September 4, 2014

Gun Culture. Can You Handle The Real Truth?

Bite My Bark Rants 8 Comments

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You’ve been warned. If you’re a gun loving American and know me well enough to know I have a strong opinion on the matter and our friendship can survive, read on. If not? Read it anyways cause as much as I like you, I’m not changing my opinion, stance or the way I vocalise it. So it’s you’re hill to climb if we are to remain friends. I’ll leave that one up to you!  If you only know me through BmB, well you’re in for a treat then….

Yeah, today the proverbial cat is out of the bag, I’m FAR more than just a crazy pretty face…..

 

Ok so as you all know I’m jobless this week, so I have more free time to blog. I had some nice little rant about something else written, related but not related about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, it’s coming still but then the thinking began. Then I started thinking and grew so FUCKING MAD at myself for thinking of taking the chickenshit way out of not dealing more with the American gun debate, or as I’m now going to coin it American Gun Culture. I wasn’t going to post again for fear of alienating American friends, my audience or just people in general. Then I realised, that’s not the fuck who I am and this blog hasn’t changed me, it won’t change me and  opinion or the approval or disapproval of others means jack shit to me. That’s how I roll. So fuck it, here it is.

So Gun Culture, I’m not sure if that’s an exact term, but it fucking is now and if it’s new then I invented it. Now be warned people, this is a no holds barred, balls to the wall opinion piece backed up with some solid intelligence and damn it all to fucking hell facts with a nice history lesson also. From here on in, unless specified the term “American” or its derivatives will be utilised in a way that means, “gun zealots”. Now I realise this is not all Americans, so those flapping their arms about right about now that you’re not pro guns and for gun reform, you can calm the fuck down, we are on the same side and I’m separating them from you. You are not who I’m referring to. You’re welcome and likely just as appalled at the state of things as I am. If you’re just objecting to the term “gun zealots”  being used to describe you, then frankly you can kiss my fucking ass and deal with it, because from the objective outside point where I’m sitting that is sure as shit is what you are. Sorry truth hurts and I refer you to the initial warning in this piece.

See what really fucking annoys me about all of this, well aside for the 1000’s of dead innocent people, and the innocent children who if I lived there could easily have been my own, that you all wipe so nicely from your conscience when putting together your “American right to bear arms” speech, is that you still have NO FUCKING idea about the history YOUR  constitution, YOUR amendments and even the legal battle that has been raging over the second and then the 14^th amendment for the past fucking 100 years or more. It’s not as clear-cut as you think or you’d like us all to think, or maybe you deluded lot do think. It’s actually so far from clear-cut; if it were a loaf of bread you’d be slicing it yourself. Actually that’s a great metaphor, because you really are slicing the bread yourself and bending words written 100’s of years ago in a society that was much different from today’s, to suit you fucking own purposes. Purposes that have been ingrained and indoctrinated into you since birth, a cult like mentality. I won’t apologise for that phrase because it is a cult like mentality, just on a national scale. Which is basically the right to kill someone if you feel you’re own life is being threatened by another and they DO NOT have to be armed at that. Just an interesting thought to begin with. What the living fuck is wrong with you? If you feel your life is being threatened? My 3-year-old threatens me and my life all the time, the kid has come after me with a huge stick; I’m not fucking blowing him away with a Uzi. Yeah I get it I just pissed all over your argument with a real downplay on it, it was on purpose. Suck it up princess. The principal remains, threatened perception, in the heat of a moment has NO objectivity and the fight or flight instinct is strong. Normally we would choose flight. Thank you evolution. If you have a fucking gun? Then the fight call is a hell of a lot easier to make, in your non objective fear ridden state. That’s where this whole Gun Culture falls apart, objectivity. Living in America, being American and being indoctrinated with the culture, your opinion CAN’T be objective, it’s always going to be subjective and biased. That’s a real good fucking reason to listen from an outside perspective. Open your mind from subjective to the most objective position possible. It’s not an easy thing and total objectivity is impossible, but opening your mind? That’s a conscious decision, so bloody well make it. Step outside what you think you know, the position you think you are in and put yourself in say my shoes, as a non-American, who understands all your arguments, I’ve heard them all and have the mental capacity to understand them. I also have the mental capacity to be objective, based solely on NOT being American. Though I will admit bias coming from a country that sweeping gun reforms saved from being in the position you are in today. I have lived both sides of the coin and let me tell you straight up, this side is the better side. By far, they are not even in the same ballpark or as the head on the NRA declared planet x. Man that guy is a REAL idiot. Ends up arguing against his position. Says a lot.

