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alekmb · 8 years ago

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The Silver Lining of Charlottesville

With the current political climate and my own left ideology it was a bit challenging to write the title above, but I am sure you are interested to hear me out. Hopefully you are a little concerned maybe even angry at the above title, but let me explain myself. For a very long time I have had a hard time understanding why so many people consider themselves “conservative.” I’ve understood that the Republican base was made of mostly Christians, white people, and the rich. I know the conservative electorate is way more diverse and complicated than the previous sentence, but it’s hard to argue that the GOP does not rely on those voting groups to elect them time and time again. I understand that there are many white Christians living in America and most of them are fine people. They have their key issues like abortion and gay marriage that Republican leaders try to push on such agendas leading the country to a more Christian ideal. I can understand that this mass group of traditional Evangelical Christians is large enough for a party to have a base, but it shouldn’t have as strong as a base to win elections. Not anymore. As for the rich voting Republican, they are mostly “single-issue” votes which is taxes. I should note though that plenty of Americans that are exploited through a capitalist economic system, defend said system, in the name of freedom. Freedom from the big, bad government, our democracy. Unfair wages, outsourcing of jobs and policies that benefit the rich is just normal life as it should be.

I know people don’t feel the same way about Republicans as I do, but I have a feeling more and more will see it my way. I’ve always thought of the Republican base as being mostly white-Evangelical and racist people. Not everyone in the GOP base is a flat-out racist, but you might want to pay attention to how every conservative analyzes Charlottesville and who defends Trump. You might realize that although these people were not there at Charlottesville, they do support racist culture even if it is just to “preserve” our history that we claim we “want to learn from.” I for one don’t believe that so many American’s become instant history buffs when it comes to removing Confederate monuments. They are racist buffs. I feel very comfortable saying all of this. Not all conservatives supported Trump and his comments on Charlottesville, but it is alarming how many of them are failing the very easy test of denouncing Neo-Nazis and White Supremacist. It’s an easy test for us on the left, but you really need to give it some thought on why it’s not so easy for them. I feel that many who call themselves “economic conservatives” or “progressive conservatives” or any sect of the ideology that they are more definitively associated to, are a little queasier about being labeled a conservative. Many of these conservatives can sit by and maybe even work along with people who voted for Trump for change, health care or our economy, but to bring back white nationalism? Who wants to be with those assholes?!!

Well apparently Trump. Donald J. Trump has failed the very easy to ace test of denouncing Neo-Nazis IN A CLEAR AND PROFOUND WAY AND QUICKLY!!! It’s not just him though. Many in his own administration are sympathetic to white nationalist. Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist is one of them. I don’t think we should be too surprised that his administration failed this test, let alone if they received a C-. I am actually watching Fox News these days to see who else will pass or fail this simple test. Many on Fox news are passing it with ease from a teary-eyed Gianno Caldwell to the almost teary eyed and make-up ruining Kat Timpf to Dana Perino and Juan Williams challenging the very dumb Jesse Watters who failed the test. In some ways it gave me hope that not ALL conservatives are hateful racist or even racist sympathizers, but still my racist suspicion of the right has been confirmed when so many on that side seem to not get a lesson most of us learned back in kindergarten.

My hope going forward is the left to use this moment in history to paint social conservatism as this country’s epidemic or plague that must be eradicated and to never return. I actually get excited that Trump and his administration show their true colors about these black and white issues because it will be so much easier for the left to point back at history and say; “Yes that is what you stood for here’s the quote that proves it.” Trump failing the Charlottesville test is not a good thing for the GOP going forward and all this open and blatant racism I hope will make people feel about the Republican party as I have a had for a long time. Hopefully more and more people will come to the conclusion that right-wing politics is not the right direction this country needs to move in especially when we are becoming more diverse and secular. I don’t know, anyone feel like moving to Nazism?

As right-wing politics becomes more and more aligned with white supremacist values, this country eventually needs to reject social conservatism much like the people who were the original Nazis have tried to forget their regrettable past. Today I saw a tweet from Tim Heidecker playing as his right-wing secret agent-character Jack Decker say this: “I’m in Berlin, where’s the Hitler statue?” A smart, simple and good joke that illustrates my point, there aren’t any and for good reason. We still have monuments of hate and it’s been far longer than the 1940’s. Any Republican sticking their neck out for Confederate monuments is castigating themselves as the American Nazi. How can the left use this time in history to springboard the U.S. back in the right direction? We got a lot of ground to cover.

THE PROBLEM

The problem is…. There is no leadership on the left to further expose this component in conservative ideology. The component in which whites come first and after that their work is done. I hear no leaders on the left taking advantage of the right’s ugliness. No strong condemning, no shaming, no exposing the cancer of white nationalism that is taking over the White House. Just a recycled Papa John’s slogan and shrugging their shoulders and asking us “Have We Seen the Other Guys?” That’s it? That’s your leadership? That’s how you’re going to paint a dark cloud over the Conservative establishment that could potentially drive future voting generations from these assholes? I know how we on the left feel about the right, but believe it or not it’s not as obvious of a choice for middle-voters, struggling families and for people who have lost all confidence in Washington.

There’s just this great void on the left and it’s driving me mad. Pelosi and Schumer have got to move over for Senator Corey Booker and others like him. He’s a leader that inspires. Those other two are so Washington I don’t even get excited about them. Left leadership doesn’t need to alienate conservative voters, but it does need to paint an alternative picture of what America can be. They need to put out a message that is so inclusive and positive that in contrast to the evil shit Trump and the party he represents, that any DECENT person would turn to the left. All the tax conservatives and hopefully even some all-moral Christians will have to turn away from the Neo-Nazis and the party they adopted. The only voice on the left is within the media. I have to become inspired or give hope to by the New York Times or the Washington Post as if maybe they will establish their own political parties one day. I doubt that so WHERE THE HELL IS THE LEFT?!!!! The God-Damn sugar-coated Republicans also known as DEMOCRATS!!!

