Write a controversial opinion

[AwkwardMD]

I'm uncomfortable if there is a gun in the room regardless of circumstances. - Irrational.
I have concerns about people with poor impulse control having access to firearms. - Rational.

Drawing a distinction between these two, when use of the inanimate object requires a person whose impulse control is an unknown (and variable) quantity, is a meaningless gotcha.

 

[Erozetta]

I understand, I'm not judging, I'm just pointing out that focusing the discomfort on the tool is irrational. It's understandable, and isn't intended as a personal criticism, but it IS irrational.
I've got a friend who was in a pretty bad accident, he avoids that intersection now. It's an irrational fear, but I don't fault him for doing it. Now, if he started demanding no one else was allowed to drive through that intersection...

The discomfort isn't on the tool itself. It's on the access to the tool.

A non-working gun I can handle without issue. I can be around it without issue. Museums are a comfort place for me, particularly American history museums around wars. I find the weaponry showcased fascinating.

A working gun, however, is a problem, not because it's a gun, but because it's a means to an end without much thought behind it. It's a fear of impulsive actions around tools of destruction, and it's not limited to guns, they are just the tool with both ease of access and destructive power behind them.

There are times when I have to be monitored with knives because my impulse when I handle them is to hurt myself, particularly when stressed out, sad, or feeling like a burden to the people around me. My fear of guns isn't about a gun, but about knowing the damage that can be done before someone could actually take it away from me. Not the gun itself, but the power and immediacy of the damage it offers. A knife can be bad, but the likelihood of actually cutting an artery or puncturing a major organ while clothed before someone can take it away from me is pretty low, particularly since I hurt my shoulder, lol. A gun, however? Lotsa ways to do maximum damage with minimal survival chances without needing your dominant hand functional and clothing is a non-barrier to entry.

I'd personally say my fear of access to guns is pretty rational all things considered.

 

[PennyThompson]

being in a room with a confederate flag on the wall would make me uncomfortable, because somebody put it there for a reason and the most likely reasons are probably not great. if I'm in a civil war museum, probably fine! if i'm in some guy's living room, I'm probably going to get the hell out of there

guns aren't naturally occurring, they don't sprout out of a coffee table like a mushroom

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Drawing a distinction between these two, when use of the inanimate object requires a person whose impulse control is an unknown (and variable) quantity, is a meaningless gotcha.

It isn't a "gotcha" it is a clarification of a statement.
All phobias are irrational.
If you have aquaphobia and refuse to go over to someone's house because they have a pool in their backyard... that is an irrational fear. Yes, pools can be dangerous, yes, people drown, but a RATIONAL person understands the risks are minimal and behaves accordingly.

 

[iwatchus]

It is not a phobia to recognize that you are significantly more likely to die prematurely if there is a gun in your house. That is a verifiable fact. Yes someone has to do something with it, but in enables people to do something in a moment of anger or pain or grief, something that they would not have done without that opportunity. Denying that this reality exists is living in denial of the real world.

 

[AwkwardMD]

Conteoversial opinion: Invalidating other people's fears on technicalities is bogus.

 

[Off_base]

People have rational fear of all kinds of things, like loud noises and explosions, which firearms make.
In addition, firearms are used to injure or kill other people, unlike gay people.
I'm firmly behind the rights of private citizens to own guns, but everyone's experience is different, and painting those with fear with one broad brush is irrational.
Swooping in to a thread and declaring something as "matter of fact", based upon your opinions alone, does not make it true.


I should have kept my mouth shut.

 

[cw5523729]

It isn't a "gotcha" it is a clarification of a statement.
All phobias are irrational.
If you have aquaphobia and refuse to go over to someone's house because they have a pool in their backyard... that is an irrational fear. Yes, pools can be dangerous, yes, people drown, but a RATIONAL person understands the risks are minimal and behaves accordingly.

If we outlaw pools, then only outlaws will have pools.

 

[Statius]

People have rational fear of all kinds of things, like loud noises and explosions, which firearms make.
In addition, firearms are used to injure or kill other people, unlike gay people.
I'm firmly behind the rights of private citizens to own guns, but everyone's experience is different, and painting those with fear with one broad brush is irrational.
Swooping in to a thread and declaring something as "matter of fact", based upon your opinions alone, does not make it true.


I should have kept my mouth shut.

Nope. Speak your mind. Haven't said anything wrong. Only choose not to engage if that is your will. If it matters to you, then say it.

 

[TheLobster]

It is not a phobia to recognize that you are significantly more likely to die prematurely if there is a gun in your house.

Indeed — and that’s because if you do have a gun in your house, it’s likely in an area where you’ve got a good reason to have a gun (wild animals, secluded area with the police being an hour away, bad urban neighborhood, etc.).

Not everyone lives in a safe gated community in the middle of an affluent suburb.

 

[Baztrachian]

I'm uncomfortable if there is a gun in the room regardless of circumstances. - Irrational.
I have concerns about people with poor impulse control having access to firearms. - Rational.

