All that has gone on in Arizona over the last one week brought back some memories.
In the early 80's, fresh out of college, and on my first job, I read a newspaper report about an anti-semitic incident in Oregon, USA. The reponse of the local Rabbi struck me as unusual - he issued instructions to all Jewish families in the area to get their firearms ready. I am sure it was the threat of firearms, not the firearms themselves that kept the mischief-mongers away.
Learning from this, I decided that all minority communities must strive to protect themselves. The first step was to attend a series of lectures delivered by an active duty officer from the local police department. Two things from that lecture have stayed with me over the last 20+ years:
- When talking about philosophy, he asked the audience the rhetorical question . "You see from your window that someone is staling the tires on your car. You get your gun out. You may or may not be legally justified in shooting him, but are you morally justified? A life for a set of tires?"
- The most amazing things of the whole talk - he said that 85% of cases involving firearms that police get called to, are family incidents.
So, that is the bargain fire-arms owners make - almost six times more likely to use it on family than on a stranger. And, some of this one sixth chance is morally not justified.
Why do many Americans make this trade then? The same reason that many people buy lottery tickets. They overestimate their chances of coming out ahead. But there are a lot more losers in the lottery than winners.
And, things like Joe the Plumber, who claimed that he would have to pay more under Democrats than under the Republicans. Reportedly, he was neither Joe, nor a plumber, nor would he have to pay more under Democrats. I just wish more people would think for themselves, than be told what to think - through elaborate lobbying campaigns.