I understand many of you are shaking your heads at me saying “no Alek, you’re wrong, the world is not black and white, and not all conservatives are racist.” I agree with that, but the left can still make it clear to Americans that the more conservative leaders we elect the more likely this shit will happen. This is not a lesson we should be learning again today. That racial supremacy in any form is a horrible thing let alone when whites do it. The left doesn’t need to yell about how horrible the right is, but be leaders for something. Gain some God-damn charisma!! No more “we’re going to pass some sensible, by-partisan gun-control legislation for all Ameri…..ZZZZzzzzzzz.” How about, and I stole this from Jim Jeffries and his show; “GRAB THOSE GUNS!!!” As a liberal I’m becoming discouraged from this very apparent intensity gap between the left and the right. At lease you now where the right is coming from: hate. The left: leadership with soft stances, shrugs, pc talk and old pizza slogans? My God, I’m this close to personally endorsing Booker and Michael Moore of all people for the 2020 ticket, at least they stand for something. At least then we would have some teeth and conviction. You know…. Leadership.

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alekmb · 9 years ago

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About Aldon Smith

As a stoner myself, I often pay attention to anything relating to weed use in popular culture. I love the new tv channel Viceland. I live in Oakland where the famous weed-growing college Oaksterdam is located. Hopefully California will pass a recreational weed law this November. And so as I am surrounded by all this “weed culture” my ears still perk up when I hear a professional athlete has been caught using the substance and then being punished for it.

The latest “pot” incident with an athlete, at least locally here in the Bay Area, involved Aldon Smith. Mr. Smith currently is suspended by the NFL for a full year, after playing last season until about mid-November. This next mid-November is the earliest he could possibly return and even at that time has to apply for reinstatement, which the NFL could deny. After Mr. Smith posted a video of himself smoking a blunt during a “Fire Sesh”, I believe that’s the title of his video, the NFL might not do that. This video of Aldon is still fresh in my mind as are other videos of his posted on Periscope. Besides his “Fire Up Session” video, (the correct title) Aldon posted many other strange and random videos of his life, which consists of him mostly at home acting dumb with even more idiotic people them himself. I watched a video where he talks about how “bad” shooting 50 people in a nightclub is. Another video where a white guy who embodies the NFL star’s kryptonite; as in someone who is not a good influence on Aldon and who will use him, is being called Aldon’s best friend. He did not seem like someone who knew Aldon for years, but as a dude who got lost between Johnny Manziel’s entourage and Aldon’s. Aldon doesn’t need a friend like that much less a best friend and for that matter neither does Johnny or anybody. That best friend was drinking orange juice next to Aldon on a couch, but I’ll bet my next 8th that wasn’t just someone getting their morning nutrients.

I watched these other videos to get an idea and a glimpse into why Aldon would post a video of himself that would have made Laremy Tunsil proud. I’m teasing Aldon, because like I said I smoke weed and I’m not a hypocrite. Smoking weed isn’t a problem. Unless you are employed by the NFL. If you were suspended by the NFL for a full year due to substance issues, it may be a problem. Even for me that video was a BIG problem. The other videos gave me a larger and clearer picture of Aldon’s life. Did I mention I thought I saw a big glass bong behind him in one of these videos? The other videos displayed his total lack of understanding of his current situation in life and that he will never be a NFL star again. The dude is a dumb kid who really wants attention on himself and he gets it in all the wrong ways. He’s lonely without a good support system around him. His strung-out girl and new best friend drinking screwdrivers is not that support system in which he needs. Again, if you watch his videos, you may notice how depressed he is over just having one follower, (mind you his Periscope handle is Ricky @ravenga so how people couldn’t find him is beyond me) and then he starts posting smoking weed videos when he loses that one follower. Wow Aldon, that’s right. Because TODAY you have 0 followers and that means when you post videos on that same day no one will see it. After all you don’t have any followers. It’s not like videos remain on the internet forever.

The way the dude thinks and acts has led this stoner to believe that Aldon Smith will never be a NFL star again. In the words of Joe Lacob he is “lightyears” away from being relevant in the NFL again.

I really hope the NFL changes its policies relating to cannabis. All the actions I just described above are not criminal acts or even morally wrong. Just plain stupid for an already suspended NFL player. I think what I was most bothered with those videos was the overall feeling that Aldon was not being supported the way he should be. That support could come in the form of letting him smoke some weed daily, rather than drink alcohol. His behavior would still have to be closely monitored. After watching those videos though, it seemed like he could be drinking again which is his battle for his life, his alcoholism. He just seemed too comfortable for someone on a path to recovery. I guess that’s why he’s back in rehab.

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alekmb · 9 years ago

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Curry, and Warriors Core Are Young and Need to Mature Mentally

June 20, 2016

Today for Warriors fans it is depressing and you feel it in your gut. You keep asking yourself ‘why’s’ and ‘how’s’ questions while replaying the Finals series in your head. For this Warrior fan I feel depressed and a little embarrassed for thinking and writing on this blog that LeBron James will never mentally toughen up for the Finals stage and his record in said series is the evidence. That would be if the Cleveland Cavaliers lost last night and The King’s record in the Finals would be 2-5. His team was also healthy this year and I feel this might lead some fans, media and maybe even some players in the NBA, to speculate that if perhaps LeBron had a healthy Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love by his side last year, they would have won the championship in 2015 as well. On the other side Dub-nation and Steph lovers will cry out with the same reasoning of “bad health” being the instigator that leads to defeat. Bogut injured his knee late in Game 5 and was out for the series, and Steph did not look healthy at all.

Stephen Curry injured his right ankle the first playoff game of the year for the Warriors. He left game 1 versus the Houston Rockets in the first round, late in the second quarter and did not return until Game 4, missing games 2 and 3. Steph, then hurt his right knee after sliding on Donatas Motiejunas sweat. It is very common for an athlete to injure themselves or reinjure when they have an injury already. On that play it looked like Steph was protecting his right ankle and his right knee twisted and fell to the floor hard and knocked him out the playoffs until Game 4 the next round versus the Portland Trailblazers. These were significant injuries, especially the second one with the knee. There are no excuses at the championship level, just like when the Warriors won the 2015 Finals and Cleveland had the injury woes last year. I really hope that is what is what was wrong with Steph, that he was injured, but I don’t know for sure. A championship run is a very delicate journey, just one tweak of an ankle in the first half played in the playoffs can lead to defeat at the last half played of playoffs. That’s exaggerating a little because anyone can injure themselves at any moment (look at the Clippers), but looking back it almost feels as if that tweaked ankle was the start of Steph’s unraveling and therefore the defeat of the Warriors.