I actually had a person call the death of the gun instructor in Arizona with a Uzi called a “minuscule” point to make about Gun Culture. Well I’ll be sure to put that on the sympathy card to his family, that he is a “minuscule” point in the whole scheme of things. That the fact a 9-year-old had access to ANY gun, high-powered or not is a big fucking issue. What is wrong with you? American parents? Do you really live in that much fear for your lives that your 9-year-old needs to learn to fire a gun? Of course you fucking do, cause every second person is carrying a fucking gun. See how that works? I know it’s a total fucking mindtrip right? It’s a sport? It’s for fun? Yeah it’s still a fucking mindtrip that I’m taking my kids for lunch and to fire guns as a Saturday treat. Not much blows my mind so fucking apart that I literally just cannot make any sense of it, but this, no sense. None at all. The parents of said child? Well Let’s hope they have a lot of spare cash for the therapy she is going to need for the rest of her life and that is not said with snark, that is said with pure empathy. Due to their poor parenting and decision-making processes their child, an innocent 9-year-old girl, will have blood on her hands for the rest of her life. She has killed, inadvertently, but ended another’s life. That Saturday lunch and afternoon activity? Well you just damaged your child beyond repair, for THE REST OF HER LIFE! It’s also altered the life of the family of the victim, forever. So no, this is not minuscule at all. This is a prime example of how fucking out of control things are. You can argue, even if you oppose gun control, that the 9-year-old should never have been there, that your child would never be in that situation. The fact remains that this situation did happen, it isn’t illegal and my bet judging on the venue is a common occurrence. So argue the fuck away “not my child”, because let me tell you every fucking parent on the face of the earth has said that about their kid at one point or another. They are and will always be wrong. The gun might not be at the shooting range, but it’s in your house, it’s in your friend’s house, it’s in their friend’s parent’s house, it’s in their piano teacher’s house or wherever. The fact is you can’t say never, because that would mean there is no scope for opportunity and there is plenty scope for opportunity, no matter how responsible you think all the aforementioned people are. That is fact. So deal with it. You’re child may never, but it’s well within the realm of possibility. That’s all types of fucking scary, so face the fact and step put of you bubble of denial. Do your kid a favour.

Now before I go any further I suggest if you didn’t read my initial piece on how gun control works, that you read it here and now and watch all the videos. Please and thank you because I’m not going to go all into that again. It been said. Facts and statistics in it and proven sweeping gun control can and DOES work. So take a hard fucking look. Read it several times if needed. Look up the big words and FUCKING UNDERSTAND it!

Now back to this shooting and Burgers and Bullets or is it Bullets or Burgers? You know what it doesn’t fucking matter. What matters is this is a tourist attraction catering to bucks nights (god please tell me they aren’t drinking before they have the guns in their hands, ahh fuck it’s America of course they are), hen’s nights, weddings, birthdays and special occasions. You Americans think eating burgers and shooting guns is a suitable tourist attraction, a celebratory event or a family activity? Ok I’m just going to say it, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? It’s Gun Culture, that’s your answer. Can’t you just do dinner without the shooting? Go drinking or have a fucking party? Why do you need to include fucking guns? Does it make you feel like a big person or something? There has to be a psychological reason there, but I don’t have that hat on today and can’t be bothered with the fuckery of trying to work it out, you’re too fucking hard to understand when it comes to guns generally, so motivation for shooting targets for fun? Ahh fuck that. Gun Culture.

