Guns for the poor!

1. 0

   Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years ago

   I think a good way of evening out inequality in society is to only allow poor people to have guns. Rich people in favour of gun ownership frequently say "If evil people have guns then we must have guns too". This is a reasonable sentiment but unfortunately they themselves are often the evil people with guns.
   
   Rich people don't need guns because they can afford to live in low crime areas. As poor people don't have this option they alone have the right to bare arms paid for by the tax payer. Rich tax payers shouldn't complain about this system because it will be cheaper than having a police force. Axeing the police force will create more than enough funds to pay for this scheme.
   
   During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina the authorities took away the guns of devastated survivors but did not give them any protection as a substitute. Police forces are supposed to exist to protect you but all they do is stop you from protecting yourself.
   
   So I think this move would be a big step in solving both crime and inequality.

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      BDazzlerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know where you got your information but I live on the Gulf coast and the athorities I was dealing with were encouraging private use of guns as protection from lawlessness and to prevent more looting.

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      pylos26posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Andrew...I know you have a degree from MIT...but are you absolutely sure about this???

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         Ralph Deedsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Ted Kaczynski was a genius who had a BA from Harvard and a Phd in math from University of Michigan.

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   RKHenryposted 15 years ago

   U 4 real?

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   Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years ago

   I suppose if you were living in DownTown New Orleans getting mugged and raped everyday and someone offered you a gun for free you'd say no?!?

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      RKHenryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      yes

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      BDazzlerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      OK, just a little addtional clarification ... when the statistics say one person is mugged and one person is raped per day in New Orleans ... it's not the same person every day.

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         Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Yet another ROFL! Good thread, keep them coming guys, just wait a sec, let me grab my popcorn

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         Ralph Deedsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Well, that's good news! Variety is the spice of life!

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         Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         You  have heard of exaggeration being used to emphasise a point?

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            BDazzlerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Nope, and I never heard of using sarcasm to make a joke either.

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               Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               Really! You're missing out...on so little.

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                  BDazzlerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  

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   Paragliderposted 15 years ago

   So, your scenario is - a well armed underclass, an unprotected middle class and no police?

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   Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years ago

   Underclass= Guns for free Middleclass= Have to pay for guns Upperclass= No guns. The police are publicly owned security guards. You don't keep paying idiots who don't do their job.

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      WHoArtNowposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Here's an idea for you,
      
      How about NO guns for anyone?!
      
      If no one has a gun, then no one can start shooting people.

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         Ralph Deedsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         GREAT IDEA! I wonder why it hasn't occurred to our representatives in the Capitol?

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      Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Well, this sure is an entertaining thread. Guns for the poor.
      
      Surely they would end up selling the guns to buy food instead? That is what I would do, although if you dished out 250 million guns on the taxpayers dime, I guess they would be real cheap. Would they get a weekly supply of bullets too? Or is that the catch - Chris Rock's $5,000 bullet.
      
      You don't happen to work for Smith and Wesson do you?

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         Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         ROFL
         
         Somehow I did not think of such a possibility

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   maven101posted 15 years ago

   Here's an idea...add liquor to the food stamp program, create a Department of Pot Empowerment ( DOPE ), pass out free birth control kits, and only allow women on police forces....Now, that is change we can believe in....Mardi Gras every day..!!!!

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      WHoArtNowposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Wahooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I'd so move my ass to the states if all that happened!
      
      So it's a good thing I'm use to this crappy British weather!

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7. 0

   Leta Sposted 15 years ago

   Is this supposed to be like, A Modest Proposal or something?

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8. 59

   knolyourselfposted 15 years ago

   I remember when the police went on strike in San Francisco. You want to see some freaked out people. Just go into a corner store at 9 oclock at night. And they had guns.

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      Leta Sposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I'll bet.  But I love San Francisco.  And I've stayed in the Tenderloin!  Didn't seem that bad--except for the homeless and possibly the hookers...  lol
      
      Maybe they should arm the homeless.  Now that would be fun! 

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         Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Better arm hookers - guarantees much more fun

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   Leta Sposted 15 years ago

   Actually, I think you're wrong there, Misha....  Armed hookers could control some things,
   And possibly it would be much less fun for some...

