionally invested in a delusional lie.

People do some pretty dumb things when they believe in untrue things. We're all susceptible to this. Every one of us is capable of buying into something and seeing enough people around us agreeing with it, that we think it's a valid position.

America is a country that pioneered a great experiment of liberty. For most of our history, we were the bleeding edge when it came to discussions about what a democracy can be, and how it can serve society. By the end of the 20th century however, we were eating the dust of numerous other democracies who'd taken our first steps and traveled much further when it comes to things like serving society and protecting it.

Just that statement alone stings a lot of people. It just sort of chaps their ass to suggest that we're not #1 at everything. Learning to accept that we might make mistakes and that those mistakes might be because we were very emotional and biased, is something that requires intellect and compassion.

It's something most of your friends and family are fully capable of, but you're going to have to speak to them about this if you want to see change. Continuing to hope the story blows over, like the last dozen or so mass shootings, puts the blood of the victims on your hands as well.

We can't remain silent and just hope that this is something that gets fixed when a bunch of old people die off. This is a challenge for *our* generation. It's an important one, so we should take it seriously. No, it won't be comfortable. Yet, it needs to be done anyway.

"If it is to be, it is up to me."

Those other countries I mentioned before? It's most of the democracies on Earth. We are the odd man out. Most other countries have figured out how to limit gun deaths, without completely banning firearms. We really have, and it's not because their cultures are different, or because their populations are smaller, or any other nonsensical idea that doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

Regardless of the boogeyman rhetoric that gets tossed around in our neck of the woods, these countries were able to provide their citizens with a fraction of the gun deaths, and they don't have jackbooted stormtroopers in the streets. They've just got a de-escalated weapons market.

How were they able to limit access to certain firearms for civilians, and yet still maintain robust sport shooting communities and home defense firearm ownership? What's different for them? Why is this still a problem for us?

The difference between America and those other countries is that those other countries are perfectly fine with learning from somebody else's mistakes. We really don't like doing that. We're #1.

So it's important to keep in mind as you speak to your friends and family about this topic, that they are driven by some motivations that are tangled up with their sense of nationalism and pride. Suggesting we can do something better, is to imply that we aren't the best at something already and that really doesn't sit well with people who have *need* for this.

Think of the people I'm speaking about. Think about how they live. Think about the music they listen to. Think about the clothes they wear, the stickers they put on the back of their vehicles, the memes they share on social media, and think about the heroes they worship. Look at the patterns.

These are people who have an emotional need for America to be the best. They come from families with investment in the greatness of this country. When they talk, they reference "good old days" Many wistfully yearn for an era in our history when they felt things were so much "simpler". You'll hear them regularly complaining that we've never tried their ideas fully before. You'll hear them say we've only half-assed it.

Think about these people in your life. Think about how much they can't stand complicated solutions; how they avoid problems that aren't going to provide them with an immediate, emotional satisfaction by flipping a switch.

Embracing the complicated, and putting yourself in someone else's shoes, is not easy to do. Regardless of your background or education level, this is a challenge for most human beings.

Your gun loving friends have the extra problem of an entire industry, manufacturing baloney to support their delusional ideas. It's literally beneficial for them to stoke this fire, and keep your friends and family scared, buying ammo and building a subculture to belong to.

FBI crime data is black and white. Interpol crime data is black and white. There is no conjecture about the numbers. Other countries that allow their citizens to own long rifles and shotguns, but limit civilian access to handguns, have virtually no gun crime compared to us.

On average, America suffers 10,000 - 13,000 gun deaths a year. These are people who were murdered, I don't count suicides in this statistic, just people killed in gun crimes. Most other countries, even when you adjust for their population sizes, barely reach a small fraction of our numbers.

Some countries have taken this even further. They've limited all firearm access for citizens, and they have their own unique set of statistics. I'm personally not a fan of this approach, and chances are you won't like that approach either, but be prepared to be accused of wanting to take all the guns.

Like you, I've grown tired of defending the FBI or Interpol because people just can't accept the truth, kicking and screaming as you try to drag them near it just to read. The validity of your data is irrelevant to people who are emotionally incapable of accepting the the truth.

It is for these people that I am speaking to you today.

Understand that your friends who are emotionally invested in this topic, can usually only reach a point of rationality if they have a strong emotional reason to divest themselves from their position.

Often it takes grim realization to snap out of a delusion. The nonsensical idea that only "good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns" was eroded for numerous gun-rights activists at this music festival in Vegas over the weekend.

Josh Abbot, musician who played on the stage a few hours before the shooting, was present for the carnage:

“I’ve been a proponent of the 2nd amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was. We actually have members of our crew with [Concealed Handgun Licenses], and legal firearms on the bus. They were useless.

