Eric Levitz (courtesy krieger2.jhu.edu)
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“It is possible that in a country with just as many guns as ours – but with better systems of education and mental health; or a less cutthroat economic system and more generous welfare state; or a less troubled racial history and stronger sense of social solidarity; or a less toxic ideal of masculinity and more women in positions of power, Nikolas Cruz wouldn’t have turned Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School into a warzone this week. But it is a certainty . . .

that if our gun ownership rate was comparable to that of our peers in the developed world, we could remain every bit as messed up as we are today, and still witness far fewer atrocities like the one Cruz perpetrated.” – Eric Levitz, Guns Make Republicans Feel Safe. So We Can’t Be. [via nymag.com]

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122 COMMENTS

  1. …But working to become less messed up is hard, and blaming inanimate objects and bashing innocents is easy, so let’s do that instead!

    • Agreed. But to clarify the liberal position on the issue, they would say that gun control is an easy immediate way to reduce the damage caused by social issues, while we work on fixing the actual social issues.

      Since they don’t value gun ownership, they just won’t care that they’re taking guns away from millions of people to possibly save a few lives. They just think it’s a decision between a useless toy and human lives.

      • Yes. If only he had stopped after “improving educational and mental health systems” he would have been on the right track.

        But he didn’t.

    • Nailed it. Heck, just admitting you have significant cultural and personal problems is tough. It’s much easier to blame something or someone else instead of looking in the mirror.

      I wonder if these folks realize they are pushing for a “might makes right” society in the end. I guess they assume they’ll always be on the “right side”. Silly useful idiots…

  2. Perhaps we may have less crazies shooting lots of people en mass, but we would have dangerous people committing acts of violence on a smaller scale at a much higher rate.

      • It would be higher still, were we to get rid of guns. Those guns, even AR15s, are used more frequently in defense, saving lives. Every restriction on gun ownership gives an advantage to more criminals.

        • +1…. criminals always play offense, so they can always gather force (crow bars, baseball bats, rice cooker bombs, duct tape, buddies, etc.) and strike at will, when you are at your weakest. The only portable equalizer a single unsuspecting victim has at their immediate disposal to deter and defend their life is a gun…. God made every man different; Sam Colt made every man equal.

    • The word “certainty” is a safe word for him to use. He knows the world will never go the way he wishes it to, so he will never have to take responsibility for the unintended/
      unforseen consequences of his beliefs. He can sit on his sanctimonious throne, perched high above the problems of the world, and tell us how much better the world would be “if only…..”

  3. Soooooo to dumb it down… Less liberals = less shootings.
    Apparently he didnt know about the 136 people shot and killed in Paris in just a few hours. Or the truck and bus attacks. Yeah….
    Oh right doesnt fit the narrative.
    I dont know who this clown is, and i dont care. You live your life your way. I will live mine the way i want to live it.
    Bless your heart.

      • I can’t remember who said it, but if you don’t give these idiots a forum to blather their stupidity, then their only recourse will be revolution. I think its adorable that they want drugs, no guns, no police, no military, “social justice”, rainbows, and unicorns….. If a tyrant ever comes along, it will make them easier to control.

        • If they want to try for a revolution, they are quite welcome to. Somehow, I don’t see a bunch of testosterone deficient soy-boys and their 300lb “girlfriends” getting much accomplished other than a through chlorination of the gene pool.

  4. These types of attacks don;t happen on a constantly daily basis.

    Not in Europe, Not in Canada, Not even in Japan or Australia.

    Saying Japan has a higher suicide rate is bunk as it’s actually 3rd world nations like Sri-lanka which has a rate higher than japan.

    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/09/sril-s28.html

    And let’s not forget the shooter was also confirmed to be another run of the mill right-wing militia survivalist fanatic and another one of the putin puppet’s “proud boys”.

    All of these gun supporters making excuses about regulation, dismissing everything as that it won’t work. I ask you this, why do you care if the government makes it harder to get guns? Guns are not toys, they are deadly weapons and should not be easy to access to citizens. Regulation could potentially save lives, but you don’t even want to give it a shot…. hmmm

    It’s easier to run away or fight back against a lunatic with a knife, baseball bat or a rock than a loon with a gun.

    Japan and the other Countries of the World are so far ahead of us, not only in gun control. Healthcare and education. It may be impossible to catch up.

    But you people think these things are “tyrannical.”

