i hate guns.
let's get rid of them!
go to
guns are stupid
and add YO FACE to the petition.
"There are approximately 639 million small arms in the world today.
Eight million new weapons are produced every year.
Nearly 60 per cent of small arms are in civilian hands.
The annual number of bullets produced is more than double the world's population"
posted by Natalie @ 9:59 pm
82 Comments:
Hmmm... guns can be ok. It depends.
Guns pointed at people = bad.
Guns pointed at animals = good.
The math is simple
No Pete!! Guns pointed at animals is NOT good!
I don't even like kids playing with toy guns.... I don't think they are good!
(personal opinion I guess)
They are never good. They are bad. Very bad. They are scary. They are dangerous. Most guns end up going off by acident and hurting people they aren't intended to hurt. And animals are small and furry and don't deserve guns pointed at them. They are just bad all round.
The guns. Not the animals.
that's right! the plastic ones and virtual ones are just as bad, they teach children that guns are a normal, everyday thing. and that they are 'fun'.
LIES.
Probably the best way to get rid of small arms would be to get rid of small _people_.
I tried it but it just came up with "Form processed"... maybe it doesn't like my face?
But if we didn't have guns how would we kill the bears to make hats for the Queen's guards?
Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair...
I don't like this stereotyping that all guns are bad. It's a good recreational sport. And little brothers can attack each other with BB Guns instead of attacking their sisters.
Pens can be lethal. Should we ban them?
Different opinons for different people.
I still don't like guns and my children won't play with toy ones because I don't think it is teaching them something good!
I do however think guns can be ok perhaps at a shooting range where it is kept safe etc...
Targets that are not animals or people is much better!
What about possums? Or rabbits?
Possums and rabbits have feelings too. Especially my pet bunny Utor, who is so soft and fluffy.
Guns on a shooting range are theoretically harmless, but they are still conveying the message that shooting is fun and appropriate. It's only a matter of time before someone misappropriates that message and shoots a live target. Still, shotguns and machine guns shouldn't be allowed, even if you can justify the use of a rifle.
Mark, I'm not even going to dignify your comment about the bears with an answer!
Melissa, as for the pens, they clearly have uses that are non-lethal and most people wouldn't consider using them for harmful purposes (or know how!). However, guns are designed with the idea to kill. There are no beneficial aspects to guns whatsoever. Just bad. Hence, why they shouldn't be allowed.
I agree with Melissa: shooting people is a good recreational sport.
And pens should be banned. Every school child should have their pens replaced with AK47s immediately.
In an effort to show missy toto that guns have non-lethal uses, I will now endeavour to use my pistol to write her a strongly-worded letter...
"I still think it's the biggest female pile of crap that I've seen in a long time."
Why do you consider a dislike of guns to be a feminine trait? (I was also unaware that piles of crap could be gendered...)
"It's all about education, not denial."
I agree. When I was young, I played with toy guns. They were fun. Then I grew up. I am better educated now than when I was young. So now I believe that guns are wrong.
But how will we protect the furry little bunnies and possums from predators if we don't have guns?
you're all just idiots. idiots can be educated, so your argument is very redundant and i am not even going to bother replying. so there. stupid boy!
Think of the kittens!
indeed
knives and fists and teeth are a million times better than guns. at least with those things you have a chance to get away/fight back.
i don't mind boys playing with swords and things, at least there is an element of skill involved.
but as far as i can see, guns are only good for when you want to de-avalanche a mountain or blow open the windows on a plane with snakes in it.
Save the bunny rabbits!
Save the mummy bears too!
(Oh and it's not just females who do not like guns!)
Most guns end up going off by acident and hurting people they aren't intended to hurt.
I don't think this is correct. I suspect that most guns either go off intentionally hurting the people they are intended to hurt or go off intentionally hurting the animal or humanesque target they are intended to hurt. While some certainly go off by accident or with inadequate consideration, I think the people fighting in conflicts around the world have a fair idea of what they are trying to do.
I wasn't talking about guns in warfare. I was talking about guns in people's homes. I was also specifically referring to an American statistic (can't remember the exact figure though), so probably very different for New Zealand where we don't have random people with guns in their glove boxes.
To be serious for once, I believe people should only have guns for hunting animals that are pests - possums, goats, rabbits etc. No civilian should need a pistol or a machine gun.
Having said that, what do you do if guns are already prolific? In South Africa it's (apparently) quite common to drive around with a gun on your dashboard, to avoid getting carjacked. I have heard of other places where churches often get attacked. If one person in the church has a gun, the people don't attack it (and instead attack another church).
It's easy for us in New Zealand to say anti-person guns are stupid and nobody should have them, because we have had such good gun control over our history that we don't need them. We aren't really afraid of people with guns in New Zealand, because there aren't all that many.
