Rant

[Fosbery]

Watching the news today. Two gang murders in London with guns. Newsreader was reading out emails from viewers on the subject and a couple got me very angry (well, not 'Oh dear lord, you just washed my 1972 Chevrolet Corvette with a bucket of rocks'-angry, but 'those people are complete idiots'-angry).

Anyway, one viewer said that kids arn't taught how dangerous drugs and guns are until they're in secondary school (that would be highschool on your side of the pond) and that they should be taught earlier. Well yes, kids should be taught about drugs and guns earlier but I think a parent taking their child out and teaching them to shoot safely or a teacher showing them how to use drugs safely and explaining the dangers/risks etc so they can make an informed decision would be a better idea (you may not agree with me on the drugs, but I think we'll all agree on the guns).

Well, that didn't get me so angry, what got me angry was: "The only way to solve gun crime is to increase the powers of police to stop and search".

'Stop and search' is a little phrase for when a police officer can, well, stop you and then search you. Usually you have to have a good reason to do this, like someone accusing you of stealing something. But there are some areas in cities where you can be stopped and searched randomly for no reason at all, and I believe there are other times they can do this, like before or after a football match. I'm not too up on it to be honest, I should really learn more but you get the idea.

Anyway, I was screaming at the TV for a couple of minutes after that, something about "maybe if the government and the damned thought police kept their noses out of people's business and maybe if people could actually protect themselves and maybe if we taught kids to be responsible we might not be in the mess we're in" except with a lot more expletives. The missus had to come and calm me down lol.

Anyway, rant over

 

[gbran]

As someone else here said...........

Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.

 

[Oldnamvet]

Isn't it amazing that the human race has lasted as long as it has? We certainly aren't getting any smarter. If we extrapolate, how long before we have a world dictatorship in the name of being "safe".

 

[2TransAms]

But there are some areas in cities where you can be stopped and searched randomly for no reason at all

So just run away. Heard they can't chase ya anymore.

So someone in authority gives someone else the authority to see what you're doing and see what you're carrying,even though you're doing nothing wrong or suspicious to start with? Who let that slide through?

 

[Cliff47]

I know what you mean about the kids entering the work force not knowing how to make change/count your change back to you. The local DQ has a couple of these mental pygmies, and one is the shift supervisor. Most of the time they just shove your change back to you. If you ask them to count the change back to you, they look at you like you were speaking Swahili with a Brooklyn accent (not to offend anyone from Brooklyn). Kinda sorry, kinda sad.

 

[Oldnamvet]

I teach in college. Ask some students to multiply 5 x 12 and they will haul out the calculator, laboriously enter the numbers, and sometimes give you the wrong answer since they fat fingered the calculator buttons or just don't know how to use it. Sorry it is so far off topic but is indicative of how many logical thought processes are becoming mindless. The logic involved with firearms is just one indication of this.

 

[ptmmatssc]

Todays youth just are not the same . Who to blame? Well we could start with the pC crap and the fears ( guns ,drugs , etc etc ) . When I was in Junior high we had a hunter safety course and part of the curriculum was to bring in your hunting rifle ( if you had one ,) , and let the teacher/ instructor inspect to make sure it was safe . This meant we brought our guns to school! Also as part of the course we would go to the range and practice proper and safe shooting . Try to do that today and you'll be looking through some nice steel bars . Funny thing is , the kids that had taken this course were the most responsible people I knew concerning firearms and seemed to be much more mature than ones that didn't .


And yes , I have to agree that todays youth are not being taught the way they should be . To much emphasis on 'everyones a winner" (someone has to lose) , PC language ( cmon , I'm french and calling me a frog doesn't effect my ability to surpass you in everything) , talking of guns as killers rather than protectors, and having teachers scared to actually teach because they are afraid they might get fired or sued for actually TEACHING the kids something .

 

[AndyC]

Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars

Now I like that - mind if I borrow it?

 

[Wes Janson]

I'm currently enrolled in a community college (aka school for the dumb).

About a week ago, I walked up to the teacher after class to ask about something. Another student walked up ahead of me, and proceeded to have the following exchange with the teacher:

Teacher: "What can I do for you?"
Student: "Uhhhmm, I went to the 'lie-barry' and couldn't find a map."
Teacher: "I don't follow you."
Student: "You told us at the beginning of the year to buy a map for class. Well, I went to the lie-barry and they don't have none."
Teacher: "You mean you went to the campus library and tried to buy the map that you were supposed to buy with your textbook from the bookstore? Why on earth did you go to the library?"
Student: "Wait, there's a difference?"
*teacher looks at me*
Me: "The bookstore sells books. The library loans them to you."
Student: *gets a really odd look on his face* "Right, well, yeah, alright, thanks"
*student walks to the door, and pauses right before leaving*
Student: "Just because I didn't know don't mean I'm stupid"

*Teacher and I stare at each other*

 

[ceetee]

Fosbery...

That's got to be the calmest rant I've ever read. Get angry or something!



AndyC...

The full quote goes: "Trying to reduce crime by using gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it harder for sober people to buy cars..."

 

[thexrayboy]

When my middle school age daughters ask me how people can be so foolish
as to believe some of the crap that is proposed as solutions to social problems I can only try and explain to her that while she may meet smart people from time to time humans on average are not intelligent, just clever.

She asked for an explanation of the difference. The best I could say is a clever species would learn how to build nuclear devices and proceed to build them by the thousands. An intelligent species would learn how to build them, see the inherent risks and decide to relegate them to the realm of theory.

Sometimes it's tough to be a parent when a smart teenager sees how stupid so many adults can be.

 

[toivo]

I'm currently enrolled in a community college (aka school for the dumb).

I teach at a community college, and I resemble that remark!

Seriously, we have classes to bring people up to speed on things like the difference between the "lie-berry" and the bookstore. The problem is that the people that need the classes don't show up. Attitude isn't the WHOLE game, but it's most of it.

 

[strambo]

"The only way to solve gun crime is to increase the powers of police to stop and search".

Who let that slide through?

They could pass it through with the ruckus of a herd of Elephants...what could a dis-armed populace do about it? :banghead:

 

[Cliff47]

Very often you run into someone you swear is about as sharp as the leading edge of the Earth. Now THAT is scary when you consider that these people are breeding.

 

[Sawdust]

Very often you run into someone you swear is about as sharp as the leading edge of the Earth. Now THAT is scary when you consider that these people are breeding.

QFT.

And *voting*...sigh.

Sawdust

 

[Fosbery]

humans on average are not intelligent, just clever

I think you mean the opposite. Humans are intelligent (have a high IQ etc) but are not clever.

 

[RioShooter]

But there are some areas in cities where you can be stopped and searched randomly for no reason at all, and I believe there are other times they can do this, like before or after a football match. I'm not too up on it to be honest, I should really learn more but you get the idea.

If this is true, what you need is a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. Maybe it's time for another revolution against the crown.

 

[Fosbery]

We have a Bill of Rights, it's just being trampled upon.