    • “It’s easier to run away or fight back against a lunatic with a knife, baseball bat or a rock than a loon with a gun.”

      Sure. All you have to do is be younger, stronger, more fit and/or faster than the bad guy.

      Or have a gun. That works better anyway.

    • Sir/Madam,
      Your third to last sentence makes no sense at all.
      I’ll clarify it for you. If someone comes at me with a baseball bat or a knife, I will hit them with two to the chest, one to the head.
      You seem to get lost in your insanity. Go sit down, and have a nice warm cup of go fuck yourself, along with a bowl of shut the fuck up.

        • I’m going to say our resident commie identifies as a pan-sexual gender-queer tans-chihuahua. Sounds like it every time it opens its yap.

        • Or several of the 52 other genders all rolled into one. Except for any of the ones that include growing a set.

      • I feel sorry that this country’s education system screwed you over as you nor any of the anti-american anti-freedom fruticakes on here have never retort, challenged me to a debate or even answered my questions.

        Insults and fake news website posts as all you people have.

        Face it, The world doesnt suffer these kinds of attacks on a constantly daily basis, They’re lightyears behind us in terms of freedom and liberty.

        Your president sign laws that would allow the violently insane to arm up.

        • “The world doesnt suffer these kinds of attacks on a constantly daily basis,…”

          Lie.

          Happens all the time, in most every country. The difference between us and them is, the have their press trained not to report on it.

          It disrupts the ‘safe and peaceful’ image they have carefully constructed…

        • Just another lie from you…

          > Your president sign laws that would allow the violently insane to arm up.

          I’m sure those 75k people collecting Social Security who had their gun rights restored by the Donald would be interested to know that they’re violently insane.

        • get “real” American guy, I have an idea, go buy your first gun, load one round, take yourself out, become a statistic, and put yourself out of our misery. spread your bullshit elsewhere TROLL!

          good day.

    • Guns are not toys, they are deadly weapons and should not be easy to access to government. There fixed it. At least this country pays lip service to individual rights. And not just the right to bear arms mind you. those other countries; Self incrimination, nope can’t have that as it is too hard to convict. Searches, what are you hiding? Freedom of speech, well you can have that as long as you do not piss off anyone.

      • These very same countries I mentioned also have increased personal freedoms, excellent healthcare, boosting economies, multiculturalism and lack of violent crime whatsoever and the people of those countries like it that way.

        We are not a free country when it has a homicide rate higher than war-torn 3rd world nations.

        Why do you hate freedom?

        Nah, I guess you prefer that innocent people suffer than live in a free country.

        You nuts would not know freedom.

        I’ve been to these same civilized countries many times to see there was no violence, anarchy or blood and guts chaos like you and robert constantly lied about.

    • Can you give a citation for the “run of the mill right-wing militia survivalist fanatic and another one of the putin puppet’s “proud boys”.” Im just not finding that in any of my searches, and sounds suspiciously like a fascist opinion. Thanks for your help ahead of time!

    • I doubt you possess the courage to fight back against hands and fists, much less bats, knives or rocks. You’d like confiscation but you’re too scared to even admit it here and you’ll never be the one to lead a confiscation raid on a gun owner. Your fear makes you feckless and you advocate for everyone else to be in the same weak position to make yourself feel adequate. You give off an air of helplessness and the result is nobody outside of your group-think is going to take you seriously and therefore nobody cares what you think.

      • I have fought back against people who attacked me with these very same things you described and as some who has taken boxing lessons and wrestling lesson I took in my school.

        I’ve won every fight against anyone that tried to attack me. I even fought off a loon with a box cutter during the 2017 xmas holiday; But at-least the loon was still alive to get the help he needed instead of being shot dead.

        Only slaves need guns to protect themselves against the imaginary threats when people like you refuse to see the irony is that you are actually the threat to the rights and freedoms of americans everywhere.

        Your guns wont do jack-squat against trained military, tanks, planes, attack helicopters.

        • When the military comes out for domestic social work it will be you and your anti-constitutional fellow travelers that they will be ass whooping on. Many of us here know the composition and inclinations of the military quite well, much better than someone who was never in like you. If and when they appear you’ll be pissing yourself and while wondering if your bandana will protect you.

        • Yeah… You’re not quite clear on how an insurgency works, are you? We wouldn’t be fighting the military. We’d be shooting the politicians giving them their marching orders.