Stephen Curry is the only person who knows what really happened to him in the Finals this year. Was his knee causing him to lose his superhuman power of shiftiness with the ball? His genius in the art of ball handling, and the ability to shoot or launch from anywhere on the floor? It was because of his knee… right? I’m very speculative and concerned that he ‘checked out’ mentally. The same way I used to see LeBron average 30 ppg during the season and then come playoff time he averages barely over 20 ppg and often looked to his all-star teammates and hall of fame role player in Ray Allen to lift his rather mediocre postseason performance. The heat got to him while on the Heat. He had leg cramp issues that can be a serious and nagging problem to have if that’s your body’s natural reaction to high temperatures. That might have been the reason he lost his first Finals in Miami. He won the next two and lost his fourth Finals with the Heat to the Spurs. LeBron wasn’t “bad” or “awful” for the Heat, but 2 championships is not 4,5,6 or 7. He and the Heat went 2-2 on four straight Finals appearances. That is impressive, but a .500 record at the Finals with your hand selected all-star team and you being the best player in the world, 2 out 4 didn’t feel like Jordan. He didn’t build his complete legacy in Miami alone. He needed Cleveland to do that and just one championship for the city of Cleveland would do that for LeBron, complete his legacy. LeBron and the Cavaliers should be hungry for a few more championships, with him leading the charge.

I would say Steph Curry was “bad” in these Finals. He had a 38 point showing in Game 4 in Cleveland, and a good, but limited performance in Game 2. After Game 4 the series felt almost over as it was heading back to the Bay Area for Game 5. Draymond of course is suspended, but LeBron and his sidekick Kyrie Irving each go off for 40+ points. I think people need to remind themselves how great LeBron is not only for his scoring, but his overall dominant game. We as fans associate scoring as the ultimate stat or the most rewarding for a player and Steph Curry proves that. Well that and a historic regular season with 73 wins. Steph had a great year, but it runs a little hollow when you show up like that on that stage. Again, it reminded me a little bit of younger LeBron and how he would lose to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA FInals in his debut season with the Heat. He averaged a very impressive 17.8 ppg in the Finals and only averaging 3 points ppg in fourth quarters. That is a “bad” or even “awful” performance for someone like LeBron. I couldn’t believe that Heat team with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade and The Chosen One could not beat the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki and … Jason Kidd, I remember him. I mean I really felt after the Heat lost that 2011 Finals in 6 games to Dallas and Nowitzki, a player and team who showed postseason meltdowns, most notably, Golden State in the 2007 playoffs as a 1 seed, and losing the Finals the year before after taking a 2-0 lead against the Heat, but led by a very young Dwayne Wade and aging Shaquille O’Neal. That Nowitzki climbed over his hill on The King, The Chosen One. The Jordan-LeBron discussion that was being had on a daily and offensive rate back at that time, was finally over, at least for me it was. I say offensive because again, at that time, a man with no rings was being talked about and compared to in the media to a man who has six rings. With an undefeated 6-0 record in the Finals, but I regress.

I don’t want to remind people why we have learned to hate LeBron, because he has talked big in the past and failed miserably. I don’t remember Mr. James being injured in those 2011 Finals, but he relied on his teammates too much and he fixed that enough to win the next two championships. Ray Allen hit a Robert Horry like three in the first of two Finals with the Spurs. He has had a lot of help to get his rings, but this one is very special. It hurts to say this story narrative as a Warriors fan, but great for the City of Cleveland and Cavalier fans throughout Ohio; The Cavs beat a historic 73 game winning team, that were the defending champs, that beat you last year, and you did it coming back down 3-1 in the series which made history itself because that is the first time that has been done in the Finals. That is a great story when you know it belongs to a city that has not had a championship in 50 years. I as a die-hard Warriors fan can admit that.

I’ll end with this thought. Steph Curry just had his second Finals appearance at the age of 28, in his 7th season. Steph averaged 22.6 ppg in the 2016 Finals, well below his 30.1 ppg during the regular season. LeBron was in his 8th season and 26, when he lost to the Mavericks averaging 17.8ppg against the tough defense of Nowitzki and Co. The only resemblance between LeBron’s 2010 Finals appearance and Steph’s 2016 appearance is that it was their second Finals. Steph Curry and his young-core team need to grow and mature as LeBron has. His last two Finals appearances have been outstanding and he is once again the face of the league. He will be the MVP next year. I’ll just call that now. If Steph and the Warriors can grow and mature mentally at the biggest stages and not fade, then they too will win 1 more, hopefully 2, hey if we’re lucky 3 and any talk beyond that expresses high aspirations, but is also very foolish.

NOT 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10!!

Alek Bentley

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alekmb · 10 years ago

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Women of the Bible Belt; What Have They Done To You?

I have recently been inspired to touch on a subject that seems to reoccur every so often and it baffles me every time I see it. In a man’s world why do we as a society come to a man defense so quickly, and on the other side why do we blame or mistrust women when so often they are the victims?

The first example of such a charade that I will recall on is Mackenzie Pearson of Clemson with her column about why college girls dig unattractive, fatty, unhealthy male bodies that replicate older male bodies and hence ‘dad bod’ is formed. She explains even though “we all love a sculpted guy” there is also something physically sexy about the opposite of the ‘sculpted guy’. I don’t see such contradictions when evaluating women’s bodies. So I ask myself, what urge made this girl defend the privileged-white boy lifestyle so that we can have our cake or “eight slices of pizza at a time” and eat it too. After all we know that fat white boys needed to be rescued. Right?! The fat fraternity boys, needed to be rescued and viewed as “human, natural, and attractive.” If only we could rescue the sorority girls with “mom bods.”