We couldn’t touch them for fear police might think we were part of the massacre and shoot us. A small group (or one man) laid waste to a city with dedicated, fearless police officers desperately trying to help, because of access to an insane amount of firepower.

Enough is enough." - Josh Abbot

Josh Abbott is a good human being, just like your friends and family. He simply needed a gruesome familiarity with how useless and impotent civilian firearm ownership is in situations like this. Make no mistake, there were numerous "good guys with guns" on hand for this massacre.

It doesn't matter how many videos you've watched of Rambo wannabes shooting would-be robbers in 7-11s across this country. They still only account for a small proportion of the 1% of all justified gun deaths. This delusional fantasy of becoming the hero, only fuels this unhealthy mindset anyway. It's such a tiny number of people yet such a large number of us want to have the opportunity, or at least not be denied it.

Then, like Abbott, you weigh the suffering of others versus your desire for a thing. Clarity comes to those who care.

When I moved to California from Texas, I disliked not having access to the fireworks I grew up with. I wanted to shoot Roman candles and teach my children how to celebrate Independence Day the way I did. These were family traditions that have been passed down for years. They were important to me. I couldn't even Envision a 4th of July without them. It felt like I was having my America taken from me. Seriously. I was morose about it.

Of course I trusted myself and my extensive training with pyrotechnics. Of course I knew that I took the time to inform myself of the proper safety procedures necessary to be a law-abiding fireworks user.

I was very resentful all my neighbors who couldn't be trusted to not burn down our neighborhoods. We live in a tinderbox and many of my neighbors have wooden roofs. Of course the state of California imposed restrictions on shooting ignited things in the air. Of course they limited our access to the things I wanted most.

And of course I was begrudgingly willing to accept a limitation on the fireworks that fly through the air, because the safety of the people around me is more important than my petulant desire to have this thing that I feel I'm entitled to, as a law-abiding American.

You bet your ass I was resentful and upset about it. You bet I bitched about it. You bet your ass that it saves lives and you know what, it doesn't make my family traditions any less real or meaningful to my children.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, much like it's difficult to accept that civilians shouldn't have unfettered access to firearms.

Should all firearms be banned? Of course not. There aren't really any sizable number of people who want everyone to have all of our guns taken away. Just remember however, your friends and family are under the impression that there are.

See, the gun lobby has even been able to personify their Boogeyman. They've been able to manufacture a caricature of a liberal who wants to *take* things from "Real Americans™" like the rest of us.

There's a preposterous sense of entitlement and resentment that is shared by everyone of the people that keep making these bogus arguments. They are convinced they know better than you, and the reason they don't care about your data is because they think the deaths don't matter.

Sure they're sickened by it, but they don't think that the 10,000 deaths a year warrant any kind of action, or that they're a result of their inaction. See, they live in a bubble much like the one Abbott had before this weekend. They were convinced that the Second Amendment acts like a blanket statement for all firearm ownership.

They are wrong. It is your job to explain to them why being wrong about this doesn't mean that they're bad people, or that they're stupid.

It's on you to give them the facts and figures, till you're blue in the face, and never stop, so that eventually they come to the conclusion *on their own* because they are now informed, rather than misinformed.

Chances are it'll take a while for them to digest the truth. Just understand that this tragedy isn't going away. The fact that we ignored when children were shot in an elementary school might make you cynical, but stick to it anyway.

You can't really pass laws that prevent premeditated mass murders. Even though they're more frequent than ever, mass shootings are actually very uncommon. Maybe 12 to 40 people a year are killed in this manner. Year after year over 10,000 people are killed in crimes of passion with guns.

These are the altercations that explode, turf wars for gang activity, and domestic violence that escalate into someone grabbing a gun (handgun over 90% of the time) and shooting someone else out of anger. This is where nearly all of our gun deaths come from. We bring up these 10,000 victim's every time a mass shooting happens because it's the only time we can even get the conversation started again.

So if your friends and family are complaining that it's not the right time to discuss reasonable and sensible gun laws, ignore their bullshit and press on. Sensible things like mandatory insurance, annual registrations, inspections, mental health screenings, and pragmatic solutions like scaling back prohibition to cripple the criminal black market, need to be considered.

Mass shootings are a symptom of our gun culture problem, but as alarming as this might sound, they are a tiny threat to our safety compared to the dangers that kill 10,000 people who die a year from gun crimes that happen right next to us.

We have the ability to implement restrictions on firearms that make it so crimes of passion can't escalate into a death toll that's 200 times what happened in Vegas.

We can actually roll back the Wild West just enough so that our numbers decrease and become more like the numbers in countries where people just aren't shooting each other like we do. Countries that don't have as much criminal recidivism. Countries that care about their citizens. Countries that abandoned the idea that a room with everybody carrying a weapon, is an objectively safer room for everyone to be in.

