General Current Events/Political Discussion

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

^^^ The interesting thing about that picture, is the 4 morons with hands on grips, rather than having the weapons slung.

You would think that could constitute "brandishing", rather than simply open-carrying.

 

[spacepup | 2,405]

It's hard to understand how people can honestly, sincerely defend that sort of intentional intimidation and threatening tactic.   People are being intentionally aggressive and showing off their guns for specific reasons.  Not to mention, the risk of some sort of 'incident' has to increase exponentially, when you have that many people, close together, with that many guns, and there is a lot of anger and passion.

I understand people want their rights to guns and I'm not even getting into that here as a general conversation, but the way some of these people are acting is incredibly reckless and I just hope that nothing escalates and that no one gets hurt.  Disagreements and passion are absolutely fine, but there is no need to create potential escalations.

It'd be nice if we could all fight the same side of the war against the virus and not create a war against each other.  

[Estil | 1,265]

And in other news:

https://www.foxnews.com/world/world-reacts-to-news-of-kim-jong-ils-death

(sorry I can't resist...)

 

[Link | 2,715]

I wonder where they were employed that they can’t go back to work. Perhaps they should just get another job. 

[Estil | 1,265]

2 minutes ago, Link said:

I wonder where they were employed that they can’t go back to work. Perhaps they should just get another job. 

If there ARE other jobs.

[Link | 2,715]

1 minute ago, Estil said:

If there ARE other jobs.

If there aren’t, they should move somewhere else where there are.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Link

[Estil | 1,265]

Okay, I think I can go ahead and call it.

JOE...IS...FINISHED.

 

 

[Hammerfestus | 3,871]

Hmm the bit about the douchebags with the ARs (as if that makes me think you’re some kind of tough guy(“waah I have asthma”)) made me think something similar to what has been expressed above.  I actually saw a different but similar picture from some protest in Michigan.  What does waving around your little woman pleaser have to do with covid?

Funny thing.  I’m actually ideologically pretty pro gun.  I grew up in the boonies.  I get it.   However,  little pussies like this and the NRA and their whole crowd are so intolerably obnoxious that if you give me the chance to vote on it, I’m going to vote to take every one of them away.  I am the Spite Vote.

[Strange | 1,700]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

Okay, I think I can go ahead and call it.

JOE...IS...FINISHED.

 

 

In a perfect world, but this stuff didn’t bring down Trump. Granted, some politicians are held to a different standard in the USA than others...

[Strange | 1,700]

So, uh... anyone watch that recent Alex Jones clip?

 

 

I hear the Genesis version shows the blood.

Edited May 2, 2020 by The Strangest

[Tabonga | 2,325]

52 minutes ago, The Strangest said:

In a perfect world, but this stuff didn’t bring down Trump. Granted, some politicians are held to a different standard in the USA than others...

What I am finding much more interesting is the variance in the treatment (and media coverage) between Tara Reade and Christine Blasey Ford that exists. That is where the real show is IMHO.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Tabonga

[Estil | 1,265]

24 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

What I am finding much more interesting is the variance in the treatment (and media coverage) between Tara Reade and Christine Blasey Ford that exists. That is where the real show is IMHO.

Like I said before, THERE IS NO COMPARISON.

And even without all this hanging over Joe's head, there's still the most important question/issue of all (as Jesse Ventura once said years ago about another possible contender at the time)...who is his running mate?  Because we all know that it's a virtual certainty Joe won't be able to do the vast majority of his term!  Why not just placate the Bernie fans and make Bernie Joe's VP?  He'll end up being the President for ol, at least three out of the four years anyway!!  

I don't care if Bernie is a card carrying member of the Communist Party...he could still put up a lot better fight than Joe can!  

Edited May 2, 2020 by Estil

[Tabonga | 2,325]

6 minutes ago, Estil said:

Like I said before, THERE IS NO COMPARISON.

And even without all this hanging over Joe's head, there's still the most important question/issue of all (as Jesse Ventura once said years ago about another possible contender at the time)...who is his running mate? ,,,,,

I still think Maxine Waters would be a match made in heaven.   Just saying.......................

[Estil | 1,265]

3 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

I still think Maxine Waters would be a match made in heaven.   Just saying.......................

Ugh...if he's gonna have a woman VP does he have to pick the ugliest one possible (that's both outside and in BTW)?

At least our VP candidate (back in 2008) and our First Lady are hot   Actually the recent female President of Argentina was quite attractive too... 