Ms. Pearson goes on to list her reasons why dad bods are hot. By now though if you nod after each of these reasons then... damn. She lists the dad bod doesn’t intimidate girls and they like to be the pretty one. I would actually like to see all the girls at Clemson to go after ‘Big Bubba’ in a frat house and leave ‘Mr. Sculpted’ drinking alone in a corner. Better cuddling!! You know!! Love handles!!! ‘You know what you’re getting?’ You know what his future self would look like and not that you’re disappointed that he doesn’t take care of his youth better? Hmmm, again, damn.

Let me explain something. It’s ok to love people for who they are and physical attractiveness is not the key to long successful relationships, but creating double standards is not right in society. If this following quote from Ms. Pearson doesn’t illustrate my point and resonate with you, then again... damn.

“ We like it. We love it. We want some more of it. So here's to you dad bods, keep it up. Men, confidently strut that gut on the beach because while you stare at us in our bikinis we will be staring just as hard.”

Really? Because if you’re just as fat as us then we’re not looking at you at all. We might even make fun of your fat ass and ruin your day and not give a damn about it later. Does that sound fair? Does that sound good to you?! So here are my thoughts about you Ms. McKenzie Pearson, why don’t you try to create a world in which we are equals? Why are you paving the way for fat-overprivilaged-whiteboys to remain fat-overprivilaged-whiteboys? Is this a Christian mentality? To adore your men? That women are here on Earth to serve men? Is that it? That’s not good, nor fair to you and fellow women everywhere, in and out of the Bible Belt. What has the Bible Belt done to you? Just how brainwashed are you?

The second example I have in mind is of another girl at Texas A&M that has a youtube channel or sports show of her own called; Sports with Charity. I assume her name is Charity. I watched about half of her argument about why Rick Pitino is not responsible for what happens in the Louisville basketball program. I know, I know, please stop laughing, well finish and then we’ll resume. Yeah that’s what she thinks which is fine and great, but again Charity reminded me of Ms. Pearson and her defense of other white men.

Charity is a young black woman, much like the young black women who were victims of prostituting themselves for recruitment efforts of the Louisville basketball program. As a white man, I’m traveling down dangerous grounds here, but I still have some thoughts and questions.

Again why is a black women defending a all-powerful coach over a scandal that clearly involves his staff? Why not defend other black girls such as yourself? Why come to Pitino’s aid? Why even believe him when the public has been lied to so many times before? One might say that it is a sign of progress when a black girl feels like she can help defend a white coach, but I don’t see many white people defending black victims when they are under attack. Charity actually attacked Katina Powell for coming forward and making all of us knowledgeable of these crimes. Crimes that she had a hand in, but still is the one who came forward, not Louisville, Petino, Andre McGee, law enforcement, no one. But hey ignorance is bliss right? So why not blame her.

This pattern I’m seeing with young women in the Bible Belt is disturbing and one I hope they become aware of soon. From a Christian-entrenched part of the country though, where girls are brought up to serve men, it may be hard for them to see themselves in that way. I wish they would stop because as a member of the overprivilaged-fat-whiteboy party I can tell you.... We don’t need the help.

AMB

http://theodysseyonline.com/clemson/dad-bod/97484

https://twitter.com/MissCharityLove?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

#Biblebelt NCAA Nationdivided Christianity

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alekmb · 10 years ago

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Thought’s On Game Vs. Denver 10.13.15 Preseason Game

Well first off, it sucks when you forget that NBAtv won't televise games to local markets and you don't have a game to watch with no commercials. I dvr'd the game and now I'm watching it on CSN. Stupid me.

I start watching game at 11:53 so pretty much the start of the 2nd quarter Iggy looking good so far, last two possessions he had two swishes. 2nd Q; 11 min

Second unit playing really well right now. They have great fluidity on offense. Everybody hitting open shots. 2nd Q; 10-6min Brandon Rush hits a three!! That's actually a good sign. 2nd Q; 6:41

47 points at half way mark through 2nd with 6 minutes left. Not very good defense, we are not getting back after fast break baskets. This game has a very fast pace.

Coach Walton looks great in his suit and walking court side. - The whole game

Looks like Emmanuel Mudiay for Denver can ball!! Just made a great fake move for a layup and then hit his second three of the game in consecutive plays. Not looking like a rookie in preseason. See New York? I was right. 2nd Q; 4-3 min

Not the best defense as the 1st half comes to a close. 59 - 63 Denver leads.

Start of the second half

More and 1's for Denver to start the half? How many is that so far this game? 6 times and I missed the 1st quarter. 3rd Q; 12-10 min. Draymond with two strong buckets in the paint, one dunk, one layup. 3rd Q; 9 min

Cold Klay 0 for 7 so far. 3rd Q; 8 min

Oh no I hope Harrison Barnes is ok, he is out for the game. He's young though, no worries. Klay hits his first shot and three!! 3rd Q; 6:59

The Mike Malone Nuggets look like a much improved team. They seem like a team that could win 50 plus games. Oh yeah this group of players have done that just a few years ago. With Ty Lawson and not Mudiay, but they might be a playoff team this year. I think they could be a 6-8 seed.

Timeout; 78-72 Nuggets ahead with 5:40 in 3rd.

Mudiay!!!! With 9 assists with 5 min to go in 3rd. This guy looks really good, confident and at ease running the show for the Nugs. Playing professional in China might have helped.

Oh boy, not much good happening at all this quarter. 92-76 Nuggets at end of 3rd.

Start of 4th Quarter

I like seeing the touches for Ezeli in the post. He needs to get more action down there and 1 for 2 on free throws okee dokee. 4th Q; 11:42

I wonder if the starters are out for the game? 4th Q; 10:30

Ben Gordon!! There you are!! It's good to see another vet shooter on our bench. I wish to see him play tonight, but no action so far.

Well I'll write my final thoughts now with 9:30 to go and down by 15 at 96 to 81. It's garbage time! At least in preseason standards and that's ok. We could come back though. Anyways we didn't look too good tonight, but there's nothing concerning about tonight's performance or any one preseason game really so we're ok. I hope Coach Kerr is getting better we do need him. This is a very competitive team and no game that doesn't count will bring the best out of these Warriors. This team has such high expectations now and this is a different feel coming off a championship. I hope this wasn't too boring and was a nice summary of last nights game. I don't know if I'll do this for the season, but in the preseason I thought I would try different things. That's what preseason is for!!

