Whats Made your day or not.....

Guns are the most foreign thing about America to me too, and I've lived in America all my life. I absolutely detest guns. They're not good for anything other than hurting people. I just don't understand my culture's fascination with them.

I said years ago, after 9/11, that those that perpetrate these atrocities are lucky the "west" doesn't think like they do or they would find themselves sitting in a smoking nuclear hole.

As an Irish person growing up I had to deal with the fact that part of the island I lived on was effectively a war zone and one side definitely claimed to be "my side", or coercing the side that I identified with, and that's difficult to get your head around, especially when the other side are just as bad. NOT picking a side, saying "not in my name" becomes a necessity, and yet too many disbelieve Muslims when they say this. If you don't try to trust then you can't have peace. And you have to keep trying, you can't actually say "they all deserve to die because their ideals are incompatible". Maybe right now they are but what about the next generation and the next? Hold fast, deal with what has to be dealt with, abide by the rule of law, hesitate where in doubt, CF the US bombing of the Medecin sans frontiere hospital, which definitely wasn't any sort of military target, be better than them. BE BETTER THAN THEM.

People also talk about "don't forget Lebanon" or wherever. They haven't forgotten, but again growing up watching the Troubles in Northern Ireland I'm sad to say that after a while, unless you're actually there, there is only so much empathy you can feel or tragedy you notice. I distinctly remember a bombing happening and yes, tragic for all involved, but you read the paper and what you feel isn't horror but the sadness of saying to yourself "oh not another one", and then carrying on with your day. Yeah, I sound heartless there.

This could be thought out more but I'm tired.

Thanks Ela

Tony

1) True.  But refusing to bow to ISIS doesn't mean that those they influence are beyond hope, that we can't show them a better way.  I'm not saying they shouldn't be fought every inch of the way but to take a quote from an earlier period we also defeat them by grabbing hearts and minds, because for every fanatic there are plenty who waver, who only want what we all want, that our families be safe and that tomorrow be better than today for them.  Not going to be easy, I know. 

2) True.  totally with you on that. And true, their ideas are completely amoral. But again, for every fanatic...etc.

3) Hiding among civilians isn't unique to them, it's the only way terrorists have to get away from official, sanctioned forces.  But by poisoning the well, by grabbing the hearts and minds, by embracing the law abiding peaceful muslims to us and standing with them, and meaning it, then they have nowhere to hide.  

4) Wanting civilians to die to further their cause?  Yes, they do.  This is truly insanity because this doesn't work and never has.  They will reach a point where they will implode because they will either have to stop or die.  There is no other way and some of them WILL come to see the light that they cannot win, versus those that think that their own death is "winning", and that will erode them as well as the pressure from outside.  

This isn't me defending them in any way, shape or form but as long as they can radicalise young people, vulnerable young people, then they will attempt to continue and we have to win that fight. We have to. 

I haven't anything further to say, we're all heartsick over the recent tragedy, atrocity, call it what you will. 

 

Well of course we understand there are plenty of people in favour of control - and hopefully the outright ban - but the sheer volume of incidents is something that is completely beyond comprehension to most of us observers.  Like this guy's essay - with citations - show : www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/United-Kingdom/United-States/Crime America - 9, 369 gun deaths that year to the UKs 14. Not 14,000 - 14. America may be 5 times the size of the UK but to have over 600 times the amount of gun deaths? That's just inexplicable.

Well a lot of that unfortunately has to do with the gun laws or lack of them in this country. We are horrified by it too, well I think a lot of people are also becoming desensitized to it.

I am just trying to explain the reason why all these gun massacres keep happening and nothing is done is not necessarily because we don't want things to be done but because the NRA is an extremely rich and powerful organization that has a lot of control.

Granted Americans who are far way stricter gun control (myself included) have to work harder to combat the NRA. Sending messages to their representatives that this is an issue is important to them. But a lot of people don't speak up because they are afraid it won't do any good.

I saw Dan Carter today. The line I had to wait in made me long for the lines at Armageddon though!

Went for a Wheelchair assessment this morning, I'll be getting a couple of new ones next year but that meant I missed setting up a release discussion thread for The Black Hole (cheers again Acousticwolf), so the Day was both Made and Not Made.

Regards

mark687

Made my day-Seeing Missy on Gotham

Not made my day-Due to new information we are evacuating campus.