If guns aren't the problem and people are, why are we giving guns to the problem?
On a more serious note, it seems to me that the problem with gun violence is the fear and hate so prevalent among the groups that are the most likely to stockpile weapons.
Most of what they listed as problems contributing to gun violence are legitimate concerns, and should be addressed. However, "lack of faith and eroding of family values" is just a dog whistle saying that it's all the fault of atheists and gays.
You know what the REAL problem is? It's this thing that they say we need more of: faith!
Religion per se isn’t a problem. Left to itself, it’d just be a hobby, like collecting stamps, going bowling, or reading Harry Potter. No, religion is just a symptom of the real, underlying problem, namely FAITH — the mindset that deludes people into thinking that they can somehow or other “know” things without a shred of supporting evidence, and frequently in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary. Faith gives us not only religion but also homeopathy, astrology, objectivism, ufology, conspiracy theories, climate-change denial, false accusations of ritual satanic child abuse, numerology, anti-vax movements, a host of superstitions, personality cults, dowsing, jingoism, imperialism, racism, psi phenomena, quackery, Chinese traditional “medicine”, feng shui, and the insidious brain parasite that leads people to endlessly obsess over anyone named Kardashian.
Faith is humanity’s all-time, blue-ribbon, gold-medal, undisputed, undefeated, heavyweight world-champion worst method EVER of making decisions! Nobody ever uses faith for anything that can be tested or measured or that really matters in real life.
The priest class, needless to say, praises faith to the skies, because their paychecks depend on suckers continuing to fall for it. Religious believers are the victims in a huge, accurately named confidence game.
Don’t believe me? Test it for yourself. The difference between education and indoctrination is whether the person at the front of the room welcomes questions from the audience. Try it the next time your minister is in the middle of a sermon.
The twin towers were brought down in the name of faith. The bloody, gory, history of Europe is to no small extent the story of faith in action. Europe is also the great example of the failure of faith as Christian nations slaughtered one another by the tens of thousands in the two world wars. When people convince themselves they're operating under divine sanction, they're capable of any horror.
If faith helps curb violence, would it not be logical that the Bible Belt would be the safest region in the country? And yet look at the top five states for murder:
Louisiana
Missouri
S. Carolina
Arkansas
Tennessee
Not a blue state in the mix.
Now if I were not concerned about causation/correlation, I might think that fervent faith caused violence
Talk is cheap. Howabout you put a bunch of money towards free needle exchange and drug treatment programs, free mental health treatment, create free preschool and double your budget for elementary and secondary education (with most of it going to underserved parts of the district). If you do that, I'll gladly support your statement about faith. I'll even HAVE more faith - in the district doing the right thing.
Throughout history one constant remains; violence happens. When Jesus supposedly roamed the earth (well, a very small portion of it), he was not able to suddenly stop violence. After he was nailed to the cross (again, supposedly) THAT did not stop violence from happening. Instead, that peace loving hippy became a martyr and people started to wear a symbol of his execution around their necks. Over the next couple of millennia, many wars were fought over whether or not he was a man, a prophet, a messiah or the Son of God.
Modern day Maga Christians are just following the path their religion has taken away from the teachings of Jesus and into the teachings of violence. They know they are not going to curb violence. What they want is to be the ones that deal it out. They stay awake at night hoping that someone breaks into their homes so they can prove they are men and 'stand their ground'. Taking away their guns would castrate them. Putting a little prayer into their little resolution makes them the good guys, at least in their eyes.
How convenient to attribute an increase in violence to a factor that no one can either measure nor verify, never mind be able to evaluate any change, positive or negative, resulting from an increase or decrease in that factor. "A lack of faith" amounts to yet more hand-waving on the part of people who have elevated their need to own and use guns above the ordinary citizen's right to live, free of fear of guns and the violence which is inextricably connected to them.
And of course, lack of faith or the presence of faith is much like prayer. One can profess faith as a supposed "cure," and in so doing appear as though s/he is doing something while accomplishing absolutely 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚.
If lack of religion is the problem, how come so many shooters are religious and so many of the victims are churchgoers? I know someone\s probably already said this while I was asleep but it probably bears repeating.
"WHEREAS, this revelation of vulnerability has created a call for action. This Oconto County Board of Supervisors join the Sheriff and feel now is the time to discuss violence in its totality, not simply as an issue of gun violence. Violence is a result of a breakdown on many fronts. The lack of faith, the eroding of family values..."
So what was your excuse when Christianity was much more culturally prominent, everyone went to church, and women were forced to marry and stay in marriages for lack of options?
Why were good church folks engaging in lynchings, racial pogroms, violent crime, and such back then?
If guns aren't the problem and people are, why are we giving guns to the problem?
On a more serious note, it seems to me that the problem with gun violence is the fear and hate so prevalent among the groups that are the most likely to stockpile weapons.
Most of what they listed as problems contributing to gun violence are legitimate concerns, and should be addressed. However, "lack of faith and eroding of family values" is just a dog whistle saying that it's all the fault of atheists and gays.