        • I believe you’re making it up as you go which is sad for you because I’ve already said I don’t take you seriously.

          “Only slaves need guns to protect themselves against the imaginary threats when people like you refuse to see the irony is that you are actually the threat to the rights and freedoms of americans everywhere.”
          So much failure in one sentence:
          Slaves don’t have guns.
          Imaginary threats? – did you not see what happened in Florida this week?
          ” you are actually the threat” – There you go just making it up as you go again.

          Since YOU brought it up, most of the military believe in OUR Constitution and the military is more than capable of taking care of itself. They won’t need me to enforce the Constitution.

        • You think the military and police will be on the side of you liberals after the way y’all have treated them the past decade? Really!?!? 😂

          Also, even if they were on your side… see the following results of these historical conflicts:

          Iraq, Afgahnistan (both US and Soviet), Vietnam (US, Chinese, And French), American Revolution, Penninsular war, Algeria, and every revolution in Latin America ever.

        • So, did the loon have the boxcutter or did you fight off the loon with a boxcutter? The curious among us want to know?

          PS: Is the next person the loon attacks going to be able to fight them off?

        • I’m glad you had the size, strength and skill to fight off the loon with the box cutter. That’s better than I could have done even in my prime.

          Your position seems to be that tough guys don’t need guns and the rest of us, who aren’t so tough, should accept victimization. That’s unacceptable. An eighty year old who needs a walker to get around has the same right of self defense as a 25 year old, 6 foot 6 inch, 250 pound athlete who knows how to fight. The old guy just needs the proper tools to enforce that right.

        • “Only slaves need guns”

          So at the same time that you want to take guns away from everyone you advocate for arming someone?

        • Loon, as in what can be understood to be a “crazy person”, or a bird? If you needed the box cutter to fight off a bird…..

          Isn’t the box cutter the chosen weapon of terrorist, I think it had something to do with hijacking a plane to kill thousands?

    • ‘Regulation could potentially save lives, but you don’t even want to give it a shot…’

      We don’t have to, Mexico already tried that. Look where it got them.

    • Because guns are supposed to be used to shoot the government, duh. This may be rocket science to a commie like you, but the 2nd amendment is not about shooting deer or criminals. It’s about shooting tyrants and their jackbooted commie thugs.

      • Your “toys” wont help you or save.

        Your more likely to commit suicide or off one of your friends or loved ones than stopping an attacker.

        And your weapons wont save you from trained soldiers, tanks, planes, attack copters or run of the mill heavy artillery.

        I’m surprised see the insane-deluded posts you put here almost everyday that you haven’t been banned or arrested by the law for making constant threats.

        • Worked fine for the Taliban. They’ve been fighting for 17 years with no real issue. But please chihuahua, tell me more about your vast experience in real life combat.

        • Well I see they have let you back out of Grandma’s basement so you can pull your head out of your ass to spout your usual inanities and then push it back in. I would suppose you would get tired of the reception you receive after a while but liberals don’t think that way, all you can do is shout the left’s mantra and than go to your outhouse to soak up the smell, kill the flies, and put together your next rant. Good luck in your dream world because that’s all you will ever have.

        • “Your more likely to commit suicide…..”

          Not “your”, but “YOU’RE” (a contraction of YOU ARE)

        • Owned firearms for 20+ years now. Stopped others (man and animals) on multiple occasions from harming myself or my family. Haven’t committed suicide or mass murder. Does that make me a statistical anomaly or a person who is different enough from normal to be classified as crazy and thus not to be trusted with firearms?

      • Oh if you read one of my earlier posts I’ve mentioned I’ve taken boxing and wrestling lessons in my high-school years and I ever rarely lost I fight.

        I’ve fought off people who tried to hit or stab me and in the end, They lost and ended up in jail or getting the help they needed instead of being in a morgue.

        I value human life unlike a lunatic like you who thinks dead kids and keeping your useless “tools of freedom” are worth more than freedom to live in safety, the freedom to not live in fear and the right to not be blinded by BS propaganda that brainwashed slaves like you eat up that the world is somehow out to get you and that a hunk of metal will do any good.

        Maybe the day you lose a dear one to a shooting caused by one of your proud gun “rights” supporters maybe you will care, otherwise you won’t.

        I’ve lost high-school pen pal to one of you “2nd amendment supporters” in 2005 and another one a few years later over some country music CDs in his truck.

