tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14575780.post1034635879799444698..comments2024-01-31T18:37:07.424+00:00Comments on The Agitation of the Mind: PERSONAL FAVES: Bowling for ColumbineNeil Fulwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14686296295535235988noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14575780.post-31721480381424980202021-04-14T07:19:07.320+01:002021-04-14T07:19:07.320+01:00I am not a fan of Heston politics, but what is wit...I am not a fan of Heston politics, but what is with the term "OAP?" Do you mean Old Age Pensioner? Doubt Heston collected a pension. Other than 2 years in Air Force, he spent his life acting. Any money he had in his old age was from his many movies. So think again about using "OAP." smartenufhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16271761162397392140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14575780.post-1868886496642847012008-05-19T00:05:00.000+01:002008-05-19T00:05:00.000+01:00A flawed argument, though, isn't it?1) "An armed c...A flawed argument, though, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>1) "An armed citizenry is far less likely to be sitting ducks for muderous government shenanigans." Hmmmm, sounds like the Nixon, Bush and Bush Jnr administrations to me, and I don't recall arms-bearing citizens marching on the White House.<BR/><BR/>2) "More people die yearly from car accidents, alcohol and tobacco than from guns." Maybe so, but (i) car accidents are just that - accidents; and (ii) people who die from alcohol and tobacco do so because they used these products to excess - ie. they took their lives into their own hands through their personal choice. Being shot with a gun by someone else is not a personal choice.<BR/><BR/>3) "More children under 5 drown every year than are killed with guns." As above: these are accidents, and can be attributed to lack of parental supervision. Unless we're talking about someone who was forcibly drowned in a swimming pool - ie. held down by a third party (the swimming pool thus becoming a device used to kill someone) - then the analogy breaks down.<BR/><BR/>4) "When you anti-gun activists start demanding the banning of cars, beer, cigarettes and swimming pools I'll start believing you really care about saving people's lives." Again, it's an inaccurate argument: notwithstanding that accidents happen, cars and swimming pools are not DESIGNED to kill people; notwithstanding that people who overuse them die from cigarettes and beer, these products aren't DESIGNED to be used as weapons to kill other people with.<BR/><BR/>Guns, however, are. And it seems fairly clear, in today's fast-paced, stress-addled society where a hornblast in traffic can trigger a road rage incident, that ownership of guns puts the individual just one step away from using them.<BR/><BR/>And I never thought of myself as an "anti-gun activist", by the way (this is actually a film blog) - but there's just something about a six-year dying after being shot that makes me think that maybe that one little clause in the Constitution merits a re-think.Neil Fulwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14686296295535235988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14575780.post-67929733140704606402008-05-18T23:58:00.000+01:002008-05-18T23:58:00.000+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Neil Fulwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14686296295535235988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14575780.post-71942391436829246762008-05-17T21:46:00.000+01:002008-05-17T21:46:00.000+01:00In case you haven't noticed, the Constitution give...In case you haven't noticed, the Constitution gives Americans the right "to keep and bear arms", and it's not for hunting. That right is intended as a check against tyranny, as an armed citizenry is far less likely to be sitting ducks for murderous government shenanigans. <BR/><BR/>And gun deaths? Well, more people die yearly from car accidents, alcohol, and tobacco than from guns. Also, more children under 5 drown every year than are killed with guns. When you anti-gun activists start demanding the banning of cars, beer, cigarettes, and swimming pools I'll start believing you really care about saving people's lives. And for the record, I DON'T own a gun.Seane-Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02223095530241687589noreply@blogger.com