A far more productive pastime comes to mind when I go to the DIY Centre. What is more masculine than building things? That is being constructive rather than destructive (although one can demo old buildings to build on them). The pride I feel when I know that I can handle power tools to build projects. Although, it was dangerous when shopping for tools when the sales person said "you could build a deck in an afternoon with that!"
Not within earshot of my wife, please!
Her abode is a Wendy House as is a large,expensive one, but a Wendy House nonetheless! It would be an even more intricate Wendy House with me spending my free time doing that (of course, that is much more productive than blogging).
But the feeling that you made something on your own is far more empowering than shooting a tin can that is unable to shoot back at you.
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| Trainspotters |
Of course, there are my other passions, Archaeology and Astronomy. Even playing with a metal detector can be considered archaeology of sorts, although most archaeologists dislike metal detectorists who just dig things up without consideration for what they have found. Metal detectorists have, however, made some significant archaeological finds: I've mentioned the the Crosby Garrett Helmet and Terry Herbert’s Anglo-Saxon hoard before. There needs to be archaeological sensitivity on the part of metal detectorists.
There's trainspotting as well. That's much more productive. I remember a rail journey where I saw both trainspotters and hunters. The trainspotters were having much more fun with their flasks of tea and anoraks, whilst the hunters were stalking a dear that was several miles from where they were slogging (and would have been a dangerous shot to take). What's the fun of spending hours in the cold trying to kill something that eludes you because it is much smarter than you are?
I can think of several commenters who would be much better trainspotters than they are gunslingers.
Or much else for that matter.
Perhaps, that answers my train of thought that these people are incapable of tasks which require complex skills. Even trainspotting require than one is numerically literate to track which train one has seen (and where). I can imagine that the gunsels are lost on dry land, let alone trying to look at the heavens to find messier objects. These pastimes require thought, which is a characteristic sadly missing in the American mind.
You can lay in the corner of your bedroom curled up in the fetal position and cry about the 2A not protecting an individual right all you want, but that doesn't make it a fact.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not mistaken, both you and your slacky, dog gone, are or were gun owners. Tell me, are you a hypocrite, a member of a militia, or just a liar?
We don't run around scared half to death of everyone we meet, needing to carry a gun to feel powerful.
DeleteThe 2A for most of the duration of this nation only applied to militias. Conservative activist judges on the SCOTUS manufactured rights to arms -- and then only in your own home, not to carry around, as well as affirming the right of states to strictly regulate firearm ownership and use.
Neither of us is a hypocrite; we simply do not rely on firearms for our safety -- we don't need to do so, and I doubt you do either. Rather people like you pose a greater danger to our society, as is clear from the stats for gun violence in our country compared to others.
We're part of the solution; YOU are part of the problem.
1. I'm pleased to be a part of what you consider a problem.
Delete2. I don't run around scared half to death. My handgun is primarily a safety device, just like a seatbelt. I'm not scared that I'll get into a wreck every time I drive, but I'm always buckled in.
3. For much of this country's history, owning and carrying a gun was seen as natural. There was no need for the court to agree. It's only been in recent decades that you control freaks have made it necessary to get official pronouncements on what should be obvious.
I agree that the 2A is absolutely meaningless. It's been bastardized in recent decades to have some legal value by the special interests. That's all.
DeleteBut, that has little to do with owning guns. If there were no 2A, people would still be able to own guns, they'd just have to be better qualified.
dog gone whined..."Neither of us is a hypocrite; we simply do not rely on firearms for our safety..."
DeleteLaci cries that the 2A doesn't protect an individual right to own a firearm, and you support his position, but you both claim to be gun owners. That makes you either a hypocrite or a liar.
As far as not relying on a firearm, aren't you the one who got a concealed carry permit because you were frightened of someone's wife? Aren't you the same dog gone that said that you would shoot this person if she trespassed on your property?
"Fortunately I never needed to shoot anyone - but I would have, if the occasion occurred to do so." -dog gone
Mikeb, if there's anything that the history of governments teaches us, it's that when the people have to ask permission to do something, that thing becomes increasingly hard to do legally. Often, the people end up doing against the law what they ought to be able to do within it.
DeleteGreg, you sound like Chuck Norris.