        Why do you have against Japan, Europe, Canada or Australia, These countries are light-years of head of us in terms of freedom and liberty.

        • You expect me to believe that a soy-boy chihuahua like you can actually win a fight? Please kiddo, a gun is the only way you’d say out of the morgue if I get within arms reach of you while intending you harm.

        • But please tell me how Japan, an insanely xenophobic, racist, and rapidly militarizing ethno-state is “far ahead” of us in terms of freedoms…

          You’ve never actually been to Japan, have you?

        • “Why do you have against Japan, Europe, ….or Australia, These countries are light-years of head of us in terms of freedom and liberty.” Uhhh, no they aren’t. Been there, saw it first hand and they don’t. But call me if you need a ride to the airport on your departure from this godforsaken hell-hole of a country that suits me just fine. Seriously, call me.

        • @Kyle

          He can’t. For example, Japan won’t let him in because he’s not Japanese and immigrating to Japan without having Japanese ancestors is practically impossible.

        • Do you ever wonder why people keep trying to hit and stab you? Maybe you should adjust your behavior? I doubt your little sister was the one that lost the fight or went to jail. Confabulation is a common psychological defense of troubled people who have misbehaved and been humiliated. Your going to hate it if the real memories ever surface.

        • Referenced Post: “I’ve won every fight against anyone that tried to attack me”
          This Post: “I ever rarely lost I fight”
          You are a liar and are not to be believed.

        • Woah! Someone is seriously off their meds today. Take your lithium like a good ‘person’ and get back to us later. Real men have important things to discuss and you are an interruption.

      • I’ve been to Japan, Europe and Australia many times to know these places you people consider “Dangerous” are actually one of the best safest places in the world. I’ve been around most of the entirely of these countries to know that they’re safe to be around.

        I’ve the money to go to these countries while you blow yours on useless weapons instead of keeping your families fed.

        I’ve had the people of these countries ask me why I would want to continue living in a country that continues to suffer these incidents on a constantly daily basis. The people of these countries only needed their guns for farming and hunting and went through the proper procedures to get their weapons.

        These very same Europeans, Australians and Japanese consider this country an oppressive hellhole due to the high rates of violence.

        How is mental health checks and criminal backgrounds and fingerprints “oppressive”?

        And Yes, I bet I can win a fight against you as at least I took the time to exercise and train. While yours must be drink cheap crap beer and listen to rush limbaugh.

        I also start every morning doing around 20-50 push-ups every morning.

        • Oh, you’re adorable… you think 20-50 pushups is impressive…

          Now I know you’re a worthless soy-boy stick.

        • No you haven’t. You’ve never been out of your home country.

          You are a pathological liar. 2 confirmed signs of mental illness. Your trolling and your constant lying.

        • You better watch out, we’ve got a certified badass over here. He’ll beat you up with his “boxing lessons” and “20-50 daily pushups”…

          Kid, you’re talking to a group of people who had to maintain peak physical fitness as part of their job for literally years… The fact that you even mention “20-50 pushups” tells us that you’re a stick of a chihuahua who chugs soy milk by the gallon.

          You want to know what a real fitness maintenance program looks like? This was what I did when I was in college so that I didn’t bomb my PFTs.

          1. Roll out of bed and do 100 pushups and 100 crunches.
          2. Go take a piss / shit and after do 100 pushups and 100 crunches.
          3. Shave and afterwards do 100 pushups and 100 crunches.
          4. Go take a nice relaxing 2 mile / 20 minute jog around the campus. (If you can’t do 2 miles in 20 minutes, you’re in deep doo doo.)
          5. Take a shower.

          Mind you… this is a MAINTENANCE program. If you want to get better, you’re going to have to spend some time at the gym.

        • Welll, why do you want to live here? Inquiring minds want to know what you told these ‘enlightened’ foreign nationals.

        • Serge, he’s taken ‘boxing and wrestling’.

          *Snort*

          A free clue for you, boxing-boy – An insurgency is all about the *lack* of rules. Anything and *everything* is fair game, including the families of the combatants.

          How long do you think the grunts in the military will wage war on the citizens when their wives and children become targets?

          Life in military bases will be very cold and hungry. Bases under siege will have their powerlines cut, and no trucks will dare to resupply them.

          Defeating the US military and their fancy toys will be no problem, it’s why they will *never* wage war on American citizens.

          They *know* it will be suicide. The American people have more guns than they do, and a whole *lot* of them have *recent* military combat experience.