AMB

#Warriors #Golden State #NBA

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alekmb · 10 years ago

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My Say on Guns

This posting was first a response to a work colleague who opposes gun control. That is why this posting is written this way.

Here’s a website with the conservative view point of historical events that went viral right after Sandy Hook: A timeline almost identical that I was given by my fellow former work colleague.

http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2015/03/the-true-history-of-gun-control-timeline-2980772.html

Intro

I understand where you are coming from completely. This country has set in place, laws that are meant to protect citizens, from each other and yes from our government as well. This is a concept I think that all Americans can agree on…. For once.

2nd Amendment

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

It’s important that citizens arm themselves not only for their own personal safety, but also to keep our government in check, so that they don’t infringe on our rights and to respect those rights. Our government should fear us, not the other way around.

This is why I sometimes feel that when the pro-gun argument is made by you or others it seems that you are talking to or arguing with someone else. I have never asked for a law to be put in place where our government takes all of our guns away so that they can commit mass genocide. I have never asked for individual citizens to not own any gun of any kind so that they would not be able to protect themselves and their loved ones. In fact, that is the main reason I have taken great interest in this topic.

I guess this topic is really about safety. What keeps citizens safe? What keeps our country safe from foreign powers? Or from crime? Even, what keeps an authoritarian government from making any decision that is so horrific (like genocide) that it would call for us, the citizens, to rise? Guns. Yes, I said it. There it is. GUNS.

The only problem I have though, is that while your argument claims there are no limits to the bounds in which we can arm ourselves, when do we go too far? Look Jim, actually read the 2nd amendment if you are going to use and then hide behind it when proclaiming your argument. It says; “A well regulated militia.” Another word for regulation is control. It amazes me that so many of you take the 2nd amendment out of context so that it serves your argument and stabilizes your fear-mongering perspective on the world. If you really want to live by the 2nd amendment then we should all grab our muskets and go to our local barracks for proper training.

What now exists cannot be what our fore fathers foresaw and therefore what they meant when expressing the need for responsible, trained, armed citizens in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. In no way, do we assemble as citizens to become a regulated militia. It angers me to think about how the 2nd amendment has been thrown around for your purpose and then when I actually read it, it serves to my argument.

Quick thought: What is the definition of a militia?

Answer:

1. A military force of civilians to supplement a regular army in an emergency.

2. A military force that engages in rebel activities.

We will be looking at this second definition for this topic. Well really when I think about a militia existing today, I feel kind of silly. Like I’m stuck in the 1800’s or 1900’s. I mean we as humans and as a world have changed or progressed is the word I’m looking for, a lot. That means we should have by now found a way to deal with oppressive governments. One was having a democracy in place as our form of government. You know, that thing we were “spreading” around the world while really we were after their resources. Yes that wonderful thing that we are so proud of…. Democracy. We don’t have regimes here, just parties. Ones that we elect through elections. We as a nation are all on the same side and we don’t have regimes. I mean who would be committing the mass genocide on the American People? The National Guard? Our Army? Hired outside mercenaries? What year are all of you living in? Are you not aware that we have taken measures to ensure that events like those in the 20th century will not repeat again? Like forming the United Nations? Even international organizations like the World Trade Organization and The World Bank puts pressure on nations that violate human and civil rights. We have a global community that should ensure genocide not to happen, at least on a large level and is why all of your history points happened long ago. These mass shootings are what is happening today.

It’s so frustrating for “my side” to listen to you “fear mongers” because you clearly do not live in this reality. You did not progress along with the rest of us and instead you are somewhere living in Nazi Germany. I live in the greatest nation on Earth and it’s called America. I also live in the year 2013.

The Slippery Slope

I guess one fear you may have is; “it’s gone with the automatics today, and all guns will be gone tomorrow.” Again in a democracy where things happen very slowly and with great awareness by all citizens, one decision does not ultimately lead to another. It’s the same for many other arguments and time and time again the slippery slope argument is pathetic because it’s based on assumptions and false presumptions. Calling for some gun control or “gun accountability” I like to call it is not the beginning of the end for gun owners. Just the beginning of citizens becoming more responsible with killing machines.

So I have admitted that guns are necessary, but there still has to be some common sense. Should an untrained citizen be able to carry automatic machine guns that only a well trained soldier should carry? No, the sensible person would say no. Just like the sensible person would say that an untrained citizen is not set to fly a plane, or even operate machinery in a factory. In all three cases it’s very dangerous.

I understand that there is a lot of fear in America, but that irrational (yes irrational even with all of your out of context history points) should not keep people from thinking reasonably and therefore take necessary steps to ensure our safety. What I hear from your side is that nothing should be done. Nothing?!! Nothing, should change? We should have these guns so abundant in American society that any crazy kid or person can go into a closet and come out a Rambo? Without proper training, and being a member of a well regulated militia?

I’m not asking the government to take any of your 24 guns as long as they are not automatics with 30+ clips. You know, the type of guns used for war and not hunting or protection from robbers, rapists, murderers, drug addicts, etc. If you do have an automatic weapon like the AR15 that was above my desk, then ok. I disagree with that.

I guess we then have to ask ourselves what is gun control and what would that entail? I have to do more research on those history points on gun control. For example did China, Germany, USSR, etc ban all guns? Were the bans so strict that no one was able to carry a gun? In my research so far I have read that they allowed rifles and handguns if you had a permit. Who gives out the permit though? The government, yep. What exactly did those countries do… way back in the 1900’s…. and what are we suggesting to do? Are we gathering all guns so that we can commit mass genocide on ourselves? Or are we calling for sensible reform on gun control so that those of us who can’t handle guns responsibly are not able to have access to them and use them in unimaginable ways?

We should also ask ourselves; why are we comparing our great country with countries that had historic, horrible regimes and not with other Western countries that have had similar mass shootings with automatic weapons? And these shootings being much more recent than genocide, but we will get to that later.

