Posted on 04/24/2014 8:14:15 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Ask Andrew W.K.: Should I Buy a Gun?
Dear Andrew,
I’ve always been a staunch opponent of guns, but my home has been broken into twice in the last six weeks. Now I’m think- ing about purchasing a gun to protect my family and home. My wife is very much against this idea, and we fight about it of- ten. I completely understand where she’s coming from, as her views on the dangers of owning a gun used to be my own. What do you think? Should I get a gun?
One Shot
Dear One Shot,
Guns are intense. They function not only as a powerful extension of a man’s hand, but also as an extension of his will and ability to kill. I had a dream a few nights ago where I had illegally acquired two handguns and was trying to sell them on the street to some underground gun dealer. I was stressed out and fumbling with these crumbling black pistols. In the end, I realized that both of the guns were toys and didn’t really work, much to my relief (and to the dealer’s irrita- tion). As the saying goes, “guns don’t kill people, I do,” and just having the guns in my dream seemed to bring me one step closer to actually killing someone.
Firearms may be just another weapon made to cause significant harm with signifi- cant ease, but they aren’t able to cause harm without someone deliberately using them to do it. We’ve all seen the damage people can cause with knives, cars, and a myriad of other implements (including teeth and fists), but no weapon seems to combine le- thal force and efficiency quite like guns.
In your situation, it’s perfectly natural to want and protect your family and your property, and a gun is one way to do it. But just go through the possible scenarios that could play out: If someone breaks into your home while you’re actually there, are you going to confront them with the gun? Are you going to shoot them if they don’t leave? What if you miss? What if you actually kill them? What if they weren’t actually an in- truder, but a family member you mistook for an intruder? What if they grab the gun and shoot you?
At first, it seems like it might be easier to put a sign on your front door that says, “This Home Is Protected by a Gun,” but that might attract more attention from a gun thief. Maybe just get a security system installed?
Guns are super intense objects. But what is even more intense is man’s willing- ness to harm others. The problem isn’t guns, the problem is our violent nature, and if someone wants to hurt someone badly enough, they’re going to find a way to do it, gun or not. In your case, you don’t want to shoot someone; you just don’t want your home to get broken into. If you do get a gun, I suggest having everyone in your family take lessons on how to use it. It should be treated with an incredible amount of re- spect and maybe even a little fear.
The idea would be never to use it, or have to use it. I don’t believe that having a gun in your house somehow “attracts” bad vibes into your home, but it does suddenly allow for a whole range of possibilities that simply wouldn’t be if a gun weren’t there. Fathom those possibilities, and weigh your options heavily. Everyone has the right to protect themselves and to feel safe, but there will never be total security or safety — life is precarious and fragile even without burglars or guns. Each situation is different, and no matter what, guns and other weap- ons will always exist. If we put less energy into fighting about weapons, and more en- ergy into figuring out why we’re fighting in the first place, we’d probably save a lot more lives. We must value each other’s life as if it was our own. A gun can’t love some- one or have compassion, but you can. Whatever you decide to do, just take great care. I hope you never shoot anyone.
Party hard, Andrew W.K.
Yeah ... Party hard, One Shot. At least until the robbery homicide detectives string up crime tape around your dead body. Wise up.
I cannot imagine the guy of dipwad who thinks the Village Voice is the place to go to answer any question
Somebody once said that some conservatives were liberals who were mugged, and after being a crime victim, shed their liberal views and became conservative. This guy seems to be that way. Hate the reality check he got, but life unfortunately is not the utopia the liberals would like to see.
The first paragraph of the reply is enough to show how big an idiot this guy is. He had a dream... Umgud
Not really. Guns are like hammers. Just a tool.
They function not only as a powerful extension of a man’s hand, but also as an extension of his will and ability to kill.
So, exactly like hammers.
Talk about an intense case of “on the one hand, but on the other hand.”
Ya can’t make this stuff up.
In your case, you don’t want to shoot someone; you just don’t want your home to get broken into. ...................................... No gun necessary to prevent burglars from getting in, just and another dozen locks on the doors and windows. That’s pretty much what they do in NYC, they even put wrought iron bars on all the windows, so they can live like a prisoner in their own home.
Had I been the writer, my suggestion would be, “find work in Texas and get out of the neighborhood you are in”.
If you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t.
A lot of hand-waving and butt-covering, but in the end, a good question and a pretty good answer, amazingly.
Andrew,like most “progressives”,would want “One Shot” to avoid buying a firearm...under *any* circumstances.He’d advise One Shot,instead,to practice singing Kumbaya in case he’s broken in to again.However,Andrew would certainly use receipt of that letter as an excuse to take his *own* Smith & Wesson to the firing range for a short dance just in case *he’s* broken into.
Like you live and the bad guy doesn't.
What a stupid question, “Should I Buy a Gun?”
The question should be, “How many guns should I buy?”
I thought this headline was from the Onion. Then I read the "answer" and I thought it was from the Onion again.
These people have no idea how pathetic they are.
Dear LaLa Land Times,
I have been a bad comrade this week, I hope I can be forgiven by comrade editor. My home - I mean the states home I am graciously allowed to inhabit by the grace of almighty government- was broken into - I mean a stranger unregistered as an occupant - entered and began, um, gathering up my possessions - I mean items I am permitted to enjoy. He then tried to, ER, obtain advantage of my wife but was frightened off by noises outside. Should I not be allowed the use of a gun for the protection of myself and my family?
- Startled
Dear Startled (we know your real name)
You are most definitely a bad comrade who shall, will, attend extra self-criticism sessions for the next several months. The comrade who entered the unit you occupy by the grace of the state was working for the Ministry of Sharing, he was there to take certain items and spread them around. Are you like the greedy capitalist who believes the products of your labor belongs only to you and not the collective? Those books, puzzles and your wife are not your possessions but belong to the state. As does your very existence in this glorious nation.
-comrade editor
See 16
I gave it a try
Lol
Maybe he thinks hammers are intense too. After all, they make a bang-bang sound when they’re used.
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