Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day 2012

On New Trajectory, Baldr wrote a touching piece about remembering our fallen military. His conclusion:

But let us remember, that although we rightly show concern for those who are dying (or surviving) in distant wars, we should also note that far, far more people are dying from gunfire here on our own soil.  People don't like to think about it that way.  They don't want to believe that our nation is warring against gun violence here.  But at 100,000 shootings a year in the U.S., we can't afford to cover our eyes and pretend that all is right.

15 comments:

  1. Apparently, gun control bloggers got their talking points for today. New Trajectory, Common Gunsense, and Mikeb302000 all have the same message.

    Almost half a million Americans die from tobacco related diseases per annum, since we're comparing numbers.

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    1. Feel free to advocate against smoking, Greg. I'll join you.

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    2. I advise people not to smoke, but unlike you, I don't have any laws that I want to see added.

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    3. That's because second-hand smoke isn't as deadly as second-hand gun incidents.

      Anyway, take that shit to the anti-smoking blogs.

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    4. I'm pointing out that if you really cared about deaths and poor health, you'd focus on the number one cause. What we see is that your concern is actually about taking rights away from good citizens, not about stopping needless death.

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  2. Let's just forget about the 2-3 million Vietnamese killed by troops, bombs, and other heinous means by a military that had no effing business being there.

    Let's forget about the butchering and slaughtering of innocents in Iraq (twice) and Afghanistan; the brutal and vicious murders in Haditha, and the recent rampage in Afghanistan, by our 'heroes'.

    You gun control people make me laugh with your feigned concern about gun violence and killing of innocent people. It's a frickin' joke.
    orlin sellers

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    1. War is rarely the answer, Orlin. I agree with you that those innocents shouldn't have been killed. I have always been opposed to all of those wars and have actively protested Iraq and Afghanistan wars on the steps of my federal courthouse. Have you? Or are you "feigning concern"?

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    2. Did you, now? And how much good did that do?

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    3. Baldr asks, Or are you "feigning concern"?

      Well, I'm not the one who wrote "a touching piece remembering' those who murdered the innocent victims. That would be you.
      orlin sellers

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    4. Orlin, do you have sympathy for anyone?

      I don't see any conflict in honoring our fallen military, and being anti-war at the same time. Throw in some gun-control for civilians, and you're pretty much describing be.

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  3. Mikeb, killing innocent people is either good or it is bad. It makes no difference if it is a soldier in Afghanistan or Tim McVeigh. Moral principles, to rise above opinions, must apply to everyone.
    If it is wrong for me to go and steal money from someone else, then it is wrong for anyone to go and steal money from anyone else. If shooting a man who is not threatening you is evil in Atlanta, then it is also evil in Iraq. If being paid to go and shoot someone is wrong for a hit man, then it is also wrong for a soldier.
    orlin sellers

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    1. Thanks for tonight's dose of Kant's categorical imperative. Cheers!

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    2. WOW! I don't know if that is an insult or a compliment. I have no idea who Kant is and even less of an idea of what a categorical imperative is.
      The idea I expressed is what my grandma taught me and was known to her as common sense.
      orlin sellers

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    3. It was a compliment, and your grandmother was a natural-born philosopher. Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher in the eighteenth century who argued that if we believe an action is right in this moment, we have to be able to make it a universal law. That tests its validity.

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