Now I think gun control is a good thing, and if I had my way nobody outside of the military would have anything other than a hunting rifle, but it's not as easy and simple as it appears from down here.
Apparently 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens each year...
woah, controversial post nat.
to add my 10 cents (since there's no longer a smaller denomination - not because I think I'm smarter than the average bear, fuzzy or not)...
it seems to me that it all comes down to whether you think shooting animals is ok, and how you feel about death.
if shooting animals is okay, then guns are justified, because it's a use for them that doesn't involve human murder.
if shooting animals is not okay, then guns are just stoopid because all they do is kill stuff.
i'm on the fence for this one. i don't like to see or cause death - yet i must acknowledge that without it, the world would be (possibly) more screwed up than it already is. guns seem to be responsible for a lot of death. old yeller was put out of his rabid misery with a gun - i'd hate to think what that would have looked like with a knife, an arrow or even a blunt implement.
in conclusion, like so many things on this crazy earth, there is no absolute (that i can see) just lots of grey.
God, fix it!! (...please)
It's funny because the amnesty thing has absolutely nothing to do with shooting animals... the big issue about violence and human suffering is being overshadowed by emotional nonsense...
If we don't kill possums, ferrets, rats and other pests, then we're killing native birds by our inactions. By being silly and emotional and saying "but killing animals is wrong!" we're causing more damage and sufering than if we just shot the pests...
Anyway, we should be careful to keep "don't shoot people" and "don't shoot animals" as separate issues. One is noble, the other is a bit extreme and silly.
so not shooting animals is "extreme and silly"? ...
so you're also exempt from the "emotional nonsense"?
ideally, humans wouldn't have been stupid enough to introduce pests in the first place, but since we're beyond that i agree that something needs to be done. but i disagree that something should involve guns.
I shouldn't debate things over the internet... I always get too emotionally involved...
So... umm... in conclusion... look, kittens!
dave, you're cute :)
"I shouldn't debate things over the internet... I always get too emotionally involved..."
Scenario A:
Tra-la-la-la-la. I'm just a cute, little, fluffy bunny hopping around on the first day of spring. Oh what a beautiful day. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the sky is blue. *BANG!* Ow! Searing pain in my lower spine. What is that warm, red liquid gushing forth? I can't feel my legs. I can't move. I'm cold, so very cold. Everything is becoming dark. Mother, mother, where are you? I'm scared...
Scenario B:
Tra-la-la-la-la. I'm just a hard-working, morally upright conservation worker walking through the forest on the first day of spring. Oh what a beautiful day. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the sky is blue. Oh no! There's an evil, dirty, rabid dog just about to kill the world's last surviving female kakapo. I can't get there in time to help. If only I had some kind of weapon that enabled me to kill the dog from a long distance...
If only humans had invented some sort of contained area where they keep animals and have breeding programmes for the last remaining female kakapos....
Alas, such fenced enclosures are beyond our wildest imagination.
I know!! Let's get some guns instead. And turn all the old coins into ammunition. Far easier.
That won't stop possums from killing our native bush though, they're far too widespread. Fences would only work if we kill all the possums in an area first.
I think we can all agree that life would be much more exciting if everyone had a gun.
mark, it's disturbing the number of times you claim to be a cute fluffy bunny. is there some underlying reason for this? come on, share with us
I was meaning more like a zoo. I.e. Put the birdies in the zoo so they will be safe from the possums. But I guess my theory has issues.
i understood exactly what you were saying missy toto :)
I don't really have anything to say, I was just hoping to get in the last word.
zugzwang
"mark, it's disturbing the number of times you claim to be a cute fluffy bunny."
I can only recall having claimed to be a cute, fluffy bunny on one occasion. Fluffy bears
on the other hand...
bunnies, bears, they all start with B... :)
apparently it's the new cool thing to get the last word. i wonder if anyone will let me have it
HA!
no chance
LAST????!!!!!!!
wibble
Soon we'll be beating Mark's evil blog!
In conclusion: It's our evolutionary responsibility to shoot things. People. Animals. Whatever.
Children.
I concur. More children should be shot.
Just not my children please!!
No... they get spared of course. Only naughty children.
Of course not your children. I was going to add a disclaimer with my comment, but then figured it was implicit that all cool children would be saved. Any child who watches Spongebob Squarepants would also be spared.
I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready.
Yes my children are ALWAYS angels!
And they LOVE spongebob!!
(ok.... so they're naughty sometimes.....)
... last ? ...
HA HA!
not th elast...
yes I have kind of missed the boat on this but oh well here is my two cents...well actually 10 cents since coins of a smaller denomination are now an endangered species.....
I think we cant get rid of all guns because sometimes they are neccessary in the sometimes screwed up world we live in (because the "bad" people have them - yes let's not argue about this I am simplifiying for simple's sake e.g. HITLER). So sometimes they have a purpose (I guess defence).
