It's a Gun, Not a Condom: The Series Index

(Edit: Let's be clear that I don't care about sane people owning guns. Sport hunting and home defense are legit reasons. This series is about all the dumb excuses for why nutjobs should also be allowed to keep their guns, and why otherwise sane gun owners seem to defend nutjobs rather than do anything about the problem.)

I started writing this series on a lark, but it works.  It was  a case where I got tired of hearing people say "a gun is for protection," and then some meme just hit me wrong, and I realized what a load of crap that whole concept is, because the only thing a gun lets you do is threaten to shoot someone, or to actually shoot at someone.  It has no other function - it's entirely engineered for offensive purposes.

So many of the memes are composed on the presumption that a gun is a magical device, that can somehow be used for some function other than shooting back.  So many of them are also predicated on the assumption that having a gun magically turns someone into a heroic action figure - not to be confused with someone who instantly thinks "Oh, shit, I could die!" or "Oh, shit, I'd better get my family the fuck out of here, then run away!" or even just "Oh, shit, I just violated the Sixth Commandment by killing someone, and now I'll always have blood on my hands, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit...."

I mean, I know there must be millions of people on the Interwebs who actually understand WTF a gun is, WTF a gun does, and have a healthy respect for a device-meant-only-for-killing.  I'm actually lucky enough to hear their voices sometimes, because they speak up on my threads, and I'm grateful for that, because it's nice be reminded there are sane firearm enthusiasts, and to know they are just as frustrated as I am.  I just wish those healthy people would write more memes - they'd make more sense and facilitate conversation better than the idiotic drivel that floats around instead.

It's a GUN, Not a Condom 1 - it can't "protect" you from anything


It's a Gun, Not a Condom 2 - Gun's can't "protect" you, so stop being stupid


It's a Gun, Not a Condom 3: Your Penis is Small, Unless You Own a Gun


It's a gun, not a condom 4: National Defense against whom?? Canada??


It's a Gun, Not a Condom 5: The paranoid, delusional, Open Carry movement - fucking psychonuts with too many guns

It’s a Gun, Not a Condom 6 - Mandatory Firearm Insurance

It's a Gun, Not a Condom 7 - total perspective check in one quick video

It's a Gun, Not a Condom 8 - The NRA is not your friend

It's a Gun, Not a Condom 9 - technically a G+ thread, which ought to have been a blog post, it's got such great comments, but whatever

It's a Gun, Not a Condom 10 - Fear is not Freedom

Batting 9000!

I'm still stunned, flattered, and geeked by that last column. You guys are so awesome!

view count	days (delta)	days (total)	views per day during the period	posts (delta)	posts (total)	views per post (total average)
1000	94	94	10.6	85	85	11.8
2000	72	166	13.9	52	137	14.6
3000	34	200	29.4	28	165	18.2
4000	21	221	47.6	16	181	22.1
5000	15	236	66.6	12	193	25.9
6000*	30	266	33.3	17	210	28.6
7000	17	283	58.8	18	228	30.7
8000	34	317	29.4	18	246	32.5
9000	14	331	71.4	10	256	35.2

* 6000 views happened while I was on hiatus, so I have no concrete values, and so extrapolated based on available data

Image text from CoolText.com

Memory and value

This is one of those "deep thoughts" I shared with someone on G+ one day, and thought it was worth keeping and sharing again.  Out of context, it lacks something, but still might make people think a bit, so here it is.

--

You keep the memory of your grandparents alive, and tell their tale. For me, it all happened to someone else, and that distance is only going to get worse. Human memory is short, and history shows those who fail to learn the lessons are exploited by those who do learn them - and then use them as blueprints to repeat history again and again.

I tilt at windmills to get people thinking. I figured out ages ago my role in this life is to spark the movers and shakers, not to be one. Was hard on the ego at first, but it's potentially more powerful in the end.

Cool Quotes - Taking "Pro-Lifers" seriously

And the bingo goes to Jean Liss for

"I would take a pro life person much more seriously if they expanded sex education/condom distribution, but reducing unwanted pregnancy doesn't seem to be a priority in their policies regarding abortion."

--Adreana Langston (source)

Musical Monday: Nine Inch Nails vs Taylor Swift

A really well crafted mashup.  Mashups are fun, because essentially a new song is created from it.  This one blends the sounds really well.

I've long enjoyed Nine Inch Nails, but generally could care less about Taylor Swift. Mega-props to her for all her success, though. Ms Swift has created an incredible career through hard work and dedication. I mean, seriously - she baked cookies for radio people who played her songs, back when she was a teenager?  She knew what she wanted and chased the Hell out of it.  Her music doesn't mean much to me, but I admire the Hell out of her.

I think it's funny the idea of the veteran referring to the newcomer as the "perfect drug."  In a lot of ways, Taylor Swift is a drug for kids today (let's ignore the Dirty Old Men for moment).

The smashup of visuals is really funny.

You know, I really don't have anything particularly pithy to say about this one.  I just liked it, and wanted to share it.

Observations on blocking on G+

People fascinate me. Some things I've noticed

• blocking usually occurs after some kind of pissing match, and might involve actual swear words;

• the person doing the blocking almost always announces it, with emphasis, some kind of pride, and the verbal equivalent of a "talk to the hand" gesture;

• the blocked person often doesn't care, but sometimes does, and continues to be pissy, or may even crow, as if "driving off the infidel" was some kind of victory;

• usually, no one else in the thread ever seems to care.

