Jews in WW2, liberation movements & guns.. maybe that was the only way THEN? Don't think we should encourage people to have guns.. Governments have better guns, organization & oppressive apparatus anyway. The Palestinians tried to use violence to help their cause - personally I think it did NOT help their cause. However it is true that you need SENSITIVE government/international opinion to RESPOND to news of injustices and atrocities in an APPROPRIATE way; otherwise everyone ends up CONDONING and ENCOURAGING further injustices and atrocities.
There is NO DOUBT that the USA & Europe have NOT been even handed in the Israeli-Arab conflict, for example. Just allowing people to arm themselves to fight real or imaginary oppression is NOT the answer, in my humble opinion. Gandhi was inspirational because he defeated the world power of his age with NON- VIOLENCE! I can see situations where there is no Gandhi equivalent about and more urgent/violent means need to be adopted, but there is always then the danger that the forces of liberation transform into new forces of oppression - eg the Russian revolution, Zimbabue etc.. But returning to the US scenario - I CAN'T see any justification for people holding on to arms. They would NOT stop an undemocratic "coup" or restore democracy through violence. Governments these days are just TOO powerful. International SOLIDARITY, in the face of gross oppression & injustice, might be more successful. If MMY is right the way ahead is NOT through arming people with guns, but arming them with finer CONSCIOUSNESS anyway!!!! --- In [email protected], "shempmcgurk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "claudiouk" <claudiouk@> > wrote: > > > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6567329.stm > > > > guns, bombs = means of destruction > > 32 killed in US - terrible - a mad guy perhaps > > over 100 killed DAILY in Iraq - horrific - an insane situation for > > sure > > > > Is there a parallel? Gun laws don't help; neither do endless > Hollywod > > movies and internet games "glorifying" violence; or the ways > > prisoners are treated in US prisons or how suspects treated by > police > > (no wonder Iraqi prisoners get abused - almost "normal" treatment). > > > > Unfortunately UK having wave of gun and knife gang-led murders as > > well. West Side Story rather prophetic.. > > > > Lack of guns kill people? well, knives can kill too... > > > Yeah, pretty much the point I was trying to get at. Also: > > 1) 150 million people died in holocausts in the 20th century. Many of > those killed were people specifically targeted, prior to their > murder, with gun REMOVAL, such as gun laws in Nazi Germany that > prohibited Jews from having guns or peasants in communist countries > from having guns. And when the State came for them, they were > helpless to defend themselves. As the tagline for the movie "V for > Vendetta" says: Governments should be afraid of their people; people > shouldn't be afraid of their governments. > > 2) More people died in Oklahoma City than in VT. No guns were fired > in Oklahoma City. If Cho didn't have a gun he would have, as Barry > suggested, used something else. > > 3) Alot of research is coming up that suggests that in states that > have concealed weapons laws that the crime rate goes down. > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "shempmcgurk" <shempmcgurk@> > > wrote: > > > > > > Discuss amongst yourselves. > > > > > >
