the emotion of it all
I've read all the posts in this thread so far, and even if I don't agree on some intellectual & ethical level with some, I can sort of feel where many are coming from on an emotional level, some of them even rooted in some past or repressed worldview of my own. Not to get touchy/feely (on a gun forum? are you kidding?), but it seems to me there's more pain and anger being expressed in this forum than compassion. That's not a judgement as good or bad, just an observation.
It seems parallel in some ways to some of the pain that must be being felt - and released - in New Orleans and other parts of Gulf Coast US right now.
I read
this story earlier today:
'Thousands dead' in New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina is thought to have killed hundreds, probably thousands of people in New Orleans, the city's mayor, Ray Nagin, has said.
Mr Nagin said there were significant numbers of corpses in the waters of the flood-stricken city, while many more people may be dead in their homes.
There would be a total evacuation of the city, he said, warning it could be months before residents could return.
I dunno, after reading it, finally, i felt an emotional impact. Up until then, it was just intellectual. Images, analysis of the devastation, a few human stories. But reading about thousands dead, with corpses in the rising waters, well, the human tragedy finally sunk in.
Yesterday, in another post, i expressed the foolish nature of looting for non-survival needs, like tv's & jewelry.
(I also expressed disapproval of even buying tv's and jewelry by any of us when there are more important things to spend money on, but i said it in a stupid, derogatory way. Apologies; it was the punk in me speaking during the emotion of reading this thread and some of the things that were being written - hey, cut me some slack, I'm a drummer, and everybody knows we're wacko. If you're into jewelry & tvs, more power to you as long as you don't loot it.)
However, I'm probably standing closest to Gunpacker's view:
Seems to me that some of you guys are on the wrong site, and should go to "The Low Road". It is amazing to see the absoluters that have no real idea of what circumstances are, to sit and ignore the simple fact that whatever the reasons, these folks don't deserve to die by thirst or starvation. Also to think that there are absolutely no legitimate reasons for these people to be trapped is not very bright. Some seem to have a slightly abnormal desire to see people shot for trying to survive, even if they were stupid. Not criminal, but maybe stupid. Whatever, to advocate that they simply sit by and die because of their circumstance is not what any civilized person would advocate. There may be a number of scum as there always are, but many are simply unfortunate. Including a large number of children. Even if I got my children into an unfortunate circumstance because of my own stupidity, I would still do whatever is necessary and in my power to help them survive.
Yeah. I find that humans - and i'm one of those - don't always think clearly about things at first. We tend to draw some pretty fast conclusions about far away events, seeking simple interpretations without thinking through the complexities.
It's understandable - we all do it at times cause we want easy answers, and want to feel like we're in control of reality somehow, or at least our little sliver of it. But it's just not always simple unless you're right there in the thick of it, experiencing it. Something tells me, I can't even begin to imagine what those people - looters or not - are going through right now.
I'm thinking about all those poor folks still there tonight (with considerably less sympathy for the looters taking non-survival related items), and those that have to continue to endure that hell for ... how many more weeks?
I'm really glad to have a roof, a dry bed, some food, and enough water to both drink and bathe in.
N~
), so this is a warning so you can avoid reading the article. For others, plenty of examples (and photo) of folks armed to defend themselves, their homes, their property. Applause all around!