So how do we, in our democracy where we hold elections and not have regimes, handle our own gun control if to have any at all? This is a discussion I would love to have with your side, but right now it hurts me that you would rather defend your ridiculous guns and to feed your fear rather than make improvements on our situation. I would like to see you say “I think nothing should be done about our gun situation.” While looking into the eyes of the families from Newtown Connecticut. I’m not asking for all guns to be turned in, just some regulation (there’s that word again) so that we are not witnessing more and more mass shootings, while we do nothing about it. If your side presents the argument that we should start assembling “neighborhood militias” I’m all ears. If your side wants to ban public ownership of automatics without proper training and concurrently strengthening guns owners rights on non-automatics, I’m all ears. (That last one is a compromise.) The thing is, is that I haven’t heard of anything, but “It’s my right to bare arms!!!! With no limit, and I should have as many guns as I see fit!!” When clearly that is not what the 2nd amendment says and therefore allows us to do.

Again Jim, we really do agree on most things about gun ownership. It is a vital element for citizens to have because in the end, in the natural world, we only protect ourselves. We don’t have to be as barbaric though with one another. We have evolved and progressed past that.

Let’s All Grab Our Muskets!

Let’s get into our Delorian and go back to 1776. In this time I am a farmer and you are a shoemaker. I need a gun, you need gun. I need a gun to protect my livestock. You need it for hunting and for robbers. The guns we own are muskets. These are guns that have a fire power of about one shot per minute.

Let’s now travel back to the year 2013. We still have our muskets. No AR15 for us. We shit our pants when we see an AR15. We compare our musket to the AR15. They are a little different from one another. One example is that the AR15 does not have a baenette. The AR15 does not need one because it fires bullets upon people as much spray goes on insects.

We travel back to 1776 with the AR15 in our hands. We explain to everyone in Philadelphia or wherever those dudes met up at, what an AR15 is and what it does. After they change their pants they also change the 2nd amendment. We have had a big day. Let us now travel home to our wife and kids and put our 1 musket away.

I know I’m being a pest, but do you see my point?

Again are we suggesting complete banning of guns? Or just some common sense gun control? Are you hearing me here? You want a musket, or pistol and rifle in today’s standards for your own personal purpose of leisure and protection, then fine but, come the fuck on!!!

The World Today- Here are some historical points that fail to reach mainstream media. J

“In March 1996, a 43-year-old man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a primary school in this central Scotland town of 8,000 people and shot to death 16 kindergarten-age children and their teacher with four legally held handguns. In the weeks that followed, people in the town formed the Snowdrop campaign – named for the first flower of spring – to press for a ban on handguns. Within weeks, it had collected 750,000 signatures. By the next year, the ban had become law.

It is a familiar pattern around the world – from Britain to Australia, grief at mass shootings has been followed by swift political action to tighten gun laws.

Many in the United States are calling for that to happen there, too, after the shooting of 20 children as young as six at a school in Newtown, Connecticut. Many other Americans are adamant the laws should not change.”

We are one of the few nations left that irresponsibly choose to do nothing about gun violence.

“Gun laws also were strengthened in Canada after the 1989 slaying of 14 female engineering students in Montreal by a woman-hating gunman, and in Germany after a 19-year-old expelled student killed 16 people, including 12 teachers, in Erfurt in 2002.”

“Did it work? In Australia's case, the change appears dramatic. There were a dozen mass shootings with at least five deaths in the country between 1981 and the Tasmania massacre; there have been none in the 16 years since.”

My mother lives in Australia and you would not believe what they think about us. Around the world, not just Australia.

While reading these more recent examples of Western countries passing gun laws, that’s Western states, not like communist China, the Ukraine, Cambodia and Guatemala, you should ask yourself this; Instead of asking or pointing out what has happened in regime-controlled countries that decides to commit genocide even before the fact that they limited the amount of guns they have, and ask yourself what are other countries doing to stop mass shootings that they have experienced like we have in this country so recently? Again, I live in the year 2013. History does tend to repeat itself, but we are not Cambodia or China.

"The irony in the U.K. is that in the four years from 1998 when handguns were fully banned, gun crime continued to rise," said Peter Squires, a professor of criminology at the University of Brighton. "We were in a phase in the 1990s when street gangs were becoming the new urban disorder ... and we were hit by a whole new problem of converted and replica and reactivated guns."

The U.K. experienced a crime surge in the beginning, not genocide.

But, he said, "for the first four years it played into the classic NRA script that gun control has failed."

“The U.S. gun lobby sometimes cites peaceful, alpine Switzerland as an example of a country that has many privately owned guns and little violent crime.

Like the United States, it has a strong gun culture and with plentiful shooting clubs – but also a mass citizen militia. Members of the part-time militia, in which most men serve, are allowed to keep their weapons at home, and the country of less than 8 million people owns at least 2.3 million weapons, many stashed under beds and in cupboards.

But while Swiss homes contain guns, but little ammunition, which is largely kept under lock and key at local military depots. Most adult gun users have military training.

And Switzerland went through its own soul-searching after a man named Friedrich Leibacher went on the rampage in the regional parliament in the wealthy northern Swiss city of Zug in September 2001. He killed 14 people and himself, apparently over a grudge against a local official.

The massacre, along with a campaign to reduce Switzerland's high level of gun suicide, led to a referendum last year. It proposed that military-issued firearms must be locked in secure army depots and would have banned the sale of fully automatic weapons and pump-action rifles.”

"There is no act of Parliament, no act of Congress, that can guarantee there'll never be a massacre," former British Cabinet minister Jack Straw, who as home secretary brought in the country's handgun ban in 1997, said Sunday. "However, the more you tighten the law, the more you reduce the risk.”

Boom there it is, right there. We need to do what’s right. I also want to note that I found way more relevant nations and more current examples than those amazing history points you conservatives sent out in viral fashion on the web.

I know this is a bit redundant, but in all of these countries around the world they have responded to these massacres with stronger regulation on guns. None have experienced mass genocide from a tyrant or authoritarian rule. More importantly their homicides from gun violence are going down dramatically. We are choosing to do nothing.