But I do not think that people should be able to have guns for guns sake. For goodness sakes there are many other ways to have fun than shooting (and yes I have shot a gun and it was great fun, but I am able to find other things equally as fun).
If you have guns for guns sake (right to bear arms anyone?) then you end up with
a) too many people with guns who can run around and shoot other people (or small furry animals)
b) everyone else "having" to get guns to defend themselves
....I believe there is some fancy term for it like arms escalation.... Mark will know.
South African or USA anyone???
blah blah enough from me....
Good post Nat!
I think what Teri's trying to say is that we all deserve to have guns, and should use them at our descretion, and no-one can take that right from us.
YOU HAVE SINGULARITY EVIL FOR NOT GUNS BELIEVING! ACADAMEIA DESTROYS YOUR MIND BY SUPPRESSING GUN VIEW! -1 x -1 = 1 IS WRONG AND STUPID! ONLY FOUR DIMENSIONAL TIME CUBE OF CUBIC FOUR SIDES WILL SAVE MAN FROM SINGULARITY EVIL!
Pete, I thought she was saying the exact opposite...??
"But I do not think that people should be able to have guns for guns' sake"
Spongebob should run for prime minister! Think about what a wonderfully happy world we would live in if he was in charge...there would definitely be no guns...we would all have "imagination boxes" and blowing bubbles would be a compulsory extra-curricular activity. I love Spongebob!!
And, twinmum, by proxy I love your children :)
Yes, but try to imagine Sponegbob running the economy.
"If you have guns for guns sake (right to bear arms anyone?) then you end up with...everyone else "having" to get guns to defend themselves....I believe there is some fancy term for it like arms escalation....Mark will know."
I think the common term is: 'The United States of America'
You're right Spongebob would be terrible at the economy...however, perhaps he could put Mr Krabbs in charge. Which I admit, would lead to a very frugal state of affairs, but I guess that's a small price to pay for the utter wonderfulness of having a sponge in charge.
Perhaps Dangerous Dave and Spongebob could go into coalition together. I'm sure Dave would have some good points for the economy. Even if he didn't, the increased availability of jetpack would surely be worth it :)
woah, over 60 comments!! nice one Nat :)
Tez, I love how you and I started off our comments with the same statement about two cents...great minds think alike?
Stuff the fence, I want a gun!! Where can I get it? I need to shoot things!
(beware, my opinions have been altered by unseasonable weather and the fact that I had to wear my gloves outside...that, and Christian had a dream that I was an angry, thieving, destructive lunatic...)
Perhaps his presidency isn't far off:
http://churchofspongebob.tripod.com/about.html
(apologies that I don't have the computer nous to turn this into a hyperlink)
Speaking of presidency...
for those that dislike copy-pasting (...like lazy moi),
here is missy toto's spongebob link.
missy toto, links are a piece of cake for a smart lady like yourself.
alls you gotta do is put the link tags on either side of the address and the text you want to display.
NOTE, where I've put these brackets [ ], you need to use these brackets < > (blogger don't like unfinished html in comments).
it always begins with this: [a href=
and then you put the address in "http://www.....
and then you put another one of these ]
then you put the text you want to display
(like 'spongebob link', above)
then you round it all up with one of these [/a] which says, stop linking now please mr computer head!
gotcha? try posting a link to natalie's blog :)
more than mark.
sixty-sixth comment!!
beat that mr f-d!!!!!
You mean like
and then you put the address in "http://www.....
and then you put another one of these">this ?
I wonder if it works if I do this:
< a href="http://www.someaddress.com" > bla bla < /a >
and you just remove the spaces to make it work...
What about:
<a href="http://www.someaddress.com"> bla bla</a>
I wonder if that worked...
Oh no, more than Mark!
I hope he won't
get
jealous.
Of course he is! So I just found out that you guys can't post comments on my journal unless you have livejournal accounts. No wonder I don't get many comments. And all along I thought it was either that people didn't bother to read my blog or they didn't like me or have anything to say. Ha (come on you know you want to take that bait). Maybe I should be 'bi-blogual'* like Mark.
* neologism just for you, Huggies.
sorry, been done before...
it's still a neologism though, or so says me. thank you ruth :)
How about triblogual? Yeah I did a google search and someone else has used it once... because technically if I set up a blogger or something that would make three. I forgot about my other one- I never use it.
Why oh why is it so hard to find articles saying what I want them to say??
Here are loads of articles saying what you want them to say
tee hee hee. I kind of found some in the end. I dunno, but my reference list is sitting at 42 articles/chapters, so hopefully between them I have enough support for what I'm saying.
last
Hehehe!!
Not last Dave!
You can not defeat me!
I CAN!!
Dave sneaks in for the win!
And Dave is still in the lead!
I think guns should be banned forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever...... Okay, you get the idea, right?
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