Is an armed society a polite society?

[onehandle]

[Taverner]

1. Yes and no - an armed society is an easier bullied society

[FarCenter]

5. Switzerland is easily bullied?

[Taverner]

6. Just because everyone has a gun doesn't mean they are all carrying

When you said armed I assumed you meant carrying

I have no problem with ownership, and even CCW. But if everyone is carrying, it may lead to a more polite society at first, but when things get out of hand they will GET OUT OF HAND

[DJ13]

2. If it was, the old west would have looked like Victorian England

[Forkboy]

3. And if so, is it genuine politieness or just fear?

[Hello_Kitty]

8. That's what I think.

I don't necessarily oppose people owning guns but I don't agree with a lot of the arguments for why gun ownership is a good thing. The one about the polite society and the one about how you'll be able to use a gun to defend yourself from the government have always struck me as absurd.

[upi402]

12. Yep, pea shooters against M1 Abrams tanks = Unjust gov't wins

All pro gun arguments seem specious to me, unless you live in the remote woods.

[Hello_Kitty]

14. Exactly. I consider it one of few things that's actually a state's rights issue.

It should not be decided at the federal level because Wyoming is a helluva lot different from D.C. Why should they have the same gun laws?

[upi402]

25. Exactly. And handguns don't feed the family anywhere

So they are not useful except for crime and adults playing armymans!

[anonymous171]

30. Same thing with the 4th Amendment

The only reason you would not want to be searched is if you had something to hide. Only criminals are protected by it.

[Hello_Kitty]

33. Oh okay.

So why are we tolerating the limitation of your "right to bear arms" to mere guns? After all, "arms" refers to a lot more than pistols and rifles. By gum, if I want a Tomahawk missile in my backyard to "protect" me I should be able to have one, right? If missiles are outlawed then only outlaws will have missiles!

[C_Lawyer09]

34. Depends on your definition of handgun

If a pistol or revolver that has over a '4 barrel and is above a .25 caliber, it might very well feed a family.

[aikoaiko]

48. hunting with handguns is more popular than you think.

Just a random picture from googling handgun and deer

[Brigid]

4. No.

It is a more violent society.

[anonymous171]

7. No. Fortunately the Constitution does not guarantee the right to a "polite society. "

[depakid]

11. Instead, the absolutists (and irrationally fearful) would ensure in increasingly violent society

and an increasing larger and more expensive prison system.

Dying and going bankrupt with their "rights" on.

How noble.

[anonymous171]

13. How about we just end the War on Drugs?

That way everyone wins!

[depakid]

26. No argument there

[alarimer]

52. The irrationally fearful are the ones carrying the guns.

The statistics actually state the opposite: violent crimes have been decreasing for many years, despite the lies of the gun nuts to the contrary.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm#summary
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/viort.htm

[Gman2]

9. No, politeness is an unforced feigning of anothers preferred status to your own.

All you do, when you add guns is you get coerced sheepishness. And distrust that anyone is dealing with you honestly. And if a friend takes issue with you, you whip out your iron?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Is an unarmed society an impolite society?

For that matter is there such thing as an unarmed society? Even remote tribes use weapons of one type or another. :shrug:

[Ikonoklast]

15. How 'polite' is Somalia?

Just asking.

I already know the U.S isn't.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Only if the shooter holds his pinky finger up while firing and wipes up the blood with a lace hanky.

[NightWatcher]

20. you wins the internets

[onehandle]

21. Indubitably.

[Warren Stupidity]

40. we bow in your general direction

[OHdem10]

17. The desperate need for a gun, appears to reflect fear and paranoia

Fearful and paranoid people are no known for civility or manners.

[anonymous171]

23. The desperate need for privacy appears to reflect fear and paranoia

The desperate need for government protection of "free speech" appears to reflect fear and paranoia. If you are going to say something stupid, be prepared to accept the consequences for it. Same goes for the right to petition the goverment. Only tin foil hatters think that they should have the right to disrupt our politicians' work.

[sharesunited]

27. You may be overlooking the difference that the 2A is obsolete.

Well regulated militia to do battle with the federal government?

Been there, done that.

It was called the American Civil War.

Never again.

[anonymous171]

29. You could say that about a lot of Civil Liberties. nt

[ZombieHorde]

31. Which civil liberties did you have in mind? nt

[sharesunited]

35. Freedom of speech is an obvious one. Tobacco and political advertising. Kiddie porn.

There is an example of a freedom which has been conscientiously compromised for the common good.

