Slate
Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle, better known as the AK-47, died at the age of 94 last month, but not without regrets about the impact of the assault rifle that carries his name. In a 2012 letter published in a pro-Kremlin newspaper on Monday, Kalashnikov wrote to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, expressing anguish and remorse about the impact of his invention.
Here’s an excerpt of the letter from the BBC:
"I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I... a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?" he asked. "The longer I live," he continued, "the more this question drills itself into my brain and the more I wonder why the Lord allowed man to have the devilish desires of envy, greed and aggression."
Kalashnikov had long refused to take responsibility for the deaths caused by his rifles, of which there are more than 100 million worldwide.
It's amusing how people in the US like to pretend it is a "Christian nation" yet pass laws that make it easy for people to murder without any consequences.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we have this "godless communist" expressing remorse about the carnage caused by his creation.
He invented the weapon for the protection of his people. His regret was that his invention became a symbol of revolution in terrorist countries like Somalia and Lebanon. The Somalia and Hezbollah flags have a depiction of the AK-47 on them. I guess you didn't read the whole article.
Delete"I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I... a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?"
DeleteLaci, as you can see by the very quote you included in this post, he was by no means godless. The government he lived under was supposedly godless. Look how well that worked for them.
Mr. G read the whole article and knows the inner workings of the great Russian's mind. That's impressive.
DeleteLaws that protect self-defense and laws that protect the right to keep and bear the best tools for self-defense make it harder for people to murder by aiding the victims ability to fight back. That's an immediate consequence to those who attempt murder.
DeleteI didn't claim to know his mind, but did attribute the quote to the wrong person.
Delete"The Church has a very definite position: when weapons serve to protect the Fatherland, the Church supports both its creators and the soldiers who use it," Mr Volkov was quoted as saying.
"He designed this rifle to defend his country, not so terrorists could use it in Saudi Arabia."
The quote is actually from the Press Secretary for the Russian Patriarch of the Church...my bad.
After creating a machine that killed 100 million, I don't think a last minute confession will get him to heaven.
ReplyDeleteOppenheimer had the same regret.
ReplyDelete"Now I become death....."