DeleteYou mean that I make a pithy comment in a husky voice before kicking your butt?
Deletedog gone, no answer? I guess that makes you a liar and a hypocrite.
DeleteWhat's silly about your whole post is your thought that we do nothing but own guns and shoot. I'm currently working on a Modern English verse version of Chaucer's The Parliament of Fowls, and my publisher and I will be starting the editing soon on a novel. When it comes to woodworking, I often use traditional tools, rather than power ones, but I allow myself to be seduced by electricity when there's a lot of work that needs doing in short order. I could go on here, but this is enough for now. Laci, there's more to us than you could ever imagine.
ReplyDeleteYou're an exception in that, Greg. Most gun enthusiasts are one-trick ponies.
DeleteLet's be honest here, Mikeb. Most people are one-trick ponies. The world is full of opportunities, and too many allow them to pass by.
Delete"Most gun enthusiasts are one-trick ponies."
DeleteWhat is it that you do except whine about guns? Honest question here, you seem to have no life outside of this blog.
How would you possibly know something like that? In fact you could prove yourself wrong by looking at the time of my posting and commenting. But, you're not interested in what the truth is, you just wanna take a stupid shot at me.
DeleteUnlike your comment about "most gun enthusiasts"? You have no justification for complaining when someone attacks you, given the way that you attack us.
DeletePooch, let's hope you never have to DIY to put venison on your table. The deer are smarter than you, but then again, so is a cabbage.
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers
Orlon synthetic fluff for brains is dumber than my dogs.
DeleteAnd by the way, they hunt just fine, thank you. One of the latest batch up pups nabbed her first prey before she turned 6 months old.
I doubt you eat venison to survive; if most hunters priced out what it costs to hunt deer, they'd rely on food from the grocery store. It is not cost effective.
If I had to trust to one of the two of you being firearms proficient, or having good woods skills, it would be Laci.
Greg, any perusal of bookstores affirms how many really stupid authors there are; I'd rely on Laci's knowledge of Chaucer over yours any day.
In fact, we first got to know each other, Laci and I, through a lively discussion about historical inaccuracy in portrayals of the British monarchy, and the Miller's Tale.
You have yet to demonstrate you have any critical thinking skills, so I'm glad to hear you're proficient at whittling. At least you have less opportunity to seriously injure yourself or others doing that.
Dog Gone, you keep yammering about critical thinking skills, but you refuse to make a demonstration of your own. Tossing out insults isn't critical thinking. You can't show me errors in my thinking in any detail. All you're capable of doing is sneering and running away. When you're ready to have a detailed, point-by-point discussion of any subject, let me know.
DeleteYou claim not to be a hypocrite. You were threatened by a stalker. You got a gun and a carry license. But you constantly claim that no one needs a gun for self-defense. You say that none of us would be capable of defending ourselves with a gun. In that latter claim, you show your inflated view of yourself. Without providing evidence, you insist that you're better than we are. I'm still waiting for your resume. I'm still waiting for you to give us a list of your achievements.
But I'm not holding my breath.
Greg, did you just call my friend, DG, a haughty harridan? lol
Deleteorlin sellers
I didn't add harridan, since neither sex has exclusive ownership of haughtiness, but haughty she is.
DeleteShe yammers about critical thinking. Let's analyze our two respective views:
Dog Gone sees safety as the highest value. She uses the evidence of modern societies with few guns to support her position that America should pass strict gun control.
I value freedom. I recognize that while choice is dangerous, life without choice is not worth living. I also understand that her evidence is simplistic, since I can point to well-armed societies--the Czech Republic and Vermont, for examples--that are peaceful.
Both of our positions are "right" with respect to the values that we each hold. What she can't understand is that someone can reach a valid system of belief that differs from hers. That's not critical thinking. That's narrow-mindedness, a small view of the world.
Greg you hit the nail on the head. Dog gone's values revolve around a synthetic world where elite people determine everything and the masses live limited lives within that synthetic world. In her mind, it is no big deal if Big Government tells someone that they cannot build, purchase, or possess an inanimate object. What she fails to realize is that is a huge deal to other people.
DeleteMy dearest DG, I'm so sorry to hear you have dumb dogs.
