tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post8139448877638719818..comments2023-10-14T09:40:06.690-05:00Comments on Jean Kazez: It's the Guns, StupidJean Kazezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-68851928084863062162011-01-15T15:57:01.528-06:002011-01-15T15:57:01.528-06:00Vh:
Che Guevara is more like a George Washington ...Vh:<br /><br />Che Guevara is more like a George Washington who failed than like Jesse James. <br /><br />Folk heroes are usually outsiders. in South America the outsider hero is generally someone who beats the system or who astutely gets his (it's usually a male) way, especially in sexual terms, say, a Don Juan. Don Juan, while an outlaw of sorts, is not violent, unless you s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-10635426003036282212011-01-15T15:32:51.905-06:002011-01-15T15:32:51.905-06:00I actually meant to finish my last comment with so...I actually meant to finish my last comment with something about the anti-government sensibility, as you call it, or about the american ideal of self reliability that has already been mentioned in this discussion, but I simply forgot.<br /><br />I don't know if the following is relevant (I've already revealed myself as not very knowledgeable about the US). But this is something I find vhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16887661953741578765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-71326065461304963212011-01-15T11:18:52.527-06:002011-01-15T11:18:52.527-06:00People in Latin America fear anarchy much more tha...People in Latin America fear anarchy much more than they fear big government. Ayn Rand is not a widely sold or even widely known author in Chile. <br /><br />In the U.S., in spite of always having lived under relatively benign governments and in spite of the fact that the presidents who have most abused executive power, Nixon and Bush 2, have been "against Big Government", manys. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-63090030525944639722011-01-15T08:27:28.147-06:002011-01-15T08:27:28.147-06:00vh, The laws vary from state to state. I think pe...vh, The laws vary from state to state. I think people will tell you that people must have their guns because they're important for self-defense, but the truth is that guns have lots of meaning for Americans. If it's hard to fathom the meaning of guns, it's even harder to fathom the combination of "guns and God." You see bumper stickers in Texas putting the two together...Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-41481572738581036042011-01-14T14:42:03.333-06:002011-01-14T14:42:03.333-06:00Vh:
As you say, what is unique in U.S. cultu...Vh: <br /><br />As you say, what is unique in U.S. culture is that the idea that ordinary people need guns to protect themselves becomes part of standard middle-class, as it were, conventional ideology. <br /><br />People buy guns to protect themselves in Chile, but it's a kind of dirty secret that they don't brag about or show off about. If there is a Rifle Association here,s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-62209269011495944292011-01-14T14:01:31.290-06:002011-01-14T14:01:31.290-06:00Amos:
I'm sure there's something right in...Amos:<br /><br />I'm sure there's something right in your suggestion. Because we don't have the mass gun fetishism here, our gun laws are very different. Laws usually reflect the society to some degree. But I suspect that this might work the other way around too. That we have such strict laws and therefore guns play no central part in our culture. What strikes me as most alien with vhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16887661953741578765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-3630865756729823042011-01-13T18:26:13.766-06:002011-01-13T18:26:13.766-06:00Vh:
Does the mass gun fetishism which characteriz...Vh:<br /><br />Does the mass gun fetishism which characterizes the U.S. exist in Norway? If not, the lack of gun fetishism might be one factor in Norway's rational and sensible gun laws. <br /><br />I live in Chile, where gun laws are less strict than in Norway, but more prudent than in Arizona.<br />While there are certainly gun fetishists in Chile, no major politician, either s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-41450375402577321062011-01-13T14:30:15.883-06:002011-01-13T14:30:15.883-06:00One more thing. In Norway not even the police are ...One more thing. In Norway not even the police are allowed to carry armed guns. When they need to load them, they must wait for an approval from their superior. This might seem like a slow process. It is, and that's the point. Some policemen (they are mostly men, as you would expect) are trying to change things, though. Hopefully they won't have it their way. Hopefully they won't need vhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16887661953741578765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-32102419116190861862011-01-13T14:11:40.847-06:002011-01-13T14:11:40.847-06:00I too agree that gun fetishism is bizzare, but I f...I too agree that gun fetishism is bizzare, but I find the american gun policy even more so (is there just one, or how does this work?). Of course I don't know more about this then what I gather from books, movies and the news, but it seems way too easy to acquire guns in your country. <br /><br />In Norway you need to go through extensive testing, both practical tests (shooting exercises I vhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16887661953741578765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-51860837027223290022011-01-13T13:34:19.288-06:002011-01-13T13:34:19.288-06:00I'm aware that sane gun legislation is light y...I'm aware that sane gun legislation is light years away, but why the gun fetishism?<br /><br />I went through a stage around age 12 when I thought that guns were cool, as most male children do, but then I got interested in girls and in poetry and in lots of others things. Why don't so many others grow out of the gunfighter stage?s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-68372445572935609142011-01-13T12:50:38.046-06:002011-01-13T12:50:38.046-06:00You may find this of interest:
http://rortybomb.w...You may find this of interest:<br /><br />http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/involuntary-commitment-and-the-prison-population/Faustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-55232377761208401772011-01-13T12:29:38.692-06:002011-01-13T12:29:38.692-06:00Hmm...I guess I don't know much about mental h...Hmm...I guess I don't know much about mental health programs. I don't know what's lacking, don't know what's needed. A guy is acting really wacky, but doesn't perceive himself as in need of mental health care (assume that's so in this situation). What should happen? I really don't know...<br /><br />But I know he shouldn't be able to buy a glock. So I pickJean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-80523373618186606562011-01-13T12:24:53.680-06:002011-01-13T12:24:53.680-06:00I agree gun fetishism is bizzare, but unfortunatel...I agree gun fetishism is bizzare, but unfortunately I don't see that issue as something that is ever going to gain traction politically.<br /><br />You are more likely to get more funding for mental health facilities than you are for more gun control in this country. <br /><br />In any case I think it's really NOT just the gun. We have:<br /><br /><br />1. The gun<br />2. Lack of mental Faustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-88292319357064277452011-01-13T11:32:41.675-06:002011-01-13T11:32:41.675-06:00They should put a 1000% sales tax on guns (in all ...They should put a 1000% sales tax on guns (in all countries) and use the proceeds for public health care.<br /><br />Besides that, they should ban handguns for everyone, even for the police.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.com