          Looks like those wars in Iraq and Afghanistan came in kinda handy for our side, eh?

          *snicker* 😉

        • Dont forget the 3-5 mile run a minimum of 5 times a week, the quarterly 15-20 mile “walk in the park” with an extra 150lbs of weight, and, depending on where you are and what your doing, the endless hours spent swimming, occasionally in clothes that soak up the water like form fitting sponges

        • Yeah… I gamed the hell out of my PFTs. I didn’t need a 1st class PFT for my MOS, so I just maxed the pull-ups and crunches and treated the run portion as a “so long as I finish under time”. As I mentioned elsewhere, I always looked like a fireplug, so running was never a very strong area for me.

        • A fun military training tool is called getting ‘Wet and Sandy’.

          You start by running into the ocean-lake to over your head, and then roll on the beach until you are covered with sand.

          Then proceed with a full day of training and calisthenics, getting the nastiest chafing in all sorts of tender areas.

          Oh, and repeat getting ‘Wet and Sandy’ every few hours…

        • We’re beginning to get the picture. RAPAAAAFP’s position on guns has nothing to do with peace, love or respect for life. He is just a tough guy who wants to maintain his physical advantage over weaker people. He reminds me of the medieval knights who had a real hard on for anyone armed with a crossbow since it could penetrate their otherwise impregnable armor. He should remember that US law understands disparity of force. It allows the victim of an attack to use a higher level of force against a stronger assailant than against one of similar strength.

        • You do realize that your grammar, punctuation, and word usage are on the level of a fifth grader, right? I am granting that possibility based on the level of your logic and reasoning. You are apparently espousing the tired tirade of the unthinking pistoleros confiscados, that if we get rid of guns, we get rid of homicides and mass killings. There are many issues with that theory, the first and most glaring being that criminals are criminals because they don’t obey the laws, and therefore will NOT obey any sort of gun confiscation order. If they did, they wouldn’t be criminals, they wouldn’t illegally shoot anyone, and therefore gun confiscation wouldn’t be needed.
          If you immediately banned the import, manufacture, sale ownership, and possession of firearms, you would immediately create one huge logistical problem of how to arrest over fifty million new criminals, and how to search for, find, hold for evidence, and then dispose of three million firearms, most of which (Probably ninety percent) are not registered or known to “The Man”.
          Also, with well over two billion usable guns in the world, they (the newly created criminals) can always get more, through highly illegal channels. (The ARE criminals now, remember?)
          Now, let us return to your grammar, punctuation, and word usage. There is always the possibility that you are intentionally “dumbing down” your writings to match what you think is the educational or developmental level of your audience.
          I would suggest that you think again, but I don’t want to be accused of encouraging suicide, no matter how appropriate it might be.

        • “I’ve the money to go to these countries while you blow yours on useless weapons instead of keeping your families fed.”

          oh I feed my family plenty with my “useless weapons” don’t you worry, please, move!

    • Actually, the alt-right white identitarian movement is much more similar to the extreme left groups like antifa than it is to right-wing militias. You’re confusing Concepts without actually examining the subject matter on what you comment and to which you refer.

    • I’d ask you for your example of a workable gun control proposal that would have prevented this….but your most likely a troll or a sock puppet, and not worth the effort.

    • “Japan and the other Countries of the World are so far ahead of us, not only in gun control. Healthcare and education. It may be impossible to catch up.”

      If you are so enamored of their progressivism, healthcare, education and GUN CONTROL I’m reasonably certain there is no one at any of the exit points of this country that will make any effort to prevent you from moving there. Instead of wasting our time and yours trying to change a basic natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right, go where the weather already suits your clothes.

      And by the way…it is extremely difficult to “catch up” when you are not trying.

    • Another idiot comparing Japan to America. It can’t be done. The culture and education systems are so radically different, its like comparing Cadillacs to Cherry Blossoms! The school system in Japan is geared to making good citizens FIRST, then academics. Hell our school system promotes everyone gets a prize! These are the comments of a person that never had a violent encounter in their life, never had to fight for their life. In the last 6 months, my daughter got shot at in a concert in Vegas (yeah THAT one!), my older cousin got murdered in January in California, and 2 days ago 2 of my nieces were at that school in Parkland. I myself was a target of racism and had to fight often thru out my life. This idiot needs to get laid out…..beaten so badly he is in bed for a few days. Get a taste of the evil that lurks in our streets…our society…the not so randomness of it’s existence.

