I've said it before and I'll say it again...

I'm 100% against gun use and guns in general.

But as long as there ARE guns, everyone fit to own one should be allowed to. Either everyone or NO ONE. And I mean like, shutting down every gun plant, every bullet factory, everything, melting down ALL the guns... etc.
This, of course, will never happen. Therefore, I'm going to stay out of gun laws. I can't with a clear conscience pull for the LOOSENING of gun laws, but I can't pull for tightening them either.

All I can say is, I aint gonna get one.

Are you saying that most of the killings in Philadelphia are

?

Are you in favor of enforcing the laws on the books?
A number of years ago they started a system of instant checks. When you want to buy a gun you have to fill out a form. The seller then calls the info in and they give him a yes or no, on whether you are eligible. Thousands of people who are not eligible have tried unsuccessfully, hoping it would slip through, even though just trying it is a federal crime.
Guess how many of those thousands of people have been prosecuted?





zero. :eyebrow:

I won't put words in wolf's mouth, but *I* think they are.

Criminals with illegal guns can't go to the range to practice, so their aim sucks (even if in the unlikely event they're not high at the time), so the collateral damage rate is very high.

I'd say the vast majority of the shootings in Philly are young males shooting at each other over drugs; either territory or money. In the case of shootings over women, it's both territory and drugs, the drug being testosterone.

Yes, that is what I'm saying.

I disagree. There are lot's of reasons for shootings, not just the knee-jerk racist (no I di'int) conclusion that it must be crime/drugs. I heard an interesting take on the news this morning. A young black man (who would know better than a mature suburban woman) said that it was all about pride. If someone gets the better of you (nonlethally, of course), you're likely to go get your piece and show him who's a bitch. That's in his neighborhood, anyway. Could be a woman, basketball, parking spot, anything that disses someone.

Diss This
 

Indeed. I think it's this notion of having felt "dissed" that fuels much of the violence, particularly within urban AA culture. And responding to being "dissed" is elevated to an extreme level. That is why I see so many young Black men here in the ATL wearing Scarface T-shirts. The Scarface character takes on hero status for the way he responded to being dissed ("Say hello to my little friend!!!":rattat: ).

Of course, having such a character as a "hero" is very disturbing. In fact, I see so many disturbing things in much of urban AA culture that it makes me feel awkwardly racist. But I can't help noticing.:worried:

It's too bad that that particular moment in Scarface is what makes it so popular. He's so coked up that he can't feel the fact that he's been shot multiple times. Great.

Scarred for life
 

It's gonna be on the tube this weekend. I never watched it all the way through. Is it worth the time? 4 out of 5 stars? 3 stars?:neutral:

I liked Dog Day Afternoon myself.

I don't think so. Michelle Pfeiffer's character nailed the whole movie when she said something like "Does every other word out of your mouth have to be "fuck?"

If it's about "pride," then what's different in the nature or nuture of young black men that they feel the need to kill each other over stupid crap like that?

They don't have much else to be proud of (and this goes for Hispanics, White, Asians, all who get into this society). For the most part they come from a poor family with a lack of unity, schools that are underfunded with teachers who are overworked and who are not even "good" teachers because those schools cannot attract them, the unemployment rate is high, substance abuse is high...and the upper classes look down upon them and make them feel worthless. They are acting out and if they cannot make themselves respectable to the upper classes, atleast they can make their own peers respect/fear them.
That is why reform is so necessary, we need to concentrate our resources on improving schools, healthcare, employment agencies, scholorship funding, afterschool programs, immigration laws, ect ect. NOT on banning guns, stopping those awful gays from ruining heterosexual marriage, building more prisons, jailing homeless and prostitutes (what a ridiculous law!), all these things and more waste money that could go towards mending our societal problems at the root, not just pruning the leaves.

Stupid Crap
 

Maybe they don't feel like they have more important stuff to kill each other over.:neutral: I don't really know the answer. But it's an excellent question. I would consult a team made up of an anthropologist, psychologist, and a sociologist. Or perhaps ask the young black men themselves.:neutral:

Why not start a new thread for that?