All of these quotes came from this one article. I found about the same amount of nations that you used examples of and these are all Western States. These events are a lot more recent too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/gun-control-laws-around-the-world_n_2321894.html

The Irony of Great Britain and the USA

“Britain is one of the most regulated countries in the world when it comes to owning guns. Shotguns, rifles and handguns are each treated differently under the law, with shotguns the easiest to obtain and handguns, after Thomas Hamilton's massacre in Dunblane, the most difficult. Licenses are needed to own either shotguns, which must have a minimum barrel length and which fire shot, or firearms, which shoot either bullets or pellets in single rounds. Shotgun and firearm licenses will only be issued after a police-approved firearms liaison officer is satisfied that the owner is a fit and proper person.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uks-gun-laws-are-among-the-toughest-in-the-world-1990075.html

I find it incredibly amusing that the once Tyrant-run Great Britain now has one of the strongest gun control policies in the world, while we are killing each other left and right. I find that incredibly ironic because we tried to break away from Great Britain and now they are better off.

Coach Boeheim

Here is a section about Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim speaking out about gun control during his press conference for his 900th win. He knew he had a bigger spotlight on him and he chose to use it for this issue. Well done. I chose coach Boeheim because what he says is exactly how I feel. He’s a hunter like you, has your name and even looks similar to you. J No joke. Look!!

“This will probably offend some people,’’ Boeheim said in a transcript from the Post-Standard. “If we in this country as Americans cannot get the people that represent us to do something about firearms, we are a sad, sad society. I’m a hunter. I’ve hunted. I’m not talking about rifles. That’s fine. If one person in this world; the NRA president, anybody, can tell me why we need assault weapons with 30 shots in the thing. This is our fault. This is my fault and your fault. All of your faults if we don’t get out and do something about this.’’

http://zagsblog.com/articles/jim-boeheim-speaks-out-on-gun-control-after-900th-win/

I know you’re responsible, but others….

“In 2010 in Australia, there were 0.1 gun murders per 100,000 people, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, less than half the rate of a decade earlier. In the United States the murder rate was more than 30 times higher, at 3.2 per 100,000.”

My point here, is that no matter how many nations in the past have introduced gun control laws, and whatever may have happened afterwards, is irrelevant because we as the United States of America have a gun violence problem. You, I know use guns responsibly. Keep your rifles. Some citizens though should not have access to automatics or any guns for that matter. So making guns more exclusive is necessary for our safety.

I also want to say that as a proud American I am offended that you would suggest something as ridiculous as saying once some gun control laws are passed in this country, we will experience mass genocide. That is what I got from your article, and I can’t believe that suggestion.

Conclusion:

Again I understand the need for US citizens to own guns. My whole point is that something must be done and when I am presented the argument that nothing should be done because “the 2nd amendment says” and the 2nd amendment being construed and misused for America’s fear. Please don’t be afraid of President Obama’s plan for gun control. Everything will be all right, tomorrow (or Thursday) the government wont come knocking on your door to take you to the nearest concentration camp. That is what I got from your article; that if we pass gun control laws then genocide is what’s next for the US. If I misinterpreted the article then I apologize.

I respect your views and have appreciated this discussion a lot because it allows me to understand where you and your side are coming from. I hope you read what I had to say so you here my side. I will always seek the truth as I am promised it will set me free. Please be open minded, reasonable, sensible and when that happens please come to me so that we may compromise without compromising our 2nd amendment right; To formulate “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Own and even carry a gun on you, just no automatics!!!!

I am a very passionate and opinionated person, I apologize if I went over the top with this piece. I wrote it though as my “ultimate response” to the counter argument against gun control.

If you can bear anymore left-wing hippie bullshit, J here is a website that talks about our constitution and the rights it gives us. They are great rights that gives us freedom, but even freedom in a society has its boundaries. That’s how society works.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~zj5j-gttl/guns.htm

0 notes

alekmb · 10 years ago

Text

My Say On Guns

1.15.13 @ 4:02p

I am taking a break on sports and choosing to temporarily focus on a more important subject.

This posting was first a response to a work colleague who opposes gun control. That is why this posting is written this way.

Here’s a website with the conservative view point of historical events that went viral right after Sandy Hook:

http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2015/03/the-true-history-of-gun-control-timeline-2980772.html

Intro I understand where you are coming from completely. This country has set in place, laws that are meant to protect citizens, from each other and yes from our government as well. This is a concept I think that all Americans can agree on…. For once.

2nd Amendment “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

The only problem I have though, is that while your argument claims there are no limits to the bounds in which we can arm ourselves, when do we go too far? Look, actually read the 2nd amendment if you are going to use and then hide behind it when proclaiming your argument. It says; “A well regulated militia.” Another word for regulation is control. It amazes me that so many of you take the 2nd amendment out of context so that it serves your argument and stabilizes your fear-mongering perspective on the world. If you really want to live by the 2nd amendment then we should all grab our muskets and go to our local barracks for proper training.

Quick thought: What is the definition of a militia? Answer: 1. A military force of civilians to supplement a regular army in an emergency. 2. A military force that engages in rebel activities.

The Slippery Slope I guess one fear you may have is; “it’s gone with the automatics today, and all guns will be gone tomorrow.” Again in a democracy where things happen very slowly and with great awareness by all citizens, one decision does not ultimately lead to another. It’s the same for many other arguments and time and time again the slippery slope argument is pathetic because it’s based on assumptions and false presumptions. Calling for some gun control or “gun accountability” I like to call it is not the beginning of the end for gun owners. Just the beginning of citizens becoming more responsible with killing machines.

Let’s All Grab Our Muskets! Let’s get into our Delorian and go back to 1776. In this time I am a farmer and you are a shoemaker. I need a gun, you need gun. I need a gun to protect my livestock. You need it for hunting and for robbers. The guns we own are muskets. These are guns that have a fire power of about one shot per minute.

I know I’m being a pest, but do you see my point? Again are we suggesting complete banning of guns? Or just some common sense gun control? Are you hearing me here? You want a musket, or pistol and rifle in today’s standards for your own personal purpose of leisure and protection, then fine but, come the fuck on!!!