Suggesting that handguns should be limited in numbers for civilian ownership isn't a gun ban any more than speed limits are a ban on cars. Suggesting we get our guns registered and inspected like we do our cars, is not a gun ban. Talking about all of the sensible ideas we can try first might help you a little, but be prepared for them flipping out on you when you suggest that less access is better.

Be firm. Don't give up. Just remember that we are as responsible for those deaths as all the gun rights people, because this is a democracy. We share responsibility just as much as we share and success with one another.

America can do better. We can work together and overcome our own weaknesses. History books are full of examples of us doing this. You're not alone, and you're on the right side of history.

[thelastangryman-blog]

Ah! You Know What I Mean; Write?

A Three Course Meal Regarding the Current State of Converse Today

 1.       Definition

 When it comes to the Star Trek (series) debate; I’d be partial to Voyager. Not because it’s part of the Star Wars franchise. It was just a good show.

 I liked Captain Janeway and the crew; their adventures as they tried to get home. The Doctor and 7’s relationship – right in the feels that moment he confessed his love to her before the virus that was eating his programme deleted him forever. After he took his last virtual breath... the Captain asked the computer to run the back-up Doctor programme. #morto. But I digress.

One of the recurring enemies was The Borg Collective. ‘We are Borg. We are many.’

They were a human/machine hybrid with a collective hive mind. Totally badass; really got my 15 year old nihilist going, when I wasn’t masturbating to 7 or Janeway. Though as menacing as The Borg were, Species 8472 had The Borg scared.

Though we haven’t reached The Borg level of ‘resistance is futile’ yet, as if we had none of this Otherkin preferred pronouns triggers warnings would have seen the light of day. But we do have the collective hive mind – Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr: where the individual is problematic.

‘We are The Parroting Collective. We are many.  And we have a thousand and one shoeboxes of identity and gender politics.’

 Diluting words to the nth degree: peeling a layer off each time we place it in our shoeboxes until there’s literally nothing left of the word. Just like when Hugh Mungus raped Zarna Joshi.Intersectionalising and filibustering them into dust with no substance or taste left. Any wonder people are hesitant to speak their mind when they no longer know what words are now considered micro-aggressions. Everyone wants to start a conversation but no one wants to contribute. Individual comment is smothered by the collective’s blanket of buzzwords that bring nothing to the conversation but only make it more difficult and confusing. Words have to start meaning something again.

Arguments are now made by unlearning and rewording. As long as you submit a tomb of footnotes to confirm what you’re not saying. Predicating every statement; post and thought with a completed-abridged TL;DR A-Z of the things you stand for and don’t. All those pointless labels that first have to be seen and checked off some imaginary list so what you’re saying/asking can be allowed and only after every problematic word has been over-lapped on Venn diagrams into a black hole: finally to consult color-coded reference charts for the appropriate response.   Or the more frightening reality of discourse today: being fired, doxed or handed the racist, sexist, misogyny card – a hat-trick with as much validity as the original Holy Trinity – shown so many times it’s blank at this stage; you can write whatever you want on them when their definitions change every half hour.

Language itself is in a serious state dysphoria. And what does language trans into? Emojis and hashtags. Hieroglyphics?

 We’ve become so tightly wound, every word is negative-red and we charge-in-positive with hair triggers and its civil war in the comment section over an opinion: a word that is spelt with 2 eyes. I would go even further and say 4, 2 silent ones. We have to stop constructing rebuttals with our feelings. Argue the principle, the point; not the passion. All the facts and figures count for nothing if your passion speaks for you.

Ask any vegan, they’re a funny bunch. They’ve facts and figures for every sort of fact and figure and yet; they’re still a fringe-whinging minority. I sincerely admire their passion but when you share pictures of a child in a baking tray adorned with vegetables and an apple in their mouth… How can you reasonably respond to that?

I do see their point of view. I understand the argument they’re making. But their passion moots their point. Yet, I’d easily debate any meat-eater about the healthy, humane alternatives: though I’m still going to have a chop for dinner. Phss... You know that squirt you get in your mouth when you chomp into a sausage – that blast of hot delicious goodness that, that’s the essence of vegan tears.

And spare me the: you know there’s more potato in McDonald’s chips than meat in a sausage. So. Some people say abortion’s murder. Doesn’t mean they’re wrong. A true reflect of character, the individual as a whole, is not found in an opinion. Or half an argument.

 And if you’re wondering what this has to do with Star Trek? Well, I think we can all agree that that prequel of an abomination can fuck right off.

 2.       The Other R-Word

 Rape can be problematic. I’ve thought about it. I suppose a lot of us have at some point. It can be an alternative or at the very least; it can help reduce your meal costs. But you know yourself… F.C.E, %D.M.D and the other factors. And this all depends: are you fattening cattle or is it for pre-lactating ewes? Ha. Ha.