      • If people think bullying in US schools is bad… oh boy, would they have fun in Japanese high schools. Basically, the entire system encourages 100% conformity and even slight outliers get hammered flat.

    • awwwwk screeches the parrot –saying the same stuff over and over–

      yet that dumb bird has more brains than you and can learn a NEW tune?

    • 4Chan trolls put it out that Cruz is linked to some kind of white supremacist group. Leftist media ran with it hard, because they want to believe it. Whether that’s true or not is abundantly unclear at this point. The police are saying no. On the other side, a right-leaning web sight put it out that Cruz is a registered Democrat, but walked that back later. We won’t even start to get an accurate picture of what is going on for a while. But if are out hyping up things you’ve read on Buzzfeed or similar, you won’t find much in the way of sympathy here.

    • ” I ask you this, why do you care if the government makes it harder to get guns? ”
      Because US government has no business restricting our gun purchases. The US government is forbidden to infringe on our right to own and carry arms by the Constitution. We, the people, might need these arms to get rid of US government, so it would be silly to let the same government regulate our acces to arms.

      But you would not understand. No such ideas in Canada.

      Oh, and one more thing. Are you saying that since Japan’s suicide rate is not the highest in the world, it isn’t higher than our (American, not your) suicide and murder rate combined? It is and Sri Lanka has nothing to do with this. One has to wonder, why so many Japanese want out of life in such great, advanced and safe country.

  5. Yes. Let’s further demonize and marginalize people for being who they are. I’m sure telling little boys that they’re evil and the cause of all the worlds problems as soon as possible will totally end violent and destructive outbursts.

  6. “Guns Control Isn’t Everything, It’s The Only Thing”

    It’s not the “only thing” to that hipster, he obviously huffs hair gel bottles and likes to snuggle with dudes.

    This guy wouldn’t know if “Masculinity” was toxic, because he hasn’t tried it.

  7. Usually “developed world” means any nation with violence lower than America. By that definition America is not developed, so why only compare it with “developed” nations?

    I realize the opposition would likely respond with a list of what they consider to be poor, undeveloped, non-violent countries. However, the inverse, comparatively developed nations (ubiquitous cars, internet, smartphones, etc) with high violence and civilian disarmament, are orders of magnitude more common.

    The the big one I never see mentioned is that, if they really believe in the disarmament/homicide spectrum of America->Canada->UK->Japan, why don’t Canada/UK/etc just go the way of Japan and ban all guns? I realize that hunting would need to be handled by licensed, probably tax funded, professionals, but as they say: “If it only saves one life.” I guess they want to, but it’s those pesky gun owning, hunting fellas that keep inhibiting political “progress”.
    (Reminder: The above was hypothetical; I am not personally advocating any gun bans. I hope that was clear the first time.)

    • What they also forget is that two out of the three are effectively ethno-states. But hey, judging form the Black Panther movie, the alt-left is all about their racist, xenophobic, anti-immigration, authoritarian ethno-states… They just don’t like it when they have to steal another idea white people have first. My personal favorite was when one of the main characters started literally paraphrasing Mein Kampf at one point in the movie. I thought I would die of schadenfreude.

      #MakeWakandaGreatAgain

      • Hmm, I may have to procure that one for the heckle factor. Are there any nifty guns in it? It sounds like there’s a show called Black Lightning, so I guess suddenly there’s a lot of black interest in the superhero career field. That would be the next logical step after president?

        • Not really. It’s a Marvel movie, so the SJWs are on full retard mode. I just found the content hilarious as I watched a ripped reviewer copy last night. It was hilarious, these cretins made an alt-right propaganda movie and the “anti-racist” left is lining up to drop on their knees and fellate them for it.

  8. This is an example of the straw man fallacy.

    What is true is that more laws and less freedom are not the solution to problems caused by the decay of morality and virtue. Until we address the true root cause of these events, we will be, to paraphrase Thoreau, merely “hacking at the branches of evil”.

  9. Pajama boy got about half of the progressive newspeak talking points in one sentence, bravo! Not surprising from an “aspiring” NY playwright, though.