I do ponder however what the fuck do you actually need to know HOW to shoot for? Unless you’re a hunter and unless it’s for food, I hate you lot too. So if you’re not hunting, you’re learning how to shoot people? Do you expect you will be implementing a reality television version of The Hunger Games any time soon? Then it might be handy, but other than that you’re basically practicing to KILL people, right? You’re not learning to shoot for the limb or to stop an attacking; you’re learning to shoot to kill. Correct? Where the fuck are the bible thumpers right about now? Oh they have the gun under the Bible. Well what a fucking massive lot of contradictions you are. Thou shalt not kill, except where it might be implied in your second amendment rights and questionably backed up by the 14^th amendment right. I will get to that point of contention later.

Let’s actually look at the second amendment as written, not as how it’s been disseminated and bastardised, but how it was written. “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.”  Ok so it’s would be a fair conclusion in THAT exact context, given they are mentioning Militia keeping the security of a free state and the people being able to do so by means of having their own weapons is pretty evident. Nowhere does it say, against the rest of the population, in self-defense? We are talking invasion of state here. How is that NOT clear? Why all the debate? It simply says being the necessity of the security of a free state. It’s debated because of Gun Culture, that’s why and the clinging to the actual bastardised version of the second amendment and the dollars the NRA and gun lobbies prop it up with. They make a fortune, the gun industry makes a fortune. Americans are the first to jump on big Pharmacy for their evil doings but fuck add in guns and the story, which is not identical at all because big pharmacy is acting in the populace’s best interests, while the gun lobby and weapons manufactures? Their own. Simple. Why the fuck can’t you people see this? Blinkers. Add in the deregulated nature, why IS a waiting period bad? Why ARE background checks bad? Why? Because of your second fucking amendment and the clinging to the notion of loss of freedom. Fuck the possible loss of life. Push on second amendment.

I had a reader point out, that when I mentioned the actual inclusion of the second amendment was to stop the invasion of the British, way back when, when you broke free and that the British were never mentioned in the constitution. So that’s not the reason. It actually WAS and anyone with even a basic understanding of the history of American law knows this. Well since I can tell you I have read several constitutions and statute law in my time, they actually NEVER put the reasoning in. It what they like to call, leaving it open for interpretation and not accidentally making a law that excludes some heinous crime they haven’t thought about. Had they said “from the British”, then the Dutch presumably could stroll right in because hell you didn’t legislate about the Dutch. Not picking on the Dutch here, I’m sure, as shit they don’t want you either. They don’t pop in “if you kill you go to jail because….” or “the government has the power to legislate because”…. No fucking wheels on that argument… I refer you back to my comment about the Dutch. Or the Spanish or even “the Mexicans” that I hear so much about. It’s called border security, you have it, it’s pretty fucking good even. Though I’m sure could be improved, but hell you can say that about any legal institution or task force. What you don’t do is arm the population to do border securities job. Again argument fail.

So let’s look at the history of the second amendment and Americans hold on to you hats cause you aren’t going to like this one bit. You fuckers didn’t actually write it. Nope, nope, nope. You paraphrased at best. Well fuck imagine that. It was taken right from British Common Law and the English Bill of Rights from 1689 by William Blackstone. So seriously, are you still proclaiming you KNOW why it was written and included? Because you sure as shit didn’t write it! Mindfuck, right there. Secondly it was put in as “no royal interference in the freedom of the people to have arms for their own defence as suitable to their class and as allowed by law (simultaneously restoring rights previously taken from Protestants by James II). You paraphrased, but the sentiment is the same. Motivation a bit different due to the fact there was no religious war happening. But still the same. Congratulations, you paraphrased and then bastardised it. Basically the Catholics were trying to disarm the Protestants in a religious war. The Bill of Rights Act, 1689 allowed for Protestant citizenry to “have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions and as allowed by Law ,” and restricted the right of the English Crown to have a standing army or to interfere with Protestants’ right to bear arms “when Papists (this is a fancy word for church) were both Armed and Employed contrary to Law.” It also established that regulating the right to bear arms was one of the powers of Parliament and not of the monarch. Separation of Church and State people, Law 101.

