Are you still a pacifist?

by wasasister 40 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  wasasister

  Last night, I found myself wondering aloud about something I never thought I would consider: purchasing a gun.

  Previously, I had very strong anti-gun sentiments. I felt, and still do to some extent, that freely available guns in this country are an immediate threat to children and add to the violent perception others have of Americans. I can't understand the radical members of groups such as NRA who would fight against even the most logical safety measures regarding firearms. How could anyone argue against child-proof locks on guns or gun owners securing their weapons against theft?

  I remain opposed to violence or taking of life. However, as a single woman in an ever-more dangerous world, I now contemplate getting a gun and learning how to use it repsonsibly. I enjoy running and biking alone in some rather remote locations. I am not in a position to care for a dog and I'm not going to restrict my activities out of fear. I realize, merely possessing a weapon does not make me invulnerable to attack, and that my reluctance to take life may give an attacker an advantage.

  However, for the first time in my life, I can understand how someone would want to protect themselves from becoming victims of violent crime.

  I have not yet reached a decision and will consider the possibility of gun ownership very carefully. It is such a turn-about for me from my prior, deeply-held aversion to aggression, I'm not sure if I could ever go so far in the opposite direction.

  What about the rest of you? Have you reconsidered your stance about self-defense at all?

  Thanks in advance for your comments,
  Pistol-packin' Wasasister???
• 

  mommy

  Hey Wassa
  I live in a small community. My children run ahead in the grocery store, and pick out items they want. In Walmart, they go to the toy section and I meet up with them. I leave my keys in the car, and my doors stay unlocked. This summer my doors stayed open day and night. I live in no fear.

  I am planning on moving back to my hometown, a huge city in NY. Now, I am faced with the threat of violence. I myself would have a hard time actually pulling the trigger of a gun, I have done it before and the jolt is nerve racking. But to see a person on the other side of the barrel, is a whole different story.

  Tom wants me to get a gun, when I move there. His reasoning is protection, and maintaining safety. I do not agree, at this time. I have been attacked before and realize the helplessness that one feels. But, as I said, it is another human attacking, and I can't see injuring them back.

  I will give serious debate to this, and will let you know what decision I come to. I am glad you brought this subject up. I am intersted in others opinions on this.
  wendy

  In a controversy the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
• 

  blondie

  Gun ownership

  1. Learn to use a gun properly
  2. Store your gun safely
  3. Most importantly, are you prepared to kill when necessary

  The last one is most important because this is a mental preparedness. You won't really know until the day the gun is in your hand pointed at someone...will you pull the trigger? Or will you hesitate and have the gun taken away from you and used against you.

  Owning a gun for defensive reasons, will and must mean you are prepared to kill someone. Law enforcement officers receive much training. They have to be sure they are not killing a fellow officer, an innocent bystander, and that this type of force is appropriate to the crime. It is not like the movies.

  I have grown up around and with guns as well as working with and around law enforcement officers.

  I would explore all the ways to defend yourself without a gun...a Chimera class(es) or other self defense. I would not recommend karate or such because most people do not stay with it enough and keep it up for it to be effective. The most effective women (and men) have is common sense.
• 

  bboyneko

  Yes, get a gun, and go to a shooting range many many times, learn how to use the handgun well. It won't do you any good if you can't, in a moment of emergency, pull it out and cooly remember your training.

  It is like martial arts, you will learn how to kill someone in a single blow, or in one or two blows. Even in acuupuncture, you can learn to kill someone with a single needle prick. But they will empasise non-violence. I've always beleived martial arts should be taught in school gyms.

  So once you become a master, ironacially, you're last resort will be to fight. Now, unless you have an evil master like in Karate Kid III, he will teach you thise.

  Same goes with guns, owning one dosent mean your pro-violence or a killer, it just means you realize that in a last-minuteemergency you might have to take the ultimate last ditch effort to save your life when attacked..to kill.

  So just make sure you follow all the gun laws in your state and take lots of training. There's nothing quite as amazing as firing off guns. My friend who works for the FBI in VA took alot of gun training at a gun range including machine guns and the like. She loved it!

  -Dan

  
• 

  Skeptic

  This is one issue I find amazing about America. The level of concern about violence. In Canada, it wasn't that big a deal. No one wondered about getting a gun.

  I was raised about guns and had easy access to guns and ammunition from birth. There was five of us kids, and none of us had any trouble with guns. We were taught from a young age that guns are not a toy. Guns kill, and they were only to be used to kill something or for target practice.

  When I was about 9, a friend of mine took his toy pellet gun and shot his dog four times at short range. This put the poor in animal in great pain. I was angry, and later told my father.

  He asked me if I wanted a pellet gun. Of course I did. He said, "No, I will not get you a pellet gun. I will get you a .22 rifle. You know that a .22 rifle will kill at a range of 2 miles and that it is not a toy." So, while my friends had pellet guns, I had a .22 rifle. I never abused it, because if I did somebody could die. I learned the safety rules, and always followed them.

