Trying to Stop being Clever

These posts are purely opinion; they represent thoughts that I had in a moment, maybe for a period. I will be held accountable for the things I've said here but I will not be held to any of these opinions. My opinions evolve as I learn and grow and I would hope that my opinions continue to change. I don't trust people who are convinced they have all the answers and refuse to be swayed, convinced, or to learn anything new. However I felt when I wrote each of these was how I felt then. I may or may not still feel that way now but I reserve the right to change my opinion. I will answer for anything I've said here. My answer may be "I'm sorry, I get it now, I was wrong" but my response may well be "but what about...?" Sometimes I write things that I do not mean. Sometimes I use sarcasm. That's like when I say something so absurdly not possible as though it was a good idea and what we should all want. It's a form of humor. Again, my opinion....

I was sensing a certain amount of hypocrisy from all sides. I realized how hypocritical I was being, and I tried to nail down exactly what my stance is. Obviously school shootings are bad, and Wayne LaPierre is a p.o.s., but where DO you draw the line? I still think something needs to be done, but I’m on the fence about what, because that is not so clear to me. By “withdrawing” from the argument for the moment, I am resetting my position on the issue until I see an answer I like. I am not disinterested in the topic, I am simply trying to not be as much of a hypocrite and keep my mind open to different ideas. One of the things I found so frustrating about arguing for gun control was the apparent inflexibility of the defenders. I thought, “if there was just some way to change their mind.” Then I thought, “but what if I’m wrong?” Then I started thinking, “how can I be wrong when I don’t even know where I stand on the issue?”  I'm pretty sure more guns is not the answer. Armin...

That's a pretty asinine statement. It's not owning guns that we have a problem with, it's all the other people owning them that's a problem, and that's driving us to keep them just in case we need to protect ourselves from the psychos who love their guns too much. It's not even that I don't like guns. I actually like them quite a bit. But I'm willing to sacrifice my right to own any ol' type of gun I want for the sake of our future. Cut down the gun violence, let the mothers and brothers and children and so forth have a chance at life like we have had. Someone's right to live should not be trumped by someone else's right to own killing machines. Mass shootings are a problem, and more guns is not the answer. It will only lead to death from more directions. These people whose brains are stuck in this gear, who can't see any other way besides the freedom to be a dumbfuck are really putting a crick in my spine. Here's another o...

If you're still defending the right of Americans to own any and all guns that they want, you're letting your selfish desires take precedence over the lives of countless innocent people. Giving a gun to everybody so that nobody has an advantage over anyone else is an unquestionably foolhardy thing to suggest. Those of you who insist you need to keep guns in case you need to go up against the government one day, I seriously doubt you'd be one to charge into battle, guns blazing. You're a big tough guy with your gun in peacetime, but let's see you back up your talk when the bullets are flying.

So I might be wrong about this whole gun control thing. Typically I like to remain open to the possibility that I'm wrong about things. I know I've said before that I'm not so completely sure of many things in life. I know that my reaction to these school shootings has been to encourage people to consider gun control of some sort. It hasn't even been that specific, just some general concepts. The gun people draw the line at the very extreme. While many of our "rights" are considered with a certain amount of flexibility, in a "pick your battles" sort of way, the gun people refuse to flex even the littlest bit. Any semblance of trying to make our country safer in connection to guns is met with zero tolerance. That's scary. There is A LOT they are not telling us. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I need to stop looking at it like someone who believes we should relinquish this gun right and is looking for ways to communicate that. Maybe I need to ...