You know what the REAL problem is? It's this thing that they say we need more of: faith!
Religion per se isn’t a problem. Left to itself, it’d just be a hobby, like collecting stamps, going bowling, or reading Harry Potter. No, religion is just a symptom of the real, underlying problem, namely FAITH — the mindset that deludes people into thinking that they can somehow or other “know” things without a shred of supporting evidence, and frequently in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary. Faith gives us not only religion but also homeopathy, astrology, objectivism, ufology, conspiracy theories, climate-change denial, false accusations of ritual satanic child abuse, numerology, anti-vax movements, a host of superstitions, personality cults, dowsing, jingoism, imperialism, racism, psi phenomena, quackery, Chinese traditional “medicine”, feng shui, and the insidious brain parasite that leads people to endlessly obsess over anyone named Kardashian.
Faith is humanity’s all-time, blue-ribbon, gold-medal, undisputed, undefeated, heavyweight world-champion worst method EVER of making decisions! Nobody ever uses faith for anything that can be tested or measured or that really matters in real life.
The priest class, needless to say, praises faith to the skies, because their paychecks depend on suckers continuing to fall for it. Religious believers are the victims in a huge, accurately named confidence game.
Don’t believe me? Test it for yourself. The difference between education and indoctrination is whether the person at the front of the room welcomes questions from the audience. Try it the next time your minister is in the middle of a sermon.
The twin towers were brought down in the name of faith. The bloody, gory, history of Europe is to no small extent the story of faith in action. Europe is also the great example of the failure of faith as Christian nations slaughtered one another by the tens of thousands in the two world wars. When people convince themselves they're operating under divine sanction, they're capable of any horror.
Seems to me that it's gun-toting xtians who are showing a lack of faith in their god...their rock, sword and shield...to protect them.
If faith helps curb violence, would it not be logical that the Bible Belt would be the safest region in the country? And yet look at the top five states for murder:
Louisiana
Missouri
S. Carolina
Arkansas
Tennessee
Not a blue state in the mix.
Now if I were not concerned about causation/correlation, I might think that fervent faith caused violence
The same people who claim to be pro-life are also rabidly pro-gun.
Do they simply not see the dichotomy?
Talk is cheap. Howabout you put a bunch of money towards free needle exchange and drug treatment programs, free mental health treatment, create free preschool and double your budget for elementary and secondary education (with most of it going to underserved parts of the district). If you do that, I'll gladly support your statement about faith. I'll even HAVE more faith - in the district doing the right thing.
Throughout history one constant remains; violence happens. When Jesus supposedly roamed the earth (well, a very small portion of it), he was not able to suddenly stop violence. After he was nailed to the cross (again, supposedly) THAT did not stop violence from happening. Instead, that peace loving hippy became a martyr and people started to wear a symbol of his execution around their necks. Over the next couple of millennia, many wars were fought over whether or not he was a man, a prophet, a messiah or the Son of God.
Modern day Maga Christians are just following the path their religion has taken away from the teachings of Jesus and into the teachings of violence. They know they are not going to curb violence. What they want is to be the ones that deal it out. They stay awake at night hoping that someone breaks into their homes so they can prove they are men and 'stand their ground'. Taking away their guns would castrate them. Putting a little prayer into their little resolution makes them the good guys, at least in their eyes.
How convenient to attribute an increase in violence to a factor that no one can either measure nor verify, never mind be able to evaluate any change, positive or negative, resulting from an increase or decrease in that factor. "A lack of faith" amounts to yet more hand-waving on the part of people who have elevated their need to own and use guns above the ordinary citizen's right to live, free of fear of guns and the violence which is inextricably connected to them.
And of course, lack of faith or the presence of faith is much like prayer. One can profess faith as a supposed "cure," and in so doing appear as though s/he is doing something while accomplishing absolutely 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚.
I am surprised they didn't blame mass shooting on video games, rap and metal music.
What an interesting theory... every time I don't pray to sky daddy it causes some gun nut to prey on some daddy's kids.
If lack of religion is the problem, how come so many shooters are religious and so many of the victims are churchgoers? I know someone\s probably already said this while I was asleep but it probably bears repeating.
Magic doesn't solve anything.
"WHEREAS, this revelation of vulnerability has created a call for action. This Oconto County Board of Supervisors join the Sheriff and feel now is the time to discuss violence in its totality, not simply as an issue of gun violence. Violence is a result of a breakdown on many fronts. The lack of faith, the eroding of family values..."
So what was your excuse when Christianity was much more culturally prominent, everyone went to church, and women were forced to marry and stay in marriages for lack of options?
Why were good church folks engaging in lynchings, racial pogroms, violent crime, and such back then?
OT : dis-moi pas que c"est pas vrai ! It seems it's dehydration and hypoglycemia this time. Waiting for the EMTs..
Did anyone else catch the implication that they want guns in schools?
"in our educational system" implies they want gun "safety" taught in schools which would require time for visiting shooting ranges.