tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post8638110585970867267..comments2024-02-08T07:32:20.315-06:00Comments on Steve Bates - Yellow Doggerel Democratic Views: Guns In The Country; Guns In The TownSteve Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587223243120009776noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-25063013344247681322013-01-19T14:00:48.623-06:002013-01-19T14:00:48.623-06:00Bryan, you sound a lot like my maternal grandfathe...Bryan, you sound a lot like my maternal grandfather, a red Texas dirt farmer, for whom I had great respect and admiration. Pop always locked the gun cabinet when young kids were brought into the house. He was a decent shot at any critter Grandma could serve as dinner, and didn't shoot at much else. (Well, except rattlesnakes.) He was not a man to anger quickly, and I never saw him point a gun in the direction of a human being... of course he would have if that person endangered his family, but it never happened within my eyesight. When he was done with his gun(s), he wiped them and put them away where they belonged, as surely as he did with any well-maintained tool or piece of farm equipment.<br /><br />I want to say to country and city folk: neither of you is more civilized than the other. Both of you, at least most of you, treat your kids with love and your spouses with respect. You wouldn't (most of you) face down your kids with a gun, or anyone else's kids. You would help your neighbor with what s/he could not do alone. I grew up seeing both of these social settings, and I have admiration for both. Guns can lead to trouble; indeed they do so altogether too often... so respectful people, town and country, keep them put away when they're not in use. There is nothing to prove here by brandishing them about, nothing to be gained and a lot of trouble to be had by doing so. There are country and city ways, but respectful treatment is welcome everywhere. Let's hope it stays that way. Put away the guns and live your lives peaceably with each other.<br /><br />Oh, and... Bryan: Joe Arpaio belongs behind bars. I just hope when it happens, it happens without serious harm to anyone else.Steve Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07587223243120009776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-66362734889272627612013-01-19T01:11:48.568-06:002013-01-19T01:11:48.568-06:00These will be Federal laws and Arpaio has no role ...These will be Federal laws and Arpaio has no role in their enforcement, so who cares what he thinks. If he tried to enforce them there would be another report added to his Federal file. This is the situation that causes the problems with these state 'immigration' laws which infringe on Federal jurisdictions. Arpaio is just staging a PR stunt.<br /><br />We have a need for weapons in my area, but you don't make a point of displaying them unless you are looking for trouble, or trying to avoid it. People have seen my shotgun twice when I was 'assisting with police inquiries' [keeping a lid on things until deputies showed up]. If people start wandering around armed in my neighborhood without an obvious purpose, there will be trouble. We may need them, but we don't like seeing them. They are tools, not toys.<br /><br />If you continue the tool concept - what would be the reaction if someone took a running chainsaw into the supermarket? That would make people edgy, so why shouldn't a firearm have the same reaction. They are both dangerous tools that need to be mastered before being used, and they both have limited uses. There are no specific laws about where you can and can't take a chainsaw, but people have better sense than to walk around with them.<br /><br />The problem with guns is that too many people treat them as a totem that endows them with power. Face it, anyone who would spend hundreds of dollars on a worthless piece of crap like an AR-15 is not a realistic candidate for reproduction and should be flushed from the gene pool. If they had been the target a few times, the allure of guns would fade quickly.Bryanhttp://whynow.dumka.us/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-45606049036319524462013-01-18T20:12:41.283-06:002013-01-18T20:12:41.283-06:00:):)karmanothttp://adgitadiaries.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-22401821156434783832013-01-18T10:56:41.123-06:002013-01-18T10:56:41.123-06:00karmanot, in your and my youth, it was abbreviated...karmanot, in your and my youth, it was abbreviated "cello," which I always read as meaning "violoncello," which always seemed a strange thing in which to bag a roast! :-)<br /><br />Yes, Arpaio seems to be deliberately provoking a response, and I have no idea where that will get him, but I wish he and others like him would stand down... needless violence is worse than violence by itself.Steve Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07587223243120009776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-12373541774867280582013-01-17T20:25:29.155-06:002013-01-17T20:25:29.155-06:00But, I do draw the line at taking an Uzi into Safe...But, I do draw the line at taking an Uzi into Safeway to bag a cellophane wrapped beef roast. The time will come when Arpaio will go too far and be taken down by the Feds. He claims a personal army of nearly 3000. Homeland Security, where are you?karmanothttp://adgitadiaries.comnoreply@blogger.com