Not opposite — oblique, maybe orthogonal
[ by Charles Cameron — Chattanooga — when a gun free zone is no longer gun free, aka words are not the deeds they describe ]
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Two sides of the same Chattanooga coin?
Chattanooga: Assault Weapons a Security Problem for U.S. (Cole @ Truthdig) – http://t.co/bfG9wNTe3O pic.twitter.com/ZmHIrwrlMN
— Juan Cole (@jricole) July 17, 2015
and:
.@megynkelly: "Look at at the bullet-riddled storefront. You can see a sign circled in red… It reads: 'No guns.'" pic.twitter.com/ixXdhBbAA4
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 17, 2015
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We mostly understand that Juan Cole and Megyn Kelly represent opposite sides in the broad strokes liberal vs conservative divide, but on this occasion their two views are not necessarily opposed so much as oblique, maybe even orthogonal.
Cole’s point is about his desire to keep guns out of the hands of criminals / fanatics / terrorists, while Kelly is talking about her desire to allow trained military personnel to carry arms on duty.
But how easily we elide the nuance into simple opposition.
July 19th, 2015 at 12:34 am
“Cole’s point is about his desire to keep guns out of the hands of criminals / fanatics / terrorists”
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Is it? Or is it about his desire to keep guns out of everyone’s hands?
July 19th, 2015 at 2:51 am
Hi Dave:
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If there were no criminal users of guns, I doubt Cole would have a problem with them — but I agree, his efforts to get them out of the hands of criminals translates into a prescription to control their general availability.
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How he’d feel about, say, veteran deer hunters who feed their families venison in winter, I simply don’t know.
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I have it in the back of my mind to devise a web-based format for the exploration of contrary opinions — here’s another issue where I’d like to be able to get a better sense of the best arguments on both sides, the zones (urban, rural etc) that impact people’s decision making, etc.
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Alas, I have the ideas, but lack both coding skills and time for more detailed exploration.
July 20th, 2015 at 12:39 am
LOL, Charles, perhaps we need a Zenpundit forum!
July 20th, 2015 at 11:46 pm
“If there were no criminal users of guns, I doubt Cole would have a problem with them”
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Ah. I see you haven’t read any of his many posts complaining about how guns lead to suicides.
July 21st, 2015 at 2:39 am
“Ah. I see you haven’t read any of his many posts complaining about how guns lead to suicides.”
What’s his problem with suicides?
July 21st, 2015 at 5:22 pm
Hi Dave:
Nope, I can’t say I have. I tend to read him only when he talks about the ME, and even then with a certain detachment..