  10. In response to “Patrick’s” post, “Developed world” is easy to define. I have this discussion with many, It’s the ability to pick up a phone and have a pizza delivered! As stupid as this sound, think about the logistics about getting a pizza, first there has to be a communication system so you can actually call the business. The business has to have the logistics to get the ingredients to make the pizza which has an infrastructure for the transportation system, roads, bridges etc, to get the parts of the pizza to the store, there has to be a financial system so the pizza store can pay for their suppliers. Someone has to have skills to make the pizza. the pizza has to be cooked, which usually dictates an electrical grid to supply power to the businesses and finally the pizza needs to get delivered, usually with a vehicle which required a system to be able to supply fuel for the vehicle. Then to have the pizza actually delivered you have to have an address which dictates a map grid system so people know where they are going, then you have to have a currency system to pay for the pizza. So having the ability to get food delivered is usually a indicator of a “Developed country”. Just my .23 cents worth (adjusted for inflation).

  11. @RealAmericanPatriotsAgainstAntiAmericanAntiFreedomProgunners

    Unique among all nations in the history of our planet the United States of America is. The only country founded upon the principle of a government of the People, by the People, and for the People.

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

    Our nation is founded in the right and true and undeniable principle that all rights belong to the People. That no person or government may take those rights away. That there are no limitations upon the free exercise of those rights until such exercise infringes upon the rights of another. Likewise, the right to keep and bear arms has no limitations whatsoever. This is what makes our nation great and unique and what makes us citizens and not subjects.

    All you espouse is nothing but drivel aimed at tearing down our founding principles. You, and those like you, call us names for standing up and supporting those principles with little or no understanding for how profound and powerful they are. We are Americans and we are Freedoms Safest Place. We will never give up that which we have fought, bled, and died for. This is what makes us unique among all nations. We do not wish to be like other nations. We will not give up our freedoms for a false sense of security. If other nations so desire, fine for them. This will never happen here.

    These incidents are horrible. Not one of us can deny that. Yet we see them for what they are. Lonely acts of desperation from sick and evil people. Regardless, we also know that with Freedom comes responsibility and hardship. One day our divided philosophies will come together and address the real causes, but guns and the access to them has absolutely nothing to do with this. We didn’t have such horrors as short as 30 years ago. Guns were far more easily obtained, background checks did not exist, and yes, semi-automatics did. What we need to do is figure out what changed, and it wasn’t guns.

    I have served my country. My brothers have died. There is almost nothing I wouldn’t do to heal this wound; but I will not give in to those who would destroy all we stand for. I proudly stand for our Anthem; and I cry every time in remembrance.

    US Navy
    1980-2001

  12. That guy lost me when he put his picture in his article. Seriously, how can anyone respect the views of someone who has to match his glasses to his t-shirt?

    Oh, and please don’t feed the trolls. They are worse than a dog that sheds like crazy and isn’t house broken.

  13. Don’t schools teach logic or the Socratic Method anymore? Sheesh, this guy needs a crash-course in rational thinking.

  14. First: Eric Levitz it seems to me the messed up part is you. Second: RealAmericanPatriots…………… let me give it a shot.You are right” guns are not toys” and neither are vehicles. So maybe we should put the controls on vehicles that you want on guns since far more people are killed by vehicles each year in the United States then by guns.After vehicles then what would you want to control?Remember you do live in a free country of which I spent over 28 years of my adult life to guarantee your rights.However,with these rights comes responsibilities on your part.First it would help you to think before you speak and have some form of education about the subject you are speaking about.For example you state other countries have health systems far better then ours and we probably could never catch up.May I suggest you educate yourself on the whole Canada health care system then give me the facts that prove it is far greater then ours.I admit ours needs work but sure do not want to go in the direction that Canada has.What’s this “our guns won’t do jack squat against trained military,tanks,planes attack helicopters”.Looks to me like you are advocating civil war.Hope not for your legal sake.Citizen gun ownership has never been an issue of overthrow of the government!It is an exercise of a Constitutional right but of coarse I would not expect you to understand.Oh by the way if you believe other countries are so much better and ahead of ours why not give up your US citizenship ( if you are an US citizen ) and go and live in one of those countries if they will have you.I hope in time you get better.Stay safe. Dave

  15. In other words: If we didn’t have (insert my biased and politicized interpretation of X), and (insert my biased and politicized interpretation of Y), and (insert my biased and politicized interpretation of Z), then maybe we could have a (insert my biased and politicized version of a scenario I would still find to be unacceptable). But since we do have those problems (according to my biased and politicized world view), you can’t have your rights.

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