A little while back, I posted on my blog about a group called "Jesus Would Have Thought Bush Was A Douchebag" (http://pastorkes.blogspot.com/2007/01/what-would-jesus-think.html) and commented about the problems with said group/slogan/idea.
So, in fairness (and because it's really bugging me), allow me to comment on a t-shirt I saw today which read:
"If guns kill people, food makes Michael Moore fat."
The problems with this are endless, but let's begin with...
1) Food DOES make Micahel Moore fat. Okay, it's possible that Michael Moore has a glandular problem that I don't know about. I'll pick a target who is also opposed to guns and also a tad too wide in the waist...me. Food is certainly the reason I am fat. So your argument is sort of blown at the onset (which is fine with me). But, the implication may be that it is Michael Moore's RIGHT to be fat that is being compared to Joe Gunowner's right to own a gun. In which case, I'd say...
2) This would hold up if the only thing that gun owners ever shot was themselves. Now, let's be clear, I DO NOT THINK THAT GUN OWNERS SHOULD SHOOT THEMSELVES. I am simply stating that the only person Micahel Moore's poor eating habits are hurting is himself. Whereas Joe Gunowner's poor gun owning habits might potentially hurt me. This analogy might hold up better if one person with poor eating habits could potentially slip and make their kid or next door neighbor suddenly fat. If this could happen, I would argue that we need to have a whole lot less food lying around.
"Aha!" Joe Gunowner exclaims, "so you'd have less food about, but you wouldn't outlaw eating altogether." That's true, I wouldn't. But that doesn't weaken my argument, it strengthens it. It shows that while eating ought to be a right, given that it is necessary to survive, gun ownership ought not be, given that it is...you know...not.
But, the fact is, most of those who are arguing against guns aren't wanting to make gun ownership illegal (that's just nuts like me). Most of them want more restrictions on gun ownership. They want it to be harder for an irresponsible person to get a gun, they want access to guns to be limited; sort of like having less junk food lying around so that your neighbor doesn't accidently get fat.
Because guns don't kill people, people do. And people can be really stupid. You should see some of the things the guys in my Lunch Bunch do on Fridays. Then imagine if we were the Gun Bunch.
5 comments:
I'm not for banning guns, but I certainly support stricter requirements for someone to own a gun and more efficacious ways of keepings guns out of the hands of people who would use them to harm others.
Maybe it's a sign that I'm in dire need of a break, but as I read your post and the discussion of good and guns, I imagined a bazooka-like gun that shoots hot dogs, Twinkies, and other fatty foods.
hey kester!
"If guns kill people, food makes Michael Moore fat."
i think this is saying that it is not the tool that is bad, it is the way in which it is used.
so food isn't what makes michael moore fat, it's michael moore that makes michael moore fat because he chooses to eat so much. and it's not the gun itself that kills people, it is the person who chooses to shoot the gun that kills people.
no?
i am enjoying your blog, i'll definitely have to keep reading in the lulls at work! :)
vanessa-
hi yourself!
i agree that is what the shirt is saying, i just don't think it holds up. food is a tool that a person can only misuse to their own detriment. a gun is a tool that a person can (and often does) use to another's detriment. and food can only make you fat over time. a gun can kill someone instantly.
i think it's apples to oranges and oversimplifies the issue. i guess all slogans and stickers oversimplify, but the best ones do so in order to boil down the point to its essence, not to miss the point entirely.
yes, i forgot to add that t-shirts such as the one you saw annoy me. :)
You write very well.
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