Make sure you know what you looking at before charging because sometimes son, the curtains are just blue. Whatever happened to face value? Will someone please put up some flyers or photos on milk cartons? But would we recognise it; if we saw it again? If postulating landed you in a straight jacket or the wrong side of the law, then where would we be? Still in the cave and not exploring space through the Stargate Universe. Though I think we moved back in, the cave, sometime ago. Did some renovations; got rid of the rock and replaced it with glass.

 We have to become familiar again with how to listen to the words that people are using and their context in-relation to the topic been discussed: individually and not interpreted through the tone-deaf shared collective. And learn to ignore the echo-friendly conscious bias sound-byte, a hard thing to do in a cave. I’ve always enjoying climbing trees, that’s not a metaphor but this is.

There’s more to a tree than the bright topical, ignorant, leaves on display. It’s not magic that has them floating there. Look passed the red leaves; see the branches they are connected to. Sometimes that’s where the point is made or found. But leaves tend to blow away with the passing breezes. The branches stay there. If you wanted to extend that metaphor, you could say that the leaves are a result of the roots that anchor the trunk to the ground.  But I’m no tree expert. However I do know that timber warms you 7 times.

Of course a words meaning, tone and context can change – I should know; I am literally a bastard, born in a country that used to take them from their mothers (Now, bastard’s the default birth cert setting) – but overtime and naturally. Simply squawking like a hen after laying an egg regarding the term Cis Privilege and how it has to mean something: aren’t you just a delightful little block of wood; Pinocchio.  And speaking of intelligent design, my old friends... The Vegans, God love them. They make funny arguments claiming that A.I (Artificial Insemination) is rape because the cow can’t give consent. And please, don’t take my word for it. Look that up. I dare you; I’ve been down that rabbit hole. Which leads me to the conclusion that, in that context, of a vegan narrative, it would allow for some hilarious rape jokes. I said look it up. I’m just mining the gold I see. The gold that it is. Nobody owns the river, Nestle would disagree. But fuck them.

 The books of Nietzsche and Kahlil Gibran thought me a lot about the individual but so did #197. She was an auld ewe we had years back. I would say she taught me more because she was real. The Internet doesn’t matter. Real life is more important.

  3.       Hocus-Pocus

 Anyone who’s ever received a rejection letter – or as they are known in the biz; a PFO – will know: all the complaining won’t change a damn thing. You have to be precise with your one shot.

 Here’s a classic scene from Cheers.

Sam, the ladies man, was told by one of the barmaids that no matter what her friend asked, he was to say no. And only no! She was worried her friend would be corrupted by Sam and his silver tongue. So Sam eventually agreed. The friend came in and sure enough, she asked Sam this question.

‘Would you mind coming home with me?’

 We have to stop blindly building walls with wonky words then we hold everyone accountable for poor construction when they naturally fall down upon us. Meow. And please trust me when I say: trees are a pure hoor for knockin’ walls and Lady Limestone has taken all my fingernails at some point, irregardless of what I wanted.

What we hear will be an echo of what we ask and we have to stop being so outraged over basic math.  If your figures don’t add up, may be you need to check your calculations then reword them up again. You’d be surprised.

I originally had ‘afraid’ instead of hesitant.  (Part 1, Par 4, line 4)

We have to start taking responsibility for the words we use. They’re all we have to communicate, sincerely and properly. This P.C culture and egregious hyperbole are the 2 current threats to freedom of speech.

P.C for the obvious reasons. Now hyperbole in a piece of work; a character’s narrative – that’s what makes it funny. But everyday interactions with co-workers and strangers; a serious debate; asking out someone you fancy; accusing Hugh Mungus of sexual harassment; a national conversation. No! You have to use proper words. It’s getting to the point where people don’t know what to think, let alone say.

We’re not the Borg. We are individuals. For now, we’re allowed  to hold opinions and ideas that are not your own and ask ‘Why the hell not?’ Or ‘What’s going on here?’ As for your personal experience on the subject in question, be it in-depth or non existence, it has no merit in the argument. (Part 1, 1st par, 2nd sentence) You cannot apply conditions to asking questions. I will disagree with others and not assimilate.

Holding the opinion that the term Rape Culture is akin to Cis Privilege in terms of its validity is not the same as saying ‘I condone rape.’ And I abhor the fact I have to tack on, so cheaply, that caveat. That’s how bad it’s got. We can no longer differentiate between this and that. We’ve forgotten how to separate personal from professional – Kim Davis!

 Words have to start meaning something again. But for the love of every made up Deity: they’re not magic spells; uttering them won’t make it happen, so until then, and only then will word-policing be relevant, needed and necessary. And I’m so confident that that day will never come *Blesses himself* it will also be the day I become vegan.

 Hopefully by then there’ll be an episode of Star Trek where they don’t break the Prime Directive.