Now, as I understand, blocking is one-click easy to do, but is kind of a pain in the ass to undo. Ergo, it is - for practical purposes - permanent.

For purposes of the following essay, I'll write in the first person for convenience and clarity, and reference the fictitious Dave as the other person.

Me: "I'm offended by what you said, Dave Buttweasel! I'm blocking you, loser!"

Now, I see two problems here:

• I let myself get offended and wound up. At some level, I chose to lose control of my own thoughts and emotions;

• I chose to permanently prevent myself from ever being exposed to Dave again, even in cases where we have mutual connections, which could result in my trying to experience a thread with one or more pieces missing, thus disrupting my ability to comprehend or enjoy the thread.

Now, I have blocked people, so I'm not innocent of the behavior. I'm just saying I it seems like it should only be after putting some thought into it.

The sample above is what I would consider a knee-jerk reaction, and frankly I find it pretty lame. Maybe he hated my politics, and this was just the tipping point? Maybe he secretly feels ashamed that he's posting these pictures? (I could suggest several reasons to justify a sense of shame, but I'm sure you're already way ahead of me.)

I don't know. He blocked me, so I can't even ask him. I can't apologize, or discuss it. I can't make amends, even if I wanted to. He'll never actually know if I give a crap, or not. He has decided I'm totally unimportant to his life. That's fine, really. He's entitled to decide who and what he cares about. It's just such an extreme choice to make, especially for something so trivial.  I was trying to make a joke, and use it as an excuse to drive other people to his thread.  He got offended; whatever.  I liked him, and didn't mind the pictures.

Then again, I have a high tolerance for assholes and idiots, because in many cases, they're really decent people just having a stupid moment. I know I have stupid moments, and some of them have been really embarrassing and caused me a lot of pain when people reacted badly. They say first impressions are important, and that's really because people are stupid and suck at ever changing their opinions on anything, but that's beside the point.

Conversely, I've muted piles of conversations in which I felt I said my piece, and feel I no longer want to be exposed to the negative stimulus of that particular thread. I'm not some kind of all-patient saint, I'm just a little more tolerant.

I usually find un-circling to be sufficient to reduce my exposure, while still allowing me to be exposed, when it suits a purpose, e.g. shared connections in a shared conversation.

Maybe I'm just not passionate enough? Maybe if I had stronger convictions, I'd find more things toxic?

I don't think so. I have very strong convictions, but getting into ugly fights isn't one of them. I'm perfectly comfortable walking away from a conversation that has no value to me. I don't need to "win" fights. Or maybe I call making my point and walking away "winning"? Bet the other person claims victory after I walk away; it's all subjective, and I don't have to care.

I've seen several people remark that they block others, because they don't want the toxic exposure. This makes sense, again, because it blocks viewing the comments.

Maybe if I was involved in more G+ communities, I would use the "block filter screen" more often. I guess I do this already, in the sense that I have joined only a couple of communities (actually, I think only one), and therefore already limit my exposure to stimulus I would consider negative.

Ultimately, at the moment, I think blocking is overused, as "mute conversation" and un-circling are also efficient at eliminating negative stimulus that I don't want to expend energy not getting wound up over. Maybe I'll change my opinion someday. :)

Every Sperm is Sacred - Masturbation is Murder

Science has determined that every sperm represents half the genetic make-up of a human being. That means that each and every sperm is a potential human being.

Therefore, the destruction of sperm is the destruction of human life.

God, in His Infinite Wisdom, has designed the male body to expel thousands of sperm with every ejaculation. Since we lack a method to save all these lost potential souls, we can only do as God has ordained, and limit the loss of life.

Therefore, in order to honor and protect life, henceforth the following actions are illegal for any man to do:

• Masturbate (alone or with a partner);

• Anal sex;

• Oral sex;

• Premature Ejaculation;

• "Nocturnal Emission" (whether at night, while sleeping, or not).

The evidence on presence of sperm in "pre-cum" for stimulated males is pending.

Only the following methods of sperm release shall be permitted to men:

• Vaginal orgasm with a consenting, adult, female, to whom you are lawfully wed.

Only the following method of "birth control" is acceptable, since all others require the murder of human life, either the slaughter of sperm, or the death of a fetus:

• "The Pill";

(Note that use of "the pill" might be morally objectionable under the "promotes being a slut" provisions, even when used by a lawfully married woman, prepared to provide documentation she is having sex only with her husband, and prepared to sign a pledge saying she will not become a slut, harlot, or loose woman.)

(Note also that we have given this a lot of thought. If you fancy you can think of a method of "birth control" that we haven't, then you're wrong and should seek medical attention - from a licensed doctor, or aggressive religious leader, whichever - for your deviancy.)

• First time sperm murdering men will be sent to self-control education classes;

• Second time sperm murdering men will be put on medications to control their unnatural, psychotic, murdering urges;

• Third time offenders will be shot by a robot-controlled gun, on a random timer, because every life is sacred, and guns don't kill people, people kill people, and the random timer means that God ordains the moment of death for the sick, murderous sinner.