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
orlin
Laci,
ReplyDelete"... my train of thought that these people [male U.S. citizens who own firearms] are incapable of tasks which require complex skills." That's the best you have?
I happen to own firearms and I also happen to enjoy Astronomy ... partly for the shear beauty of deep sky objects and partly for the Physics involved. While I take trips to dark sky locations, I also spend time in my observatory that I designed and built myself. And to get the most out of Astronomy, I have studied the function of the human eye so I can maximize the detail in the objects that I observe. As it turns out, your eye's ability to resolve objects in extremely low light is different than everyday experience would suggest. I also discovered and use a previously undocumented simple geometric configuration of stars when polar aligning my telescope on field trips. It allows me to set up rapidly and minimize the amount of time I need to make fine adjustments in my mount for perfect polar alignment. (Perfect polar alignment is only necessary for astro-photography which I enjoy quite often. The polar alignment method I discovered is plenty accurate for casual observing.)
So much for your statement that people who own and enjoy using firearms are not capable of complex skills. And you failed to even capitalize Messier properly. Your arrogance knows no bounds.
Laci stated,
ReplyDelete"Here we have deadly and dangerous weapons which people mistakenly believe is their "right" to own (Sorry, but the Second Amendment right is to belong to a Militia set up according to Article I, Section 8, Clause 16, but few people want THAT right)."
I always feel sorry for people who make statements like that. They claim that they know better than the Framers of our Constitution and the United States Supreme Court Justices.
It is really quite simple. Either you support the Social Contract and Natural Rights or you don't. I support the Social Contract and Natural Rights. I go about my life and make a concerted effort not to harm others. I engage in consensual business with others. I make my community a better place. My neighbors and community like and value me. And I leave other people alone to do whatever they wish with their lives as long as they are not trying to harm me.
What I just described doesn't work for people like Laci. They are not satisfied to live their lives. They want to control other people's lives as well. Of course most people naturally resist Laci's efforts so people like Laci try to deceive the masses with complex arguments about meaningless, ever changing objectives. When that doesn't work, people like Laci then throw temper tantrums and start insulting people and demanding that people submit to him because he is superior.
It's funny how that works. People like Laci fail to persuade people with simple reality so they revert to aggression -- the very act that they constantly accuse armed citizens of using on a daily basis.
Anonymous said,
Delete"People like Laci fail to persuade people with simple reality so they revert to aggression -- the very act that they constantly accuse armed citizens of using on a daily basis."
Of course gun control supporters do that. It's called projection. They know that they usually fail to persuade people to do what they want. And they know that they become infuriated and then escalate to aggression to try and force other people to do what they want.
The failure of gun control supporters is assuming that everyone else -- especially armed citizens -- function the same way. Of course they don't. Using aggression to force people to do what you want is criminal and leads to prison sentences. I am glad to report that most people walking around in public, which includes citizens who own firearms, are not criminals.
Speaking of doing things for one's self, I just finished bottling a batch of pale ale that I brewed at home.
ReplyDeleteHome brewing and carrying a gun everyplace you go are as incompatible as two activities can be. Thanks for the proof that you're not the safe and responsible character you claim to be. It seems you're more interested in being diversified in your eclectic activities. You've succeeded in impressing us with that. But as far as gun safety goes, you're just like the majority, lacking.
DeleteBecause it's so dangerous to to handle bottles and carry a firearm at the same time. Or is the close proximity of the ale going to make that firearm go on a killing spree all by itself?
DeleteHe never said drinking, now did he? He said home brewing. Home brewing and carrying a gun are NOT incompatible. DRINKING and carrying a gun are. Get your activities right, Mike. His statement proves absolutely nothing, except your inability to keep your knee from jerking.
DeleteMikeb, it's such fun watching you make a fool of yourself. Did I say that I get drunk and walk around waving a gun? What you're showing us is your hatred of guns and gun owners.
DeleteR U Stuupid? Run Forest Run!!!
ReplyDelete"you could build a deck in an afternoon with that!"
ReplyDeleteI don't think he literally meant you. He probably meant to say someone could build a deck in an afternoon. No, more likely he was just trying to make a sale. Based on your appearance, he had to have known that there is no way in hell you could do it. Just curious, did you wear your skirt there?