  But I digress...

  I personally have nothing against killing someone in self-defense. And personally, I do not own weapons today, but would love to own a gun for sport.

  My concern is that most kids today are not raised the way I was. The biggest concern I have is a child could find the gun and get killed.

  Here are some questions I suggest you consider:

  When you aim a gun at someone, you escalate the situation to a highly violent level. An intruder may decide to shoot you. Or take your gun and shoot you.

  In Ontario, Canada, gun safety programs teach you that if you decide to aim a gun at a person, you must be willing to kill them. Could you actually kill a person? If you can't, and you have a gun aimed at them, they may kill you.

  Are you willing to store the weapon securely so that children cannot get them? If the gun is stored that securely, will it have any value when you need it for self-defense?

  Could you live with yourself if a child got the gun (say a teenager stole the key to the gun's storage box) and got killed?

  Is it possible that you could kill a loved one by mistake? Say you shoot someone coming through a window, only to find out it was a child coming home late who lost his housekey?

  Would you properly care and use a gun? Many a homeowner has shot themselves or a family member handling a gun that "wasn't loaded".

  Please do not think I am anti-gun. Far from it.

  Obtaining a weapon for sport makes sense. It can be stored properly and is not used in emergency situations. The opposite is true for a weapon purchased for self-defense. It has to be easily (unsafely?) available and is used in emergency situations.

  Think carefully, and make the decision that is best for you.

  Richard
• 

  NameWithheld

  "Guns don't kill people, people kill people"

  Kinda flippant, but true. In times past guns were around everybody, and children were exposed from and early age and taught how to use them. Those same children were not taking said guns to school and killing their classmates. But that's upbringing ... (another topic entirely!)

  This is a touchy subject for sure! If you try and wipe out all the guns, the only people who will have guns are the police/military and criminals who WILL find a way to obtain them. If that's OK w/ you so be it, but some people in the US are concerned that that gives up their freedoms. In other words they would feel helpless to defend their land again gov't intrusion. Of course, some of those people are real wackos too :D but there has to be a middle ground. Some of the people in the gov't are real wackos too :o ;)

  Also the cops aren't always (in fact rarely are) around to help when a violent crime is committed.
• 

  seven006

  Wasa,

  There are alternatives to using a gun for self defense especially in an activity like running and biking. The weight of even the smallest caliber hand gun can make it uncomfortable when engaging in aerobic activities. You might want to look into a small stun gun. They can be concealed in your fanny pack and are quite effective in holding off a possible attacker. From what I know about you I don't think you are the type of person that could take another life but popping a cap in their head. Unfortunately if someone is crazy enough to attack another person in a violent manner they are crazy enough to take the gun out of
  you hand and use it on you. Unless you want to go through all the proper gun training and resolve yourself to the idea that you could
  indeed end someone else's life by using it you might want to consider an alternative.

  When I spent a short time of my life as a cop the thought that I could use a gun to blow someone away with out a second thought scared me.
  I still have my gun but I don't think I have even looked at it in several years. The thought of protecting yourself by taking someone's life is somewhat acceptable in theory. But if you are ever confronted with exercising that theory in a real life situation it is quite traumatizing and could end up emotionally devastating.

  Your crazy enough as it is, check out a stun gun and I'll let you test it out on me.

  Dave
• 

  Seeker

  No, was, I haven't changed, and I never will. I would rather die than own a gun. I know we live in a violent world. I will not let myself be influenced by that to want to use violence myself. Once I cross that line, my existence becomes meaningless for I will have lost my very persona.

  Your mileage may vary, of course, and women are far more likely to be victims of violence. For that reason, I don't judge others, merely myself. But since you asked, that is my answer.
• 

  wasasister

  Dave:
  

  Your crazy enough as it is, check out a stun gun and I'll let you test it out on me.

  You are quite correct about that! Why don't you pencil me in next weekend for that test. Would you mind wearing Calvin Klien's Obsession for men? It was my ex-husband's favorite and would probably help with the aggression.

  Seeker:
  Yeah, you're probably right. I'd pull out my gun and while I was trying to talk the perp to death, he'd turn it on me.

  I currently carry pepper spray, but perhaps a stun-gun is a reasonable step up. I honestly doubt if I could take a life. I have trouble with moles in my yard and I refuse to put poison in their holes.

  Maybe I'm a hopeless peace-nick?
• 

  seven006

  Damn,...Sorry Wasa, no can do. I'm going to be at a woman haters club bomb making and target shooting seminar this weekend. Julie sent those pictures of you that she took on my back deck last week and I had them enlarged so I need to work all weekend painting the red bulls eyes on them.

  Maybe another time.

  Dave