OK, I guess it’s my own fault. I made the heretical suggestion that we address the causes of violence as a way to undermine support for Gun Control. I identified several of the things that I believe contribute to violence in the US. Several people found this highly offensive and ‘didn’t like my politics.’ I’ve lost some readers. *shrug*
I’m a veteran. I’m an ex-cop. I’ve run my own business for thirty years and on the whole been a success. Throughout the near sixty years I’ve been around I’ve been watching and thinking about what I see. I was taught how to learn, how to research, how to think critically; that can happen when your dad’s an engineer. I grew up in white suburbia in the 1960’s and 70’s and after the army I lived around the area where I grew up for some time. Spent about a year in NYC before moving back to Seattle. The whole time I was watching and thinking about what I saw.
Twenty-three years ago we moved to a poor, racially diverse neighborhood. I kept watching and thinking. What I didn’t see were the stereotypes. I didn’t see people on welfare. I saw hard working people trying to make their lives better and to make a better life for their children. Sure, there were bad characters in the neighborhood, but no more so than the neighborhood I grew up in.
I’ve see a lot and thought a lot. I thought critically about things, because that’s how I was brought up. I’ve worked hard; less hard than some of my neighbors in recent years; I’m not getting any younger after all.
Through it all I’ve been a gun owner and a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I’ve never seen a gun law that demonstrably made things better. I oppose them, on principle and because they don’t work.
Over the course of all of this experience and thinking I’ve formed opinions. I didn’t pull them out of my ass. I didn’t get them from Rachel Madow or Rush Limbaugh, from CNN or Fox. I didn’t get them from propaganda or the internet. I got them from observation, from life experience and sharing the experiences of others.
You don’t have to agree with my opinions. Your opinions are likely formed by your own observation and thoughts. Different people, different lives; different opinions are going to happen. Honestly I try not to inflict my opinions on you, because that’s not why we are here. We’re here because we like gun stuff. That’s our common ground; a place where we can put things aside and appreciate each other for what we have in common. It was my error to introduce opinions that reek of politics. My apologies; I’ll try to stick more strictly to gun stuff.
But if you are so totalitarian in your beliefs and opinions that we can’t even meet on that ground? Well then we are both better off if you choose to spend your time elsewhere. Have a nice life.
Me? I’ll keep watching and thinking critically about what I see, and writing about gun stuff… and try to keep politics out of this blog.
Michael Tinker Pearce, 23 March 2021
Dont sweat it my brother. Some people are just ass holes. Continue what you are doing.
Looks like just one person got PO’ed and left the blog. . . . . . Well, BYE ?! Any more can do the same. I’m 69 years old with 33 years 4 months and 6 days of federal law enforcement experience and yet it still astounds me of how simple minded our society is. It seems to me that there, (unlike you), is NO critical or logical thinking when we are faced with an issue. To me people, (at least Americans), use what I call “BI-polar” thinking, everything is either yes or no, right or wrong, black or white, good or bad, with no attention to the 98% of our human condition that exists between those poles. Decisions and answers are made with knee jerk simplistic regularity. People, and Americans in general, are like water, we seek the path of least resistance. I’m in agreement that gun laws don’t work to stop the killing. It’s been proven time after time. A firearm won’t kill anything unless someone picks it up and uses it. Humans have been killing each other since we crawled out of the swamp. Take firearms away and we’ll use knives or a cruise missile with tires! Remember Cain and Able? The first weapon was a rock. The first “assault weapon” was a pile of them. It will never end unless like you say go to the root of the problem and not the “tool” that the problem uses.
Ya done good (as they often said in my adopted state of tennessee). Can’t say I understand where the venom comes from, just keep calling it like you see it. Always enjoy your perspective.
I agree 100%
This blog is called Tinker Talks Guns. I am pretty sure that means Tinker gets to make the rules about what Tinker Talks about. From my point of view talking about a mass shooting and gun controls IS talking about guns. People can read your blog or not. That is all on them, not you. People who were offended were offended because of their issues. Nobody has control over that. Not even them. It may be politics but it is still about guns.
I thought it was a good piece but that’s based on my stuff. Keep doin’ what ya doin’. “Illegitimi non carborundum.” That means “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”, Peace.