The World Today- Here are some historical points that fail to reach mainstream media. :) “In March 1996, a 43-year-old man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a primary school in this central Scotland town of 8,000 people and shot to death 16 kindergarten-age children and their teacher with four legally held handguns. In the weeks that followed, people in the town formed the Snowdrop campaign – named for the first flower of spring – to press for a ban on handguns. Within weeks, it had collected 750,000 signatures. By the next year, the ban had become law. It is a familiar pattern around the world – from Britain to Australia, grief at mass shootings has been followed by swift political action to tighten gun laws. Many in the United States are calling for that to happen there, too, after the shooting of 20 children as young as six at a school in Newtown, Connecticut. Many other Americans are adamant the laws should not change.”

We are one of the few nations left that irresponsibly choose to do nothing about gun violence..

Even Canada, our next door neighbor is showing us how to react to gun violence. And Germany once again introduced gun control. I’m still looking for reports on genocide happening, in both countries today. No luck so far. “Did it work? In Australia’s case, the change appears dramatic. There were a dozen mass shootings with at least five deaths in the country between 1981 and the Tasmania massacre; there have been none in the 16 years since.”

My mother lives in Australia and you would not believe what they think about us. Around the world, not just Australia.

“The irony in the U.K. is that in the four years from 1998 when handguns were fully banned, gun crime continued to rise,” said Peter Squires, a professor of criminology at the University of Brighton. “We were in a phase in the 1990s when street gangs were becoming the new urban disorder … and we were hit by a whole new problem of converted and replica and reactivated guns.” The U.K. experienced a crime surge in the beginning, not genocide.

“In the long run Squire thinks the change in law did make a difference. Gun crime in Britain has been falling since its peak in 2002 – a decline also seen in other Western countries – and there are now only a few dozen firearms homicides each year. But, he said, “for the first four years it played into the classic NRA script that gun control has failed.”

“The U.S. gun lobby sometimes cites peaceful, alpine Switzerland as an example of a country that has many privately owned guns and little violent crime. Like the United States, it has a strong gun culture and with plentiful shooting clubs – but also a mass citizen militia. Members of the part-time militia, in which most men serve, are allowed to keep their weapons at home, and the country of less than 8 million people owns at least 2.3 million weapons, many stashed under beds and in cupboards. But while Swiss homes contain guns, but little ammunition, which is largely kept under lock and key at local military depots. Most adult gun users have military training. And Switzerland went through its own soul-searching after a man named Friedrich Leibacher went on the rampage in the regional parliament in the wealthy northern Swiss city of Zug in September 2001. He killed 14 people and himself, apparently over a grudge against a local official. The massacre, along with a campaign to reduce Switzerland’s high level of gun suicide, led to a referendum last year. It proposed that military-issued firearms must be locked in secure army depots and would have banned the sale of fully automatic weapons and pump-action rifles.”

One of your favorite countries Switzerland that you like to use in your argument, as I have found, has a much more abundant and thorough gun control policy enforced by their government. Can you imagine our government limiting the amount of ammo in this country? That would maybe cause a civil war, not genocide. Like I said the Swiss government is a lot more intrusive on gun rights then I’m even asking for. I mean what good is a gun with no bullets right? No point having AR15’s in that country.“There is no act of Parliament, no act of Congress, that can guarantee there’ll never be a massacre,” former British Cabinet minister Jack Straw, who as home secretary brought in the country’s handgun ban in 1997, said Sunday. “However, the more you tighten the law, the more you reduce the risk.”

All of these quotes came from this one article. I found about the same amount of nations that you used examples of and these are all Western States. These events are a lot more recent too. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/gun-control-laws-around-the-world_n_2321894.html

The Irony of Great Britain and the USA

“Britain is one of the most regulated countries in the world when it comes to owning guns. Shotguns, rifles and handguns are each treated differently under the law, with shotguns the easiest to obtain and handguns, after Thomas Hamilton’s massacre in Dunblane, the most difficult. Licenses are needed to own either shotguns, which must have a minimum barrel length and which fire shot, or firearms, which shoot either bullets or pellets in single rounds. Shotgun and firearm licenses will only be issued after a police-approved firearms liaison officer is satisfied that the owner is a fit and proper person.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uks-gun-laws-are-among-the-toughest-in-the-world-1990075.html

Coach Boeheim Here is a section about Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim speaking out about gun control during his press conference for his 900th win. He knew he had a bigger spotlight on him and he chose to use it for this issue. Well done. I chose coach Boeheim because what he says is exactly how I feel. He’s a hunter like you so he has guns, but also common sense.

I know you’re responsible, but others…. “In 2010 in Australia, there were 0.1 gun murders per 100,000 people, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, less than half the rate of a decade earlier. In the United States the murder rate was more than 30 times higher, at 3.2 per 100,000.”

Conclusion:

Again I understand the need for US citizens to own guns. My whole point is that something must be done and when I am presented the argument that nothing should be done because “the 2nd amendment says” and the 2nd amendment being construed and misused for America’s fear. Please don’t be afraid of President Obama’s plan for gun control. Everything will be all right tomorrow (or Thursday) the government wont come knocking on your door to take you to the nearest concentration camp. That is what I got from your article; that if we pass gun control laws then genocide is what’s next for the US. If I misinterpreted the article then I apologize.

I respect your views and have appreciated this discussion a lot because it allows me to understand where you and your side are coming from. I hope you read what I had to say so you here my side. I will always seek the truth as I am promised it will set me free. Please be open minded, reasonable, sensible and when that happens please come to me so that we may compromise without compromising our 2nd amendment right; To formulate “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Own and even carry a gun on you, just no automatics!!!!

I am a very passionate and opinionated person, I apologize if I went over the top with this piece. I wrote it though as my “ultimate response” to the counter argument against gun control.

If you can bear anymore left-wing hippie bullshit, :) here is a website that talks about our constitution and the rights it gives us. They are great rights that gives us freedom, but even freedom in a society has its boundaries. That’s how society works.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~zj5j-gttl/guns.htm

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