C CMar 29, 2018 06:30 PM (This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2018 06:32 PM by C C.)
(Mar 29, 2018 03:26 PM)Ben the Donkey Wrote: It's always interesting to see this debate conducted on an American forum, between Americans. I'm currently active (well, was until recently) on a forum in Australia, and the issue of gun control in the USA is very much a topic of conversation all over the world, as far as I can tell. It'd be interesting to know where you all come from, as in which specific state of the USA.
If this forum is perceived as "North American" rather than international or even UK grounded, it's purely by circumstance. The core group that originally followed Stryder over here just happened to largely be from that side of the pond. Back then "Mr Doodlebug" was at least from the UK, but he eventually disappeared along with Indiana-based "cluelusshusbund".
Although it likely swings the other way on some of the campus towns of the region (similar to how the city of Austin is a blueberry in the tomato soup of Texas, Madison in Wisconsin is proposed to be an anomaly[*], etc)... I'm currently amidst a collection of counties which probably in terms of the views of their majority population would be against excessive gun-control, against abortion, in favor of capital punishment, etc. Regardless of whatever virtue-signaling they might contrarily utter if a microphone was presented to their faces.
- - - footnote ---
[*]During an interview years ago, I remember Shirley Manson glancingly remarking on being startled by Madison resembling some kind of Euro oasis, when she first started tentatively exploring being the singer for Garbage.
(Mar 29, 2018 03:26 PM)Ben the Donkey Wrote: It's always interesting to see this debate conducted on an American forum, between Americans.
I'm currently active (well, was until recently) on a forum in Australia, and the issue of gun control in the USA is very much a topic of conversation all over the world, as far as I can tell.
It'd be interesting to know where you all come from, as in which specific state of the USA.
To my mind, there's a lot of things missed in the international debate due to a lack of knowledge of American history. I like to think I know a fair bit about it, and can understand the various points of view presented here as well, from multiple standpoints... which is why I have difficulty making up my own mind on the subject.
There is a lot of data available out there regarding gun ownership and use in the USA, for anyone who wants to build an understanding of the subject. But that data isn't being used...or, at least, it is not being used intelligently and in an objective manner.
I think Americans need to understand more of their own history, and the data surrounding issue itself, in order to fully understand and be able to conduct this debate intelligently, but unfortunately they don't. Or they don't appear to.
It is disconcerting for foreigners to try to lecture us on our own politics and country. But I guess that should be chalked up to a nationalistic pride in their own country and national values. They seem to have a much more vested interest in the US than we have of them and their politics. But I guess much of the world's security and prosperity is tied to the US.
It's hard to have intelligent discussions of the data when one side makes wholly emotional arguments. Data alone would be talking right past them, since they would never engage with anything but cherry-picked leftist memes. I refer you to this entire thread as example.
I live in Oregon, an essentially Blue state. I have my doubts that our American history has much relevance in the guns issue. I mean, we all used to ride horses. But that suddenly became outdated one day. In the same way, our reliance on guns has changed thru the progressive development of our society. It is no longer necessary to rely on guns, despite the cliche rationalizations of gun nuts. We are a democracy that relies on laws and law enforcement. We get our food from grocery stores and butcher shops---the absurd excuses of rural gun nuts notwithstanding: self-defense! If you are such an asshole that you need a gun to protect yourself, you need to rethink how you are living your life.
"National" politics is very archaic in a internet driven globalist world.
For countries with true democracies, attempting to view what goes on in the world and cherry picking the best possible methods from the myriad of countries political systems is a way to evolve to a better democratic system. (A technocracy to some extent) However it's easy to consider narrow sightedly observing through rose tinted spectacles and ignore those people that are out there to undermine such utopic envisionment, as the wealth of gains and power from control can be obtain from doing so. (Consider Cambridge Analytica etc)
The former Obama director of integration and media analytics stated that, during the 2012 campaign, Facebook allowed the Obama team to “suck out the whole social graph”; Facebook “was surprised we were able to suck out the whole social graph, but they didn’t stop us once they realized that was what we were doing.” She added, “They came to [the] office in the days following election recruiting & were very candid that they allowed us to do things they wouldn’t have allowed someone else to do because they were on our side.”
Mar 29, 2018 06:30 PM
(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2018 06:32 PM by C C.)
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