tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8988046816576439468.post5660674972604753980..comments2023-11-05T00:19:25.417-07:00Comments on Rifleman Savant: Outsourcing empathy: what could go wrong?Kevin Wilmethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18368887768008126052noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8988046816576439468.post-72072235069882454272015-10-15T07:30:18.569-07:002015-10-15T07:30:18.569-07:00Kevin, I do hope you will share your friend's ...Kevin, I do hope you will share your friend's response to this. The "gun grabbers" and far too many of the fence sitters say they want a dialog, discussion, debate on the issues... but almost none of them actually do without instant agreement and capitulation to their demands first... or instead. <br /><br />I've distilled it down pretty much to this when I talk to fence sitters.<br /><br />Examine your premise. I won't discuss the "issues" until we are clear on the premise we each work from. My premise is self ownership/responsibility. If they won't discuss that... then we have nothing to talk about. MamaLibertyhttp://www.thepriceofliberty.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8988046816576439468.post-69775019531475705142015-10-12T22:22:33.994-07:002015-10-12T22:22:33.994-07:00Boy, no arguments there, Paul.
FYI, I chose del...Boy, no arguments there, Paul. <br /><br />FYI, I chose deliberately not to focus on the "licensing process" concept for two reasons: 1) Another commenter on his post had already done that, and done it well; [S] indicated clearly that he had just learned something he hadn't known... and 2) I wanted deliberately to move past anything specific and work at a higher level--at least in part because of my knowledge of [S].<br /><br />Frankly, I suspect that [S] only even mentioned the idea out of a sense of immediate frustration. He's clear-headed enough that such an idea would almost certainly fall apart of its own accord as he moved past frustration into "okay, so what do we do?".Kevin Wilmethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18368887768008126052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8988046816576439468.post-13058409116289379362015-10-12T09:02:52.412-07:002015-10-12T09:02:52.412-07:00This idea of a licensing process merely to own a g...This idea of a licensing process merely to own a gun is an extension of the mentality of concealed-carry licenses. The question in either case is, "Do I need permission from some bureaucrat, to defend my life or my family?" The moral answer is clearly "no". Certainly many people do grudgingly put up with the process in order to exercise their inherent right, but to me that is a mistake. It is in effect, agreeing to enslavement, as if one is the property of another.<br /><br />As well, the draconian penalties for ignoring these bureaucratic diktats, these victimless "crimes", show the lack of concern of the gun prohibitionists, for the ruination of families via imprisonment. It certainly calls into question their crocodile tears for the victims of the shooting incidents.<br /><br />Another point is the notion that there are lists of people who should be disarmed. This can only be justified by admitting those people's lives are worth less than the rest of us, since guns are owned by people to preserve their life. Prosecuting an ex-felon for robbing a bank makes sense - that is an actual crime - but for having a gun? Lots of ex felons do not rob banks, but they may not defend their families?<br /><br />The states (via "constitutional carry" or unpermitted carry) have been moving away from licensing, recognizing it makes no sense for a DA to charge the victim of an assault for defending her life with a gun she didn't get permission to carry. The notion of licensing for merely owning one is a huge step away from this commonsense trend. It's saying, "2.3 million Americans in jails, mostly for no good reason, is not enough!" Where is the empathy of the gun prohibitionists? I don't see any evidence of it.Paul Bonneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15279129269584372919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8988046816576439468.post-4874336008014277822015-10-10T12:04:46.236-07:002015-10-10T12:04:46.236-07:00Excellent point, ML. I tend to think of outsourci...Excellent point, ML. I tend to think of outsourcing authority as <i>the</i> basic statism problem, and can overlook it in plain sight. I might argue that a loss of empathy and morality can <i>lead</i> directly to ceding one's authority, but I wholeheartedly agree that loss of authority is core to the problem. <br /><br />It was recently that I had an epiphany moment about empathy, and I seem to be focusing on it as a result. A person without empathy is a horrifying, dangerous thing, and fully capable of either committing or supporting atrocity. It seems an important point to make, and one that people I've talked to haven't really considered before. Here's hoping!Kevin Wilmethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18368887768008126052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8988046816576439468.post-90652602849963321432015-10-10T07:45:15.137-07:002015-10-10T07:45:15.137-07:00Wonderful post, Kevin. I do have a small suggestio...Wonderful post, Kevin. I do have a small suggestion, however. <br /><br />"Which, ultimately, brings me back to the beginning. The biggest problem we have--as a society--is that we have created a world in which people outsource their empathy, and their morality, to others, rather than retaining it for themselves. "<br /><br />Yes, people have outsourced their empathy and morality. More important maybe, or maybe the same thing, they have outsourced their natural, inborn authority and responsibility for themselves to others. The idea that this is normal and necessary, that others can and should exercise authority over them, has been indoctrinated into people for most of recorded history... so it is not any real wonder why so many people defer to kings, priests and governments as if that were the only option - regardless of the evidence that tyranny, murder and destruction of people and their property is the inevitable result. <br /><br />So, that tyranny will continue in all its forms until people stop allowing it; stop believing that anyone has legitimate authority to control them, stop believing that abdicating their personal authority absolves them of of responsibility for what they choose and what they do. Only then will peace and prosperity become the norm.<br /><br />I never cease to wonder why so many people can see and understand this authority/responsibility necessity regarding their guns... but so often can't, or won't, see it as applicable to the rest of their lives, and the lives of others.<br /><br />But it's a start. :)MamaLibertyhttp://www.thepriceofliberty.orgnoreply@blogger.com