Edited May 2, 2020 by Estil

[Tabonga | 2,325]

 

6 minutes ago, Estil said:

Ugh...if he's gonna have a woman VP does he have to pick the ugliest one possible (that's both outside and in BTW)?

At least our VP candidate (back in 2008) and our First Lady are hot   Actually the recent female President of Argentina was quite attractive too... 

Heh - that sounds like an old crude joke about Wyoming and sheep.

And did you ever look at a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt..........................

Edited May 2, 2020 by Tabonga

[Strange | 1,700]

As it stands right now, the “fight” is only going to amount to the dumbest and second dumbest (I’ll let you decide which is which) two people in the entire public eye shouting “Obama” at each other on stage.

Edited May 2, 2020 by The Strangest

[Estil | 1,265]

41 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

 

Heh - that sounds like an old crude joke about Wyoming and sheep.

And did you ever look at a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt..........................

No, Eleanor is not at all unattractive.  And she was a great First Lady, someone who like Dolly Madison (I mean she rescued stuff from a burning White House and got her own line of snacky cakes...need I say more?  )were a credit to the position through and through.

And how did Wyoming and sheep get into this?  I mean I know they at one time had sheep on the White House lawn (no fooling!)...

Edited May 2, 2020 by Estil

[Estil | 1,265]

14 minutes ago, The Strangest said:

As it stands right now, the “fight” is only going to amount to the dumbest and second dumbest (I’ll let you decide which is which) two people in the entire public eye shouting “Obama” at each other on stage.

Oh no, it's not that that they're dumb or ignorant...

Have you heard the full speech?  It's essentially the "Gettysburg Address" of the American conservative movement (which was just getting started right around this time...well modern American conservatism as we know it...Pence is most definitely a classic Reagan sort of guy). You'd be very surprised how much of this is still applying even 55 years later!

PS: I bet when Goldwater lost this election he must've been all like, I guess the country isn't quite ready for that yet...but their kids are gonna love it (1980, 1984)!    And I suppose the same could be said on the opposite side of the political spectrum in terms of modern American liberalism in 1972!  

Edited May 2, 2020 by Estil

[phart010 | 1,708]

7 hours ago, Estil said:

Like I said before, THERE IS NO COMPARISON.

And even without all this hanging over Joe's head, there's still the most important question/issue of all (as Jesse Ventura once said years ago about another possible contender at the time)...who is his running mate?  Because we all know that it's a virtual certainty Joe won't be able to do the vast majority of his term!  Why not just placate the Bernie fans and make Bernie Joe's VP?  He'll end up being the President for ol, at least three out of the four years anyway!!  

I don't care if Bernie is a card carrying member of the Communist Party...he could still put up a lot better fight than Joe can!  

This is going to ruin Joe and the media knows it. They are already prepared to dump him. If you pay attention, it appears they are beginning to position Andrew Cuomo (who didn’t even ask to be President!)

[Gundam00 | 6]

19 hours ago, arch_8ngel said:

^^^ The interesting thing about that picture, is the 4 morons with hands on grips, rather than having the weapons slung.

You would think that could constitute "brandishing", rather than simply open-carrying.

 

Those “moron” are controlling their weapons as they should be. A slung weapon is weapon not under your direct control. An accident discharge can easily occur if the safety is accident disengaged by the gear and said gear discharges the weapon. They have open topped magazine pouches making it easier. This would increase the chance of a negligent discharge. The person with the fn2000 is not properly controlling their weapon, but they are probably thinking the position makes it ok as it’s in easy reach. 

Nice try.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

1 hour ago, Gundam00 said:

Those “moron” are controlling their weapons as they should be. A slung weapon is weapon not under your direct control. An accident discharge can easily occur if the safety is accident disengaged by the gear and said gear discharges the weapon. They have open topped magazine pouches making it easier. This would increase the chance of a negligent discharge. The person with the fn2000 is not properly controlling their weapon, but they are probably thinking the position makes it ok as it’s in easy reach. 

Nice try.

Those "morons" are morons for engaging this specific form of protest in the first place, irrespective of whether they're controlling their weapons properly or not.

It serves no useful purpose for their cause, in terms of garnering any kind of meaningful public support, and if anything puts responsible gun owners in a weaker position when the average person comes to associate them with these bozos.

There is a line going around of these guys are "protecting their 2nd amendment rights by exercising them", but the practical reality is, that displays like this make it much more likely for additional restrictions to come down the pike to avoid similar "exercises" in government buildings in the future.  