Sir William Blackstone wrote in the eighteenth century about the right to have arms being auxiliary to the “natural right of resistance and self-preservation,” but subject to suitability and allowance by law. So CAN have guns, as long as the statute law says you are legally able to possess them. Again this is still based around the Catholic/Protestant war. Still rages today. IRA I’m looking at you. BUT the main distinction here is, this law isn’t THE LAW that ends all laws, its subject to other laws that restrict gun access. You seem to have missed that entire point, which is kinda fucking important.The difference is they took the fucking guns off them. Good job at that. Yeah sure there is the argument that you still have bombs and knives, but let face it bombs happen far less than shootings, cause they actually take smarts, large amounts of weird chemicals, chemical knowledge, ingredients most government agencies monitor and are much harder to pull of than strolling into a local mall/movie theater or school and shooting the place up. That argument is stupid, as is knives kill. Yes they do, but not 30 people in under a minute, so you can shove that one up your ass too.

I might as well address the stupidity of the “well look how drug laws fail” argument here too. Lets remove drug laws and see what happens. You can’t judge failure, when there is no “test group data” to compare it with. Obviously fraud laws, rape laws, child molestation laws don’t work cause that all still happens too. Should we delegislate all of that too? Laws are a way to deter and punish, they don’t actually physically STOP crime. That’s why we still have criminals, police and armies. Fucking what? Yeah. Of course people will always break the law. While we are at it drunk driving happens all the time, right? Let’s make that legal cause the laws aren’t really helping there. Or are they? You can presume yes. Laws work, but they only are as effective of the time, effort, resources and the legal processes put into them. Also the amount of stupid people who think they can get around them. That argument is redundant based solely on the fact it’s not provable in a meaningful way. It has nothing to do with the fact that drugs ARE illegal. But there is NO data to show what society would be like if drugs WERE legal. It’s the people who argue this point and call those who take this stance as dumb, who really have no fucking idea. Let’s imagine a America with no drug laws…. Is it the same as the one you see out your window?

But back to British Common Law, this was overturned by the sovereign at a later date, not much later mind you and parliament obviously because they had at least some fucking sense and could see how gun violence was out of control. To control gun violence, you need to control the sale, distribution and use of guns. The difference is they didn’t care, like here, the people felt entitled to guns, the government actually thought people are more entitled to life. Fucking bastards right?

Lets just face it an armed society is a really bad idea. Unless you’re at war you really have no reason to have a gun. Unless you want to kill people that is, in self-defense I hear you screaming. How many of you have actually NEEDED those guns you have? Not just pulled them out cause something went bump in the night but really fear for your life and I’m going to shoot you fucker type defense? Yeah not many and you’re going to argue it’s because you have said gun. Well Assmunch so does your assailant (apparently) and they have the have the jump on you anyway. So good luck with pulling that trigger first. No really, good luck with that. Every Americans will argue this point but it’s the circular argument of they have guns, if you take them away only some have guns and we are defenseless. Yeah yeah circular arguments that really get nowhere and make no fucking sense, because the assumption is this change of law lives in its own little insular bubble and nothing else is brought to the party. Like stronger penalties for gun possession, gun crime, task forces put in place for guns, drugs ect. It’s all outlined in the post I citied earlier. I’ve added the link again, just in case you need a refresher. Take a good hard look at the facts, because we WERE you, we just fucking had the balls to change and weren’t so attached to our guns that mass shootings in schools were a necessary evil for self protection. For fuck sake, how do you sleep at night?

So anyway, back to the history lesson. Did you know and I’m going to take a stab in the dark here the actual right to bear arms was not totally ingrained in your constitution until 2008, when it was ruled so by a federal court. A court that had been arguing the meaning of the 14^th amendment? In short the 14^th amendment is cited as the amendment that protects the second amendment. Technically NOT true. It is an amendment that stops the states from making and passing laws that are already governed on a national level. So the state law cannot override a federal law, like in DC where they actually banned guns (read that case, it was only overthrown by a minority majority of 5 -4, so there is hope). The MAIN points of the 14^th amendment, which seem to fall by the wayside are that it legalizes abortion, abolishes slavery AND legislates state law cannot overrule federal law. See you Americans seem to have missed the major points and twisted it to hold on to those second amendment rights, you actually didn’t write and have bastardised. All constitutions have a section that says state laws cannot legislate enforceable laws over federal laws. It’s STANDARD. Again Law 101. (I really should be charging for this free legal lesson)

