"...but one peasant with a musket is a problem of a different order entirely."
Yeppers. And we are seeing that disarming the populace of even a representative-government state leads to tyranny. The UK's abolishment of firearms (and other weapons!) has lead to things such as Jack Straw saying that the non-binding plebiscite of Gibraltar residents about the proposed "sharing" of The Rock with Spain was "undemocratic." And Tony B wants to be President of the EU so badly that he recently announced if a vote went against formally joining the EU he would ignore it.
The correlation may not be direct (I think it is) but it certainly seems to be present.
No, Kim, if people have guns, there will be carnage and mayhem by people with guns. Just as, if people have machetes...
Well, you get the point.
Some people are violent. If it's available, it'll be used.
And the point of the series is to remind .gov that armed people are not to be trifled with.
Note:
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JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2004/06/governments-criminals-and-dangerous.html (5 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
This is one of the best writings I have seen anywhere. Great job.
Garvin
Thank you. These essays take some time. I'm glad somebody appreciates them!
"...but one peasant with a musket is a problem of a different order entirely."
Yeppers. And we are seeing that disarming the populace of even a representative-government state leads to tyranny. The UK's abolishment of firearms (and other weapons!) has lead to things such as Jack Straw saying that the non-binding plebiscite of Gibraltar residents about the proposed "sharing" of The Rock with Spain was "undemocratic." And Tony B wants to be President of the EU so badly that he recently announced if a vote went against formally joining the EU he would ignore it.
The correlation may not be direct (I think it is) but it certainly seems to be present.
"Guns in the hands of citizens means carnage and mayhem."
Statistically, that's not really true, unless you live in an urban poverty zone.
Now, if the .gov is a tyranny, then yes, armed citizens could well mean "carnage and mayhem".
Something they would do well to remember.
No, Kim, if people have guns, there will be carnage and mayhem by people with guns. Just as, if people have machetes...
Well, you get the point.
Some people are violent. If it's available, it'll be used.
And the point of the series is to remind .gov that armed people are not to be trifled with.
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>