Do keep in mind that some of those women, many of them in fact, are so thoroughly isolated and conditioned that they either did not know that they were breaking the law, or truly believed that they had a duty akin to civil rights activists to obey God and their husbands before the law. I’m not excusing their behavior, only explaining it. There is a subtle difference between breaking the law for your own gratification, and doing it because you believe it is the right thing to do. The men, on the other hand, deserve whatever they get, because they were not isolated and fed a diet of crap, they knew they were breaking the law and decided to thumb their noses at the rest of us.

“religion isn’t an excuse for breaking a law, nor is it a reason to create one.”

No truer words

I’m looking to get in touch on behalf of Soundcheck music sessions. Please shoot me an e-mail if you have a chance.

Thanks,

Eric

“Some folks say the most dangerous place in the world is between a Mama Bear and her cubs. It may be so. I’ve never met a Mama Bear, myself.

The most dangerous place I ever stood was between a cornered cat and an open door.

When a cat feels threatened, she gets away from the danger as quickly as she can. She doesn’t care what damage she inflicts on her way to safety, but she’s not interested in fighting for fighting’s sake. She does only as much as she needs to do in order to escape. She doesn’t deal in revenge. If she feels threatened, she simply leaves. Efficiently.

Until she needs to use them, her claws stay sheathed. She doesn’t go around threatening to maul people. She’s cuddly, she’s cozy, she likes to curl up next to a crackling fire on a cold winter’s day. She’s great company.

But don’t try to trap her in a bad situation.

This site is about women and guns, not about cats. But in a way, it’s about the cornered cat in all of us. It’s about the determination to get away from an attacker if you need to. It’s about making the decision to say, “Not me. Not mine. Not today.” And it’s about the tools to make that decision stick.

If you have to fight …

Fight like a cornered cat.

Part of the reason Japan never even considered for a second the idea of invading America in WWII was because they knew a large percentage of the population was armed. Any invading forces would not be fighting just a regular army, but also a guerrilla war against all the civilian gun owners.

Even today, firearms in civilian hands serve as a reminder to many political groups that any attempt to seize power through any means other than an election could be met with armed rebellion. There is a reason we don’t have our government changing hands via a Coup (bloody or not) every few years like some countries do.

As for crime, crime is a social issue, and in my opinion, the only way for crime to be curtailed is for communities to stand up and fight it as a whole, not just by paying police to do it for them.
http://picadorproject.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=84

I’m the proud Dad of two young Ladies, just a bit older than you. Your parents must be very proud to have such an obviously intelligent and well-spoken daughter!

As others have said, you sort of stepped in a mine-field with this topic, although I must also congratulate the posters for being “nice.” I’ve unfortunately seen too many examples where “adults” let their emotions get the best of them and come across like petulant children.

One thing I think others should have pointed out to you is the bias that exists in our school system. A majority of those involved in “education” — from the Federal Government people who oversee education in the United States to the teacher in your classroom — tend to have a certain “viewpoint” on many topics. As people’s personal opinions tend to color how they teach, often what you’re taught in school may not be completely accurate. This bias is particularly evident on “hot button” issues such as those you’ve touched on in your blog.

I’m not saying that you’ve been intentionally misled — although that happens too — merely that when we approach a question looking for a certain answer, it’s all too easy to find “evidence” to support that answer. You should therefore endeavor to question everything that you’re taught. Naturally it’s often a bad idea to “challenge” authority figures like teachers — sometimes it’s best to do your own research and keep what you’ve learned to yourself rather than risk being punished because you bruised the teacher’s ego…

“Critical Thinking” is the most important skill that simply isn’t taught in schools any more. The focus has become much more about making sure you do well on the “standardized tests” on which your teachers are ultimately graded. To be a good citizen it is important that you learn to “check up” on things and form your own opinions based on facts rather than simply accept as fact what you’re told by teachers, newspapers, TV or whoever.

Bringing things back to the “gun issue”, there’s a “cliche” or “bumper sticker” that I think you should seriously consider. “G*d made men. Sam Colt made them equal.” A quick Google search should help you figure out who Mr. Colt was, and how he may have contributed to equality of men (and women).

I would also encourage you to look into history. Every single Government which has slaughtered its citizens began by disarming them. You’ve been taught that our Revolution was caused by “taxation without representation” but that is not what caused the first battles — it was in fact the attempts by the British to take away arms from the colonists which caused the first shots to be fired.

Further, our Founding Fathers made it very, very clear that they wanted The People of the United States to have any weapons that the army could have, so that no future Government could implement tyrrany. This is the reason we have the Second Amendment — not for hunting, not for personal protection, but to be sure that we could rise up and overthrow an oppressive Government if (G*d forbid) we ever needed to do so. Those other things are just side-benefits.

To make another point, why do you think it is that even though we fought in two “world wars” no other country has tried to invade the U.S.? In WWII, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto said they would “find a rifle behind every blade of grass.” They simply knew that the U.S. was not a country that could be taken over by another, because its citizens were armed, and knew how to use them. Contrast this to what happened to the Jews and other “undesirables” in Europe. They were able to be rounded up as they were because they had first been disarmed by their Government. Look into “The Warsaw Uprising” to learn how a few armed people were able to hold off thousands of German Soldiers for a long time!

Lastly, it’s important for you to understand that there have been multiple cases where the Courts — even the US Supreme Court — have said that the police have no responsibility to protect an individual citizen. Their job is to find, arrest and punish the murderer, not to protect the victim. There’s another cliche that says “when seconds count, the police are just minutes away!” This is all too true. A gun allows a weak person to defend themselves against a stronger person, or even a GROUP of strong people. It is simply a tool, which like all tools can be used for evil, or for good. England and Australia today are proving yet another piece of bumper-sticker wisdom: “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” There is actually much more gun crime in England today than there was before their gun ban! Research this fact, and then ask yourself why you haven’t been told this in school, or by the media! I’ll give you a hint: it’s that “bias” thing I mentioned before.

Several people have offered to take you and your parent to a range, and to teach you basic “gun safety” and the basics of shooting. I would strongly encourage you to find someone in your area and take them up on the offer. I’ll go a step further — you can send me an e-mail at my user name at yahoo dot com and I will put you in touch with someone near you who will be all too happy to help! You’ll learn that guns are just machines, and that people who enjoy shooting them are among the most friendly and helpful people of all.

Think of it this way: You may decide you don’t like it, then again you may find an interesting new hobby! At the very least you’ll have a new experience, and be able to speak with personal knowledge on the subject. My daughters both — when they were about your age — loved to go shooting with me. They’ve since moved on to other things, but I am happy knowing that they know how to SAFELY handle a gun, and that when they are no longer in my care they will be able to defend themselves if (G*d forbid) they need to do so.

Thanks again for being so open-minded, and allowing us to disagree with you!

G*d bless you on your journey — Please feel free to contact me at any time if I can help you in any way.

Sincerely,

DD

PS: Please also take some time to check out Mr. Oleg Volk’s website at http://www.a-human-right.com/ Mr. Volk came to the US from Russia, and understands better than most how blessed we are to have the 2nd Amendment, and how it has helped to make this the greatest (though still imperfect) country in the world.

Mr. Volk is also a photographer with amazing talent, and has taken thousands of pictures of people with their guns. His images, with their thought-provoking captions, make the point in a very poignant way.