Side story on the recent gun spree

[carl]

As to violent video games and movies, perhaps they are a deep societal response to the bicycle helmet/pads/safety belt/risk averse forces of darkness?

Beetle, you might be on to something there!

Sort of like Catholic girls once they got out of school in the years gone by? I am being serious. The dynamic would be the same.

[jmm99]

As a normal rule, sheep don't like the sheepdog. The sheepdog looks something like a wolf, and acts something like a wolf. But, the sheepdog is not a predator of prey (the sheep); the sheepdog is a predator of predators (the wolves).

Even knowing that the sheepdog will never intentionally harm a sheep, the sheep still don't like the sheepdog. The mutt reminds them that wolves do exist, do attack sheep and do eat them all up. The best sheeply thing to do is to simply forget about the problem.

So, the mild-mannered grazers plod along in their state of denial until the wolves attack. The sheep then turn to their second operational mode - they stampede. Some are lucky enough to find refuge behind the sheepdog; some are not.

Self-defense and defense of others are not a sheep's forte.

Obvious HT to Dave Grossman for the concept.

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ganulv:

...whether rights are natural or socially constructed, which is a conclusion one needs to come to before having an opinion worth opining as regards legal rights current or proposed. ... that stuff is not all that difficult to muddle.

I'd say election between natural rights, or socially constructed rights (are you saying the latter ~ to positive law), is not the crunch point. That distinction does enter into distinguishing the bases for the various arguments on bearing arms and self-defense. Both sides argue natural rights and positive law rights.

The crunch points as to both issues are:

1. Right vs privilege

2. Duty vs choice

"Duty" ~ "responsibility".

Maybe more on those points later - it gets a bit "weedy".

Regards

Mike