Bay 12 Games Forum

Also this.

I'm kind of wondering if the powerlessness/control thing would partially explain some of the higher male rape rate.  There's a lot more social pressure on men to be powerful and have their shit together (mastery of their domain, whatever that is) than there is on women...

Ehn... while that's probably, as you say, part of the explanation, the increase in male rape is pretty much directly due to the absolute shit-poor environment of th'US's prison system. Female rape rates in our prisons are higher than outside them, as well, from what I understand.

Now, mind, the prison environment probably kicks all that rot into high gear, but the primary cause for the increase has been the environment engendered by the rampaging human rights violation that is our prison system.

And yeah, re: Guns: I'm kinda' sorry about kicking that derail/discussion into gear. I don't exactly want guns to be banned (nevermind that's been pretty strongly proven to reduce violent crime ♪), I just want people coming in for a concealed weapons permit (or a gun license at all, really) to have to prove they can pass a fucking multiple choice test -- preferably one that can be passed by answering the same thing to all the questions -- at the very least. I really, really, don't think that's too much to ask. Maybe my run in with the vetting system was particularly lenient or something, I'unno, but considering the very-much-serious responsibility of gun ownership, shit like what I ran into shouldn't be flying.

Final point, re: !SCIENCE!, yeah, True, the ideal -- and peer reviewed -- study in the social science fields involves both statistical and field work, both raw numbers and as-many-anecdotes (on the ground interaction, case studies, etc.) as possible (given funding, scope of study, etc.). There's not really a 'versus' going on there if the scientists involved are doing it right.

So if it prevents a bad situation from being worse, thats good, right? You shoot one person to save the lives of half a dozen people. A terrible situation became a less terrible situation.

No, it's not good. An act that is bad cannot become good when it prevents a greater bad act. Necessary, sure, Better than it could have been, definitely. Still a bad act. Killing is bad, period. Its usage can become amoral, but not moral.

And yes, deterrence and so forth. The threat of killing. Again, I'm for gun ownership and what it entails, but that does not lessen or somehow mitigate that the purpose and design for a gun is to kill. That's what they're intended to do. There is a difference between a tool and a killing tool. Guns are a tool for killing. The closest to a good thing they come to is hunting aids.

Basically, there is a difference between good and better, yanno'? The benefit of firearms lies firmly in the latter. It's a disservice to the gravity and responsibility of gun use to hold otherwise, in my opinion.

... it's still way too easy to get a concealed weapons permit, though.

What is "sickeningly easy" in regards to getting a concealed carry permit in Florida? It requires that you legally own a concealable weapon and take a 4 hour training course in addition to a small fee. That training course is what allows more than half the states in the US to recognize the CCW permit because it is more stringent than many other states. And why is it sickening?

Question: Have you actually been in one of those courses? I have. There was a short lecture most fifth graders (or younger) could pay attention through. The knowledge check aspect of it was literally "answer true to 10 or so true/false questions." Then you fired one round into a target. That was it. You can now send in the paperwork and get a CCW permit.

There was nothing involved that would actually vet a person as being capable of responsible gun use. All the background check involves is checking for felonies or diagnosed mental illness -- note, they don't actually check that second bit, just whether you admit to it. And all this is in an area were drug abuse and domestic violence is rampant. Hint: There was precisely one woman (my mother) in the class of about 10-15.

I call it sickeningly easy because it is sickeningly easy. The permit itself is not sickening, it's the ease of access.

Mentioned the prison thing. Mind you, that... that doesn't exactly make things somehow better? The whole fucking disgusting, should be goddamned ashamed still applies. It applies to the prison system, too. S'also a less pervasive thing for males; we're definitely not taught to be eying the shadows (metaphorically speaking; most sexual assaults come from people you know) for someone wanting to molest us. Rob us, kill us, yes, but not molest.

Also kinda' unsure about the numbers, there; last I remember getting hit with a fact sheet it's something like 25-50% (Honestly, I can't remember the exact number. Could have been 1/4th, could have been 1/3rd.) of women in the states have been sexually assaulted (not necessarily raped). I find myself doubtful (but willing to be enlightened) that the number even approaches that for men. The prison situation might throw that doubt into doubt, though.

E: Entirely possible the male rape numbers specifically has surpassed female rape numbers, though. You didn't say specifically sexual assault, just rape.

Treehumping is a lot like a language, you just need some practice speaking it. It is all about communication, but instead of between two people, it is between yourself and the tree. It tells you something, so you tell it something, and it responds, and you go from there.

... which is to say while I dig your response, I'm unimpressed by the original analogy. If cooking is like language  it's like about bloody anything

Which, uh, is kinda' Wittgensteinian, now that I think about it. That'd fit right in with the whole language game rigmarole.

Maddox

Ah. His police article was posted around here at some point. Was similarly unimpressed. Guy sorta' makes some good points but the presentation (and littering of bad points) rubs me the wrong way.

Boundary magic can do this. Simply manipulate the line between not having bacon and having bacon. Shape, size, amount, all these can be manipulated at will. Gap haaax♪

Alternately baconomancy, but that has the problem you mention. It is a cursed art, because you eventually become tired of bacon. Mind, that takes a couple decades, but it happens.