[ZombieHorde]

32. Many firearm owners simply enjoy hunting or the sport of shooting. nt

[sharesunited]

36. Try the Wii. Much more socially responsible.

[ZombieHorde]

42. I own a Wii. Why do you think Wiis are more socially responsible than firearms?

[sharesunited]

51. Wii's don't kill?

[Pavulon]

53. Cars kill , people who spread aids kill

lots of stuff kills people. we going to ban driving and fucking because some people cant be responsible?

Move on.

[sharesunited]

55. Deliberately kill. By design. With malice aforethought. For the sole purpose thereof.

[Pavulon]

58. Not wearing a rubber if you have aids? picking up a dropped mcnugget

your victim is still dead.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

59. My guns have never killed anyone.

[ZombieHorde]

56. There is nothing inherently wrong with killing. nt

[OHdem10]

18. The desperate need for a gun, appears to reflect fear and paranoia

Fearful and paranoid people are no known for civility or manners.

[Ozymanithrax]

19. Politness is a cultural value that can not be coreced because the guy at the bar has a gun.

An armed society is a fearful society.

[Paladin]

22. An Armed Society Is A Violent, Paranoid, Scared-Shitless Society.

Daily, obvious proof of this in the news, to say nothing of DU's Guns forum.......

[C_Lawyer09]

37. Why the pigeon holing

I own several fire arms. I don't agree with your assertion at all. Moreover, an armed would be victim of a crime would probably disagree as well.

[pampango]

24. Not necessarily, but I find Canadians quite easy to get along with. n/t

[Unvanguard]

28. Maybe, but the idea of people being shot for lack of tact is pretty scary.

And quite indicative of the crazy trigger-happy attitudes held by some (though far from all) of the pro-gun crowd.

[spin]

38. I've always found gun ranges to be very polite environments. (n/t)

[The_Commonist]

39. "An armed society is a polite society..."

...is up there with "the customer is always right," "the check is in the mail" and "I won't cum in your mouth" as being one of the biggest bags of bullshit ever conceived.

That's a line from a Robert Heinlein novel, and just because some science-fiction writer thought it sounded cool when talking about people who live on the moon, does not mean that it is true!

I can think of a few armed societies that are not particularly polite.
Somalia?

[Fumesucker]

54. Heinlein actually was of (at least) two minds about firearms..

Yes, he wrote the "armed society is a polite society" quote, which BTW, came from a much earlier work than "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress", it was "Beyond This Horizon"..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_This_Horizon

But he also had a student about to embark on a final exam for a survival course being told not to take a firearm to the wilderness for a couple of weeks by his instructor because it "would make you fight when you really should be running away".. That was in "Tunnel In the Sky". And in the novel a student who did indeed bring a high powered weapon ends up dead fairly early in the story while the kid who didn't lives through the whole thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_in_the_Sky

[Warren Stupidity]

41. Robert Heinlien was a Foaming Rightwinger. nt.

[Fuzz]

43. Germany is pretty damn rude.

[StarfarerBill]

44. No...

...just a more blood-soaked one.

[old mark]

45. Of course it is, you fucking wimps. nt

[Sinti]

46. Apples and oranges question - tools used do not determine social

interaction. This is like asking, is a society that uses nuclear power a more polite society.

Our society, unfortunately, views politeness and civility as weakness. They assume that you are only polite when you don't have the upper hand. You can see a fine example of that from this very thread:

"No, politeness is an unforced feigning of anothers preferred status to your own. "

If everyone in a polite society had a gun, no one would ever use it, except to perhaps stop an attacking wild animal, or robot gone mad. Tools have almost no impact on social norms. Technology is neutral. It's a waste of energy, IMO, to blame the tools themselves.

[Wounded Bear]

49. You're right....it's all about the tools who own the tools.

:)

[yodoobo]

47. armed society = terrorized society

although I suppose terrorized people are polite

[JVS]

50. More polarized. Those who tend to timidity would be less likely to be rude. Rude assholes...

would be more dangerous than usual.

[petronius]

57. A society where people learn courtesy and good manners is a polite society,

whether or not the folks are armed is overrated.

Of course, politeness itself is overrated - I prefer genuine caring and empathy, no matter how gruffy delivered, to mealy-mouthed propriety...