Sunday, December 17, 2006

What am I, stupid?

Don't answer that.

I heard today that a nearby community has been running a "Gifts For Guns" campaign. Bring in a piece and get a $50 gift certificate to a local store.

SHORT PARENTHETICAL PAUSE...while we all hold hands and sing "Kumbayah."

Uh-huh. Yup. All those gangbangers are going to hand over their weapons for a chance to blow half-a-C at the Target Store. I know the authorities are saying this was a big success, with 479 guns turned in.

Somehow, I don't expect to see a big pile of Uzis, TEC-9s and similar lethal hardware. I'd be willing to bet what they got was a bunch of rusted-out .25-caliber handguns that haven't been fired since Eisenhower was president.

ANOTHER PARENTHETICAL NOTE FOR THE GUN-SAVVY: you don't have to tell me all guns are lethal. Lee Harvey Oswald used an old and relatively cruddy Mannlicher-Carcano rifle and, if my memory's right, Sirhan B. Sirhan did his thing with a cheap-o Iver Johnson pistol. If one truly wants to off someone, anything with a trigger, barrel and bullets will work. If the damn thing doesn't jam, that is.

Sorry, all you peace-and-love types over there in Compton -- I do not feel any safer as a result of your well-meaning bit of liberal holiday spirit.

I used to live in The 'Hood. I recognized the sound of some of the guns I heard fired on New Year's Eve and other festive occasions. They were not Saturday-Night Specials, no siree. Think M-16, think Colt .45 Military, think big, nasty stuff smuggled home from The "Nam. And the weapons have gotten far more sophisticated -- and deadly -- since then.

If the good people in the --shall we say -- crime-heavy neighborhoods want to slow down the continual escalation in violence, there is one way only: let the police come in and do sweeps. Let them deal harshly with the gangbangers, drug-runners and other low-lifes who reach for a gun at the slightest provocation.

It's "use a gun in a crime, go away forever" time, baby.

I know the NRA will consider me a traitor, but though I do not want the Feds to know what weapons I have, how many rounds are in chambers/clips and when I fired them last -- especially after the recent election -- I see no earthly reason for collectors or shooters to have weapons designed to rock-and-roll through a full clip of hollow-points in a matter of seconds.

Unless you like your deer meat shredded and/or really cannot see a target 25 yards away, you do not need such devices.

Unless, that is, you are one of the "misguided, underprivileged youths" who deals with life by blowing rival gang members and innocent bystanders away.

I am sick and tired of the professional apologists who believe -- or at least profit from -- the notion that enough tax money spent on "Community Centers" and "Gang Outreach Programs" will make the problem go away. They are wrong, and all the good will in the world won't change that.

There are certain basic laws in a civilized society, and the first is this: those who deal in violence must be dealt with accordingly.

And "the way" does not involve $50 gift cards. It involves demanding responsibility and civilized behavior.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

When he was running for President, Ross Perot was asked how he would deal with the problem of guns in the neighborhood.

I would do a house to house search he said, and many people applauded the idea as sound thinking and nearly self evident and why hadn't anybody come up with such a good simple idea before.

Seems there was a technical fault, often known as the Bill of Roghts.

MrScribbler said...

The only problem with the Bill of Rights is that the writers could not envision a day when MAC-10s would be an essential accessory for some people....

Anonymous said...

Perhaps i need to go see a shrink or something, because this entry had me LAUGHING MY ASS OFF!!!

I mean, this was HILLARIOUS!!! (am i the only one laughing?)

The end note just about had me choke to death on my Nicotine Lozenge - in which case you would have had to suffer the remainder of your life carrying the heavy emotional burden of having committed Involuntary Manslaughter.

Andy Rooney has got nothing on you!

*hugs* and aloooooooHA!

MrScribbler said...

Carrying the burden of making you laugh doesn't bother me at all, KF.

I'm not sure I'm ready to be an aging crank like Andy, though....

Anonymous said...

I agree with kauai, I can just see these gangs lined up handing in their guns for $50. They keep their machine guns and grenades and such safely stowed in their closets. It does paint a funny picture, lol.

Anonymous said...

Hey, its Christmas, they gotta buy presents somehow.

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree more, Scribbs. You're not licensed to carry, you're already a felon and therefore prohibited to have a gun, and you get caught....off you go. No getting off on a technicality, no "get out of jail free" card. Let's always remember, it's not the GUN that's the problem, it's the person HOLDING the gun. Just taking away the gun does not remove the problem. Haul off the bad person holding the gun...now we're getting somewhere!

Anonymous said...

interested: do gangsters buy christmas presents? i'm trying to imagine a gangster in the toy store buying a barbie doll...

hmm...

Scribbler: i hate to break it to ya, but you *are* aging - just as quickly as i am...

AND... i wouldn't necessarily call you a "crank", however: you *do* fall a bit into the category of a curmudgeon (which isn't a 'bad' thing in MY dictionary at all. Many of the best writers of all time were curmudgeons - such as my personal favorite & beloved: Samuel Clemens.)
:-)

uh oh... someone's at the door. gotta go...

G'nite!

Anonymous said...

Hi I wrote a long comment on Pres K and so forth. I don't think it published :(

Anonymous said...

I think maybe it publishes under "anonynmous" not lovezao...
Bummer Should I leave comments as "anon" i have this problem often. You have missed a few from me because it happens... :(

Anonymous said...

All I can say is...Guns are scary as heck, especially in the wrong hands.

Anonymous said...

Too bad it's not just the thought that really counts...

and I thought we talked about not saying "stupid" so often...

Hugs
SWG

Anonymous said...

C'mon, nothing says "hunter" like blowing a thousand rounds through a helpless doe eyed, um, doe.

I suspect the donors were giving away evidence that would be used against them.