From: Gerhard Kessell-Haak (gerhard_kessell-haak@mail.tait.co.nz)
Date: Thu Jul 02 1998 - 15:49:14 MDT
den Otter:
........... >Oh yes, they *hate* the victims, maybe because they remind
> them of how the world *really* is.
Are you being sarcastic?
>> Since Prof. John Lott's research of FBI crime stats over many years
>> has shown that gun ownerhip conclusively reduces the incidence of
>> crime, while most other 'less well considered' policies tend to
>> increase or have no effect on crime,
>> that gun ownership is an important extropian theme.
It's an extropian meme in the US perhaps, due to necessity reasons (not
that I would know - I've never lived in the US). I would argue that it isn't in
coutries with more stringent gun laws (and, maybe consequently, lower
death rates due to violent crime). Looking in from the outside, it appears
to me that the US has found itself in a self-induced positive feedback
condition. Preventing a country or region from entering this worrying
state appears to be a more rational course of action - though if you're in
a country lilke the US you may not have much choice but to choose gun
ownership.
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