Law enforcement commits more wrongful deaths with their firearms every year than do citizens who are lawfully armed.

Thousands of videos online will attest to far too many cops having poor impulse control.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Conteoversial opinion: Invalidating other people's fears on technicalities is bogus.

I didn't invalidate their fear. All those phobias are recognized conditions in the DSM and characterized as irrational.

 

[Off_base]

Law enforcement commits more wrongful deaths with their firearms every year than do citizens who are lawfully armed.

Thousands of videos online will attest to far too many cops having poor impulse control.

No sir, that's false information.

 

[Baztrachian]

It is not a phobia to recognize that you are significantly more likely to die prematurely if there is a gun in your house.

Then don't own a firearm.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Law enforcement commits more wrongful deaths with their firearms every year than do citizens who are lawfully armed.

Thousands of videos online will attest to far too many cops having poor impulse control.

And you are still more likely to be struck by lightening than be shot by a cop if you aren't committing a crime. So it is an irrational fear of a very low probability event.

If you are afraid to go into the ocean because you are afraid of sharks, it's an irrational fear. That doesn't mean people don't occasionally get eaten by a shark, but it does mean it is incredibly unlikely to happen.

 

[Baztrachian]

No sir, that's false information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States

https://thegunzone.com/how-much-gun-violence-is-committed-by-legal-gun-owners/

 

[Baztrachian]

And you are still more likely to be struck by lightening than be shot by a cop if you aren't committing a crime. So it is an irrational fear of a very low probability event.

For whatever reason I've enjoyed a disproportionate number of negative police interactions over the years. Yet I've never been hit by lightning since I take practical measures to mitigate that risk.

If you are afraid to go into the ocean because you are afraid of sharks, it's an irrational fear. That doesn't mean people don't occasionally get eaten by a shark, but it does mean it is incredibly unlikely to happen.

Avoiding death-by-shark is yet another risk that can be mitigated by avoiding sharks.

With cops, however, they are unique in that if you actively avoid them then they get triggered and they come after you.

Here's some useful legal advice:

 

[iwatchus]

Indeed — and that’s because if you do have a gun in your house, it’s likely in an area where you’ve got a good reason to have a gun (wild animals, secluded area with the police being an hour away, bad urban neighborhood, etc.).

Not everyone lives in a safe gated community in the middle of an affluent suburb.

FALSE -- the studies correct for that.

 

[cw5523729]

Avoiding death-by-shark is yet another risk that can be mitigated by avoiding sharks.

Jaws was just misunderstood and had a bad childhood.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

For whatever reason I've enjoyed a disproportionate number of negative police interactions over the years. Yet I've never been hit by lightning since I take practical measures to mitigate that risk.



Avoiding death-by-shark is yet another risk that can be mitigated by avoiding sharks.

With cops, however, they are unique in that if you actively avoid them then they get triggered and they come after you.

Here's some useful legal advice:

Raoul Duke: Few people understand the psychology of dealing with a highway traffic cop. A normal speeder will panic and immediately pull over to the side. This is wrong. It arouses contempt in the cop heart. Make the bastard chase you. He will follow. But he won't know what to make of your blinker signal that says you are about to turn right. This is to let him know you're pulling off for a proper place to talk. It will take him a moment to realize that he's about to make a 180 degree turn at speed, but you will be ready for it. Brace for the g's, and fast heel-toe work.

 

[AwkwardMD]

Cops love sharks. It's true! Just google "40% Cops" and it comes right up!

 

[cw5523729]

Raoul Duke: Few people understand the psychology of dealing with a highway traffic cop. A normal speeder will panic and immediately pull over to the side. This is wrong. It arouses contempt in the cop heart. Make the bastard chase you. He will follow. But he won't know what to make of your blinker signal that says you are about to turn right. This is to let him know you're pulling off for a proper place to talk. It will take him a moment to realize that he's about to make a 180 degree turn at speed, but you will be ready for it. Brace for the g's, and fast heel-toe work.

When he finally catches you, be sure to say "Don't you know that I pay your salary!!"

 

[Off_base]

Law enforcement commits more wrongful deaths with their firearms every year than do citizens who are lawfully armed.

Thousands of videos online will attest to far too many cops having poor impulse control.

You can go to fbi.gov for some statistics. Officer involved killings do not happen every day, or every week, as perpetrated by "media" sources.
Civilian homicides happen every day and every week.
I will not argue this with you.

 

[TheLobster]

FALSE -- the studies correct for that.

Correct for what? The relative increase in safety against the aforementioned hazards that is granted a gun owner by the virtue of possessing a firearm vs. the purported increase in the likelihood of premature death solely due to said possession?

Because yes, you have to weigh those two against each other. You can’t just say, “Okay, we have accounted for the risk of the inhabitants of Nowhere, Montana to be mauled by a bear, therefore we can totally compare their gun safety data to that from Martha’s Vineyard.”

 

[alohadave]

My controversial opinion is that this particular discussion should go in a different forum.