On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:36:31 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

In other
words, carry if you must, but if you make a big deal out of it, you're
probably in need of emotional help.

Yup. I'll add that even some of those who don't make a big deal of it
are still in need of emotional help. Of course, I'm in AZ, where it
sometimes seems that guns might as well be baseball cards. I've never
heard any of my friends or neighbors even consider the big picture,
it's just accepted wisdumb that there isn't any problem that can't be
solved with more guns. Two people I know bought AKs in fear of the
invading hordes to hear them tell it. If they really believe that's
where we're headed, then they'd be better off to lose some weight so
that they look less like walking beef-round. :-)

I see that someone wrote about how having a gun makes one less likely
to escalate an argument. Holy crap. I'm sure that's true in some
cases, but in general it has to be the exact opposite. Check it out on
a large scale - does anybody really believe that there'd have been an
Iraq invasion if all that hardware wasn't fueled up and ready?

I predict a tightening spiral dive when it comes to guns. We fear, we
buy more guns. We see more guns around, we get more to protect
ourselves. The economy is bad, we buy so many guns that it creates a
shortage. Combine it with our infamous prowess at math and perception
of risk and odds and bloody hell... Somebody needs to write a book
about how to survive on a diet of guns. The best recipes for primer
soup and stag-grip stew, that sort of thing. :-)

Wayne