Following? I know, I know, it’s a fuck load for you all to take in in one day. Even fucken harder from someone whom isn’t American. I will get the argument, well you don’t know our legal system so have no idea, Fuckers I scored 49/50 on your citizenship test, based on the history of your laws. I did better than pretty much EVERY damn American I know, I have studied your laws and constitution at a University level, so fuck off, I’m far more educated on this than the vast majority of you. Yeah I DON’T get the Gun Culture part, because that because it wasn’t indoctrinated in me from birth, I haven’t been brought up on bullshit NRA propaganda and had to live in a society where guns are everywhere, well not since I was 15. Let me tell you fuckers it feels great, cause I AM FREE of a lot of the burden you face every day, the fear and the hate. You know why, because MY country had the stones to stand up and say enough was enough. No more mass killings and innocent’s lives came before the right to shoot at will and “self-protection”…. If you looked at those statistics we have far little need for self-protection now than ever. Strong gang/bikie laws put an end to almost all our violent, drug and non domestic related crime. Yes we can still have guns, if we have a reason, yes we still have rifle ranges (not with 9 year olds with Uzis mind you) and yes there are a huge number of LEGAL guns in our society for people who truly need them. Self protection is not a NEED, you know why, cause they took the weapons off the fuckers who were a threat and if they still had them, into jail they went. They introduced sweeping gun reform, tougher penalties and special task forces. Basically they actually got their shit together, even with vocal disapproval from a large subset of the population. You know why? We got smart, safe and chose a life free from the violence and fear you just accept. Awesome way to live.

For shits and giggles I will list some other archaic common laws still applicable here, because they were never legislated out. It’s a waste of time and money and they were better off looking at the real issues. While still enforceable, I don’t think they have been enforced since their inception all those 100’s of years ago. Keeping in mind as a Commonwealth country, they are from British law, as are a lot of American laws, because it’s where you came from. So hell you might still have them too

 

1. No wearing of slippers in public

2. A pregnant woman being able to relieve herself of the need to urinate, even in a police mans hat if the urge strikes.

3. It’s illegal to drown but not swim in a canal.

4. It’s illegal to commit suicide but not attempt it.

5. It’s illegal to be in possession of a cow, horse, pig or steam engine while intoxicated. If you’re riding any if these things it constitutes drink driving.

Oh how laws made in the 16, 17, 18 century, you’ve got a lot to answer for! The second and by default 14th amendment are prime examples of what happens when people fail to not only understand the history behind laws and the reasons for them but realise law needs to change with society. Gun Culture is what happens when people are too afraid of change and too selfish to realise that their opposition to change infringes on the personal liberties (freedom fuck yeah right?), such as the life, of others. But hey who cares, you’ve still got the fucking guns right? Well until it’s your kid’s school that is shot up, then lets see how far left you lean then.

I seriously have to believe the greater populace of America (as defined above) has diminished capacity or this is just natural selection at work, because otherwise my brain will explode. I also do understand that your mental health system is flawed and that you will blame the majority of shooting as someone with a mental health disorder. Well no shit, normal people don’t commit mass shootings, though they do own and shoot guns apparently. So your half way there I guess. But the fact still remains with gun control access to these weapons would be much harder, near impossible if gun regulation was put into place properly and the other law/regulations/task forces implemented. But healthcare will always be an issue there due to your anti “welfare state” capitalist mentality and strong push for capitalism. But that’s a post for another day.

I dedicate this post to all the victims and the families of the victims of mass shootings (and gun crime), whose population has failed to not only protect your loved ones but also to act on the senseless loss of life. It IS unacceptable and hopefully in time, the next generation, will actually will be smarter and not ruled by fear and self-righteous stupidity when it comes to guns. To be able to see the bigger picture, a brighter fear free future and the future that your loved ones had snatched away.

*You will note the massive decrease in 2010. This is due to September 11 2009 terrorist attacks and when your fucking government AND people decided to act. Too bad you only focused on international terrorists and not the domestic type. See even THAT made a change. You still think Gun Control can’t work? Well you’re right, not until Gun Culture gets put into the black hole it deserves to be put in!

You really should have listened to this guy rather than pushing him back to Britain!

Here is a good site to put it all in perspective.