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    Mishaposted 15 years ago

    And much more for others

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    Rochelle Frankposted 15 years ago

    Yes-- level the playing field for everyone.    If we all are armed , there will be a lot of leveling. (This is mild sarcasm.)
    
    I don't disagree with letting people protect themselves.
    The  fact IS at this point: the genie is out of the bottle-- or Pandora has lifted the lid-- in  the USA.
    
    There is no  possible way to disarm the  whole population by law.
    
    You can only disarm the  "law- abiding" citizens if you pass an anti-gun statute.
    Would you feel safer if all of the 'good' people lost their protection of last resort, and all of the law-breakers kept theirs?

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    Leta Sposted 15 years ago

    I really don't know how I feel about gun control.  I mean--absolutely there should be gun control laws.  I'm thinking perhaps separate sets of rules--one for urban areas, one for rural areas.
    
    My own father collected guns--lots of old guns.  Hobby.  He really didn't have a strong opinion on the issue, lol. 
    
    On the other hand, there is a well-off family here whose daughter works for the NRA, and it is like they are insane.  They travel around to this and that event & the hoopla seems a bit crazy to me.  Its one of those issues that has been highly politicized.

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       Ralph Deedsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       There are crazy. And the worst effect of the National Rifle Association is not on gun control. It is that NRA money and support help elect a bunch of right wing, knuckle dragging Congressmen and Senators who oppose stem cell research, deny global warming, support teaching creationism and oppose sex education in public schools, etc, etc..
       
       http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti … 9903040382 Road rage shooting on freeway
       
       http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti … 0990309055 Minister shot and killed at pulpit

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    earnestshubposted 15 years ago

    America will not disarm, too many looneys have them now to disarm the general populace. America needs money for the poor so they don't have to do crime to eat.

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       Amy Gposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       People with no money have an option, just like the rest of us.  They can GET A JOB.  Then they can eat.  They're cowards who take the easy way out.  There's no integrity, no honesty, no empathy or sympathy for anything or anyone.  They can flip a burger in lieu of selling drugs.
       The poor don't need to be GIVEN anything.  They need to put on their big girl panties, quit crying, and go earn a living like the rest of us do.  And if they come looking for MY money, I will put one in their head and one in their heart. 
       
       Exit Soapbox.

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    Amy Gposted 15 years ago

    Andrew - You're retarded.  When all hell breaks loose, you'll be the first person shot by the poor people that you funded weapons for.  Congrats, hero.

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    knolyourselfposted 15 years ago

    "People with no money have an option, just like the rest of us.  They can GET A JOB." For a person who has not a job, and cannot find one, you sure are 
    cavalier about what others should do when times are tough. I always found it smug with self-pity mixed, that people in the richest counties in America simply could not understand why people in the poorest, didn't just go out and get a job.

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    Paragliderposted 15 years ago

    ((Andrew - You're retarded.}}
    
    Isn't it great when people are politically correct enough not to say "Andrew - You're mental" but not politically correct enough to refrain from personal insults?
    
    And I'm not even Andrew
    
    jings

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       BDazzlerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Seriously, I thought "mental" was more politically correct than "retarded" ... still it's a nutso idea.  I still think he must have meant it as a joke.

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    Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years ago

    I've been told mental illness comes from a lack of security. Having a gun makes you feel secure. If we give all mentally ill people a gun it would be the end of mental illness.

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       Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Wouldn't it be safer to give them a blanket?

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       RKHenryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Really?  Take time to re-read your post.  I believe that you'll see that that was an awful thing to say. Mental retardation has nothing to do with being secure.

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          Andrew Hawkleyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          I wasn't suggesting it would make them commit suicide if that's what you are worried about. Giving them a blanket would infantilise them and make them feel weaker. Giving them a gun will empower them and make them feel stronger with a sense of responsibility. Pity is the worst form of insult. You are the one being offensive in my opinion.

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             RKHenryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

             Who said anything about you being offensive?  I just suggested that you re-read your post.  I never said it was OFFENSIVE!  Get a life dude.

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    knolyourselfposted 15 years ago

    "If we give all mentally ill people a gun it would be the end of mental illness."
    Thought they already had guns. How else we gettin' these mass murders daily or every couple of weeks.

