Gun Control
Dec. 31st, 2004 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaotic_nippleI've been thinking. The two most important articles of NRA dogma are that private gun ownership will A) Prevent the rise of oppressive governments, and B) Enable the citizenry to resist foreign invasion.
Now, over in Iraq, even before the war, there was an extremely high number of privately owned weapons. Even for people who weren't legally allowed to own them, acquiring them was trivially easy. Yet a tyrannical government still managed to hold onto power for decades. So dogma # 1 is categorically disproven. OTOH, without those weapons, the insurgency wouldn't be as effective as it is, so dogma #2 stands proven. Ironic, innit?
Now, over in Iraq, even before the war, there was an extremely high number of privately owned weapons. Even for people who weren't legally allowed to own them, acquiring them was trivially easy. Yet a tyrannical government still managed to hold onto power for decades. So dogma # 1 is categorically disproven. OTOH, without those weapons, the insurgency wouldn't be as effective as it is, so dogma #2 stands proven. Ironic, innit?
Hi Mike
Date: 2004-12-31 10:12 pm (UTC)The right winger was the one who piped (I paraphrase) "No way, they want to enslave us, never disarm. Fight them now."
I tried to use logic, and say "They promise not to even land if we disarm. We can't fight them, since they stay beyond our atmosphere, and can destroy our cities from there. If we aren't destroyed, and they try to enslave us, it will be far easier to fight."
He wasn't going to trust the aliens.
This man, this Bush supporter, is the person we are fighting in Iraq. It's the same mentality. He also believed that Saddam had prevented the 2002-03 inspections, didn't know about the Duelfer report, asserted Saddam had become "hostile" before the war, and that "any reasonable person" would have concluded Saddam had WMD.
And if you think _our_ access to information is bad... during Saddam's reign the official penalty for reading a foreign paper (for military personnel) was death. And since there was universal conscription for all adult Iraqi males...
Even if one simply accepts "We are there now, let's make the best of it," there is an uphill battle to be waged.
Want to read a semi-success story? Get your hands on Stan Goff's "Hideous Dream." As an E-8, and 2nd-in-command of a Special Forces platoon, he runs one Haitian town the way a lot of us wish it was all handled. Powerful stuff.
Good luck learning Arabic quickly, Michael.
Please study every day, and form a study group.
-Josh Narins
Josh@Narins.net
yeah, from the Rock.
Re: Hi Mike
Date: 2004-12-31 10:33 pm (UTC)Heh. Go you. What'd he say when you pointed out the Iraq parallel?
Re: Hi Mike
Date: 2005-01-02 05:40 pm (UTC)So, his actual response was to point out how dangerous and deadly Iraq was.
Saddam's Long Range Aquatic Camel Special Elite Republican Forces had already been hand selected by the Saddam, who, as everyone knows was in the Axis of Evil!
Re: Hi Mike
Date: 2005-01-03 04:56 pm (UTC)Backed up by the sharks with laser harnesses, don't forget!
Re: Hi Mike
Date: 2005-01-07 05:38 am (UTC)