An interesting quote from Tytler:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."

- Alexander Tytler

So much for 3 equal branches of government to keep the balance of power in check...

In all honesty I think the primary reason anyone might need to use a gun to defend themselves in a situation of civil unrest is if there were some kind of large scale natural disaster that we were unprepared for and people were caught in and became desperate. Something like that could happen.

It could happen, but I don't see it happening in our lifetime.

Anything could happen. When you look back on history no empire has stood forever, but something that is different now than in the past is we are more of a global economy than at any time in the past. That is only going to continue. What happens with that is it becomes in other countries's best interests to intervene and help some of those that are failing and hurting. You know for sure nobody was in the mood to help the Romans, but there are many that might come to our aid if we suffered a full economic collapse if for no other reason than we will likely bring them down with us if they didn't. That could prolong the empire, potentially for hundreds of years beyond when it might collapse which could be hundreds of years down the road.

The reason I bring up the sexual gratification with the guns is that I think for many guys they are like fast cars, big toys and other things that they spend their money on as a replacement of their failing libido. They are an extension of the cock. Most, no check that, every conspiracy theorist I have ever known personally had a serious personality disorder. They needed the conspiracies as a way to make them feel superior to other people. It allowed them to fell like they knew the truth and they were working silently behind the scenes to save us all. The same goes for many gun owners. They think they are going to rise up and protect us from the tyranny of a government that tries to take over its citizens by force. Just go to a busy gun range and look at the looks on the guy's faces as the fire those guns. You would think they had their hands on Megan Fox's ass.

I noticed that as well :winkwink:

If you look at Tytler's cycle and the US you could make the argument that we are currently somewhere in between the complacency and apathy sections. We have abundance and there is plenty of selfishness here. Most of us are pretty complacent and you can see the apathy in this last election. You can see the different social classes getting more and more apathetic towards each other. More and more people are already turning to the government for help. We are seeing that shift now with more and more people becoming social liberals and the conservatives/republicans scrambling to re-brand their message in order to stay relevant in the presidential elections. Eventually we will see a collapsed middle class that will then need the government to supply it with healthcare and help them get jobs and education. The thing is we could exist in that mode for decades, if not centuries until people start feeling like they are living in bondage. When that eventually happens it doesn't mean that it is the end of the country, but it could be a sea change in power, maybe a dictator, but to me it would more likely another political party offering a rebirth of the great nation and all her freedoms.

most shootings are done by mentally handicapped, why is it so bad to make sure they cant get their hands on guns?

It's not. Tonight I was reading an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with a guy who was in the theater in Aurora Colorado when that crazy guy opened fire. Someone asked him how he thinks something like this could be prevented in the future and his response was great: "Mental health care should be easier to get than firearms."

If I remember the details correctly: The Aurora shooter was getting mental health care, he was seeing a psychiatrist and they found 4 prescription bottles in his apartment.

The shooter also supposedly told someone in prison that his psychiatrist "programmed" him to commit the shooting. Who knows if he actually said that to the person in prison, and even if he did we would have no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or lying his ass off as a crazy psychopath is likely to do. It's interesting though, here's the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...n_2207724.html

Either way, the point is that he WAS receiving what people consider "mental health care" and he still did what he did anyways... and the psychiatrist or pills could have been part of the reason.

So basically, you feel that a rifle gives you an "advantage" against the most sophisticated and largest military in the world? Funny, Taliban thought the same way.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

No, it doesn't give you an advantage, but it gives you a better chance than not having the rifle.

It is possible the pills were part of the problem. He might have also been not getting the right kind of treatment and/or the wrong medicine. Sadly, with this kind of illness is very hard to diagnose. The real kicker to me is that he bought the guns he used to carry out this shooting. I don't know what the answer is as to how to keep people like that from buying guns without limiting other's freedoms, but it seems to me there should be some way we can do that and make both sides happy.

I wouldn't mind it if the background checks somehow could see if the person had been prescribed psychotropic drugs, but then we still get back to the same problem of a person being able to obtain a weapon illegally.

So when guns are banned and someone commits a shooting anyways with an illegal weapon I guess people will feel better about the situation and say "Well, at least he didn't do it with a gun he bought legally."

I personally wouldn't have a problem with that either. I would even be willing to add in that if you were under psychiatric care and the doctor thought you could be dangerous you go on the no gun list. If one day you are doing better you can come off of it.

Like you say, the guy could have still gotten a gun. He could have gone to a gun show and bought a rifle from a private party, but it might have been more difficult for him to get the arsenal he had. If he had been forced to use a 6 shot revolver and a 4 shot hunting rifle he likely would have done a lot less damage.

lol at least some people make an attempt to justify their views. yours is basically 'cause i says so'..

stop saying that. at the root of every problem is people.. obviously...people create these objects, people use these objects and people create laws about these objects. any one with an ounce of common sense should get that just because the actual items are impossible to blame doesn't mean nothing can be done to prevent deaths. prescription drugs are inanimate objects as well.

Better chance at what? A better chance as you try to shoot the guided missile with a .223 round before it slams into the ground wiping out everything within a 1/8 mile? Or a better chance against shoulder fired missiles to take out your position? A better chance against a tank? Predator drones are out of range of your crappy little light arms.

As a former and passive student of warfare, i'd say you are a bit out of date with your thinking if you believe a rifle is going to make a difference. At best, it will just make you feel like you tried, before you died. We've been in Iraq and Afghanistan for how many years now? More soldiers have died by suicide than by fighting in Afghanistan. Stop and think about what that says about the state of modern warfare and technology.

The only thing small arms will do is give someone on the ground a target to paint with a laser, so the missile can take out your home and neighbors. That is all. This isn't the year 1773, in case you haven't noticed.

:2 cents:

You guys don't need rifles, you need medication and therapy.

And not a single criminal in the USA gives a fuck.

You could also lay down some cover fire with your tz73, while I pop some smoke cannisters for some quick subterfuge. Then you can go to the silenced gt678 for clean headshots while I fall back to the M202a autoshotty. Then its Miller time.

Populace, the new DVTimes

That was my fault, I meant to cut off the last part of the quote. I think he's a corrupt politician attempting to act like a dictator.

However, he could also be a puppet as well. Wouldn't be the first dictator who was a puppet to others. Mussolini comes to mind.

the conspiracy deepens

Come on Populace, they're perfectly reasonable questions.