Author Topic: The Bullet Proof Mind (Read 2366 times)

ultima ratio · « **on:** October 28, 2008, 10:42:52 AM »

If we want to talk about peoples defense I think we have to differ between two basic scenarios. One is the always possible development of a government turning against its own people or certain groups among its population. This is what we have seen in Nazi Germany and many other places around the globe. Armed citizen, well organized militias and long term training are the way to prepare for that when thinking about a martial response after constitutional prevention failed. There is not even the slightest doubt that guns belong in this scenario.

The other scenario is the daily crime on the street. I recommend Lt. Col. Dave Grossmans "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill" and "On Killing" to understand the human behavior we see nowadays in what became our ultra violent societies around the world. If weapons were never developed, if we didn't even know what a gun is, the missing tools might reduce the outcome. But it is a naive illusion to think we could get back to a status where guns are non-existing. Anyway, the real problem is what is two feet behind the gun.

Since the media spread around the globe at the time about World War II every following generation became more violent. On one hand we isolate kids from real violence, even "positive violence" like hunting, fishing, butchering on a farm etc. Someone who experiences real violence in its original context will definitely not like it if it is negative violence against people or love it if it is in context with its positive characteristics like hunting. But those are not the first violent experiences our kids have. Our kids, on the other hand, are confronted with fictive violence consumed uncontrolled on a daily basis. Hours and hours of violence in TV, video games, on the internet etc. And this kind of fictive violence is always set in a positive, relaxed context regardless of positive or negative violence. Youngsters sit in the cinema, with their friends, with Cola, popcorn in their leisure time (all positive) and watch the most brutal, abhorrent things on the screen which would be shocking in reality. But they laugh, they have fun in the cinema. We teach them to connect violence with fun. And then we start wondering why the society produces more murderers every year. It doesn't affect every kid, of course, but if you want to cultivate violent crime in your society, this is the way to go. Banning guns does nothing to stop this. In fact Dave Grossman recommends more guns for responsible citizen to at least reduce the body count when one of those time bombs goes off, e. g. in an active shooter scenario in a school shooting.

This is the first of 12 audio clips of Grossman speaking about this and some other aspects you will find interesting.

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=m6pPey1q-WU