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    knolyourselfposted 15 years ago

    "mentally ill people" may or may not feel weak, but sort of besides the point. They are dilusional. This means a dilusion with a gun might take you, just by chance encoulter, as someone so dangerous to themselves, they might need to shoot you, which why they are not allowed to own guns.

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    WHoArtNowposted 15 years ago

    This is one of the funniest threads I've seen in ages! (retarded is such a great word!)
    
    Personally, if you give all the mentally ill people in America a gun, your going to have 2 pretty big problems.
    
    1. Half of them will probably kill themselves - thats a lot of dead people.
    2. The other half, will go out and rob/rape/murder people with said guns.
    
    I know that America giving up it's right to a gun is like asking them to give up their right to SUV's and McDonalds (it's never going to happen) But you seriously need some new gun laws!
    
    Last night, in the town I live in (100,000 people) we had an incident with the Police arresting someone in the middle of the pedestrian zone. It was 7pm, town was pretty busy (students mainly) This isn't that exciting, except they were armed police arresting a guy (mid 40's) because he was walking about with an air rifle, oh yeah, and they shot him. The majority of people had never seen a real gun before, so crowds drew quickly. This is how it should be. Give the good guys guns, and let them have an edge on the bad guys.
    
    I should point out though, that they shot him with a baton round. You see, you can shoot someone without killing them!
    
    http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/n … ticle.html
    
    (that's BIG news for us!)

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    knolyourselfposted 15 years ago

    Home town story refreshing. Never heard of a baton round. What like - a rubber bullet? At any rate in America they just kill em, they don't fool around with all this namby pamby baton round stuff.

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       WHoArtNowposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Yeah, it's our fancy way of saying "rubber Bullet". We don;t go in for the "kill" so much any more, especially not after the who London Underground shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

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    Amy Gposted 15 years ago

    Okay, I'll just re-word my post for the sake of argument:
    
    Andrew, are you mental? 
    
    There, all better now.  And for the record, I can't find a job either.  IN MY FIELD.  That's why I'm going outside of my field to accomodate that need.  Poor people CAN get a job, even if it's for minimal pay.  Any pay is a step in the right direction. In my experience, people are too picky or too proud to take any job they can get, and that is the real issue.  I'm a professional firefighter/Paramedic.  Since those jobs are very difficult to come by in the city I live in, I am willing to temporarily flip burgers, mop floors or wash cars.  It's a paycheck.  I have a really big problem with people being babied as soon as they stumble on tough times.  I'm a product of tough times; we were never rich growing up, half the time we were told to go easy on the dinner because we have to eat the same pan of stuff tomorrow.  We did, and we did it with a smile, because we GOT BY.  I'm not a rich adult now, either.  Nor do I care if I'm ever rich.  I enjoy my work, or any work that challenges me and involves me in something.
    
    "Poor people" have access to all the same jobs the rest of us do, and don't forget that education is widely available to support the poor man's dream.  In fact, there is government money laying around all over the place out there JUST FOR people down on their luck to go to school. 
    
    "Poor" isn't a condition, a disease, or a disability.  It's a roadblock on the way through life, and people with no money will either choose to live with it and feed off of the government for the rest of their lives, or they will pick themselves up and rebuild their lives. 
    
    I mean no disrespect to people who are down and out... I've been there more than once.  But this idea that they are stuck there with no apparent way out is B.S. Below is a phenomenal website for finding money for school, especially if you like to write. It's the only reason I was able to get a college education.
    
    <no promotional links, please>
    
    Peace.  Really.

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    VENUGOPAL SIVAGNAposted 15 years ago

    Poor need no guns.. if you give guns to them, they may surely sell them. Better think of enough nutritious food, better clothing, honourable living space, education for children and health.  If a poor man gets a gun, he wont hesitate to take what he wants from the rich.  The present anarchy everywhere is enough and dont think of spreading more.

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    knolyourselfposted 15 years ago

    Guns and meds for the poor. Been looking for someone to do this kind of correlation for a long time. Today bingo. I always look to see what meds these shooters have been taking, but the press either does not see a connection or is prevented from such mention by the drug industry.
    http://www.ssristories.com/index.php

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