 

 

 

And whether they are adequately controlling their weapon, or not, doesn't answer the question on the dividing line between "open carry" (sometimes legal) and "brandishing" (usually illegal).

Edited May 2, 2020 by arch_8ngel

[Gundam00 | 6]

1 hour ago, arch_8ngel said:

Those "morons" are morons for engaging this specific form of protest in the first place, irrespective of whether they're controlling their weapons properly or not.

It serves no useful purpose for their cause, in terms of garnering any kind of meaningful public support, and if anything puts responsible gun owners in a weaker position when the average person comes to associate them with these bozos.

There is a line going around of these guys are "protecting their 2nd amendment rights by exercising them", but the practical reality is, that displays like this make it much more likely for additional restrictions to come down the pike to avoid similar "exercises" in government buildings in the future.  

 

 

 

And whether they are adequately controlling their weapon, or not, doesn't answer the question on the dividing line between "open carry" (sometimes legal) and "brandishing" (usually illegal).

 

No. They are properly controlling their weapon, which is their right to do, in protest, which is their right to do as well, to go against what they believe is bad politics by the Government and/or political drama. It does not matter what they have on them as anything can be classified as a weapon. A concrete milkshark, knives and pipes are just as dangerous as a gun against a person if not more so in close quarters(less than 21ft). A person that is willing to bash another person's head in with a concrete milkshake is more dangerous that a person being inert with a gun with no intent to use. There is no difference between that person with the AR or a person carrying concealed other than you don't know they have it. Brandishing is dependent on each State's guidelines of what they is. A gun is just a tool. 

And no, this protest means nothing in reality. The "restrictions" are constantly tried by the Government. They'll try it regardless and have been trying. If anything, just like Virginia, this is a warning to knock it off. That is the point of the 2nd Amendment. Canada just banned AR rifles and a slew of others. What makes you say they aren't responsible gun owners? Because they protested with guns, which again, is their right to do. You should be concerned that the situation, across the United States, has reached the point they have to protest armed not that they are. 

 

And lol, yes it does. "Responsible" gun owners need to be in control of their weapon at all times. How do you brandish a gun without control over it? If a CCW person flashes a gun to show they have one, that could be brandishing as you are going "Hey, I have a gun you didn't know about so back off". But a rifle, that is already visible. without the person doing anything aggressive...is that brandishing? If I have a CCW and start yelling at someone....is that brandishing? No, then why is it different if I'm open carrying? LEOs yell at people all the time, with an gun on their hip and sometimes out, is that brandishing? He's being mean and has a gun.

 

Please.

 

1: to shake or wave (something, such as a weapon) menacingly brandished a knife at them

2: to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner brandishing her intellect

: an act or instance of waving something menacingly or exhibiting something ostentatiously or aggressively : an act or instance of brandishing

 

 

Edit: This is all my opinion though.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Gundam00
added opinion part

[Californication | 1,478]

If they were black, they would get shot.

[Strange | 1,700]

My initial point wasn’t to discuss whether or not they have a right to have those weapons, it’s what point is there to bring them that specific protest other than to instill fear to push your agenda?

Imagine if the city closed off my preferred way to work to fix potholes, so in response I go to the mayor’s office with an AR-15 and tell them to open that road back up right now.

It’s why the US doesn’t negotiate with these types. Because if you bow to these morons now, every other sweaty dork in the country with a complaint and a gun will be doing the same.

[Tabonga | 2,325]

32 minutes ago, Gundam00 said:

 

A concrete milkshark, knives and pipes are just as dangerous as a gun against a person if not more so in close quarters(less than 21ft). A person that is willing to bash another person's head in with a concrete milkshake is more dangerous that a person being inert with a gun with no intent to use. 

Not throwing rocks here (as it were) - just a point of clarification.

The "milkshakes"* they use are not hardened - they have large percentage of concrete with just enough milkshake to keep them from getting very stiff or hardening.  Concrete* contains a high proportion of lime which is nasty stuff.  It can burn exposed skin easily and if it gets in your eyes it will likely essentially disable you since that is really painful and will likely cause blurred vision.  In extreme cases it can lead to temporary (or even permanent blindness). I spent way too many summers in high school making concrete by using a power mixer to blend cement, sand and lime to make concrete. While you could dump a whole bag of cement in the mixer you had to put the sand and lime in by the shovel full.  The lime was a real pain since it was basically a powder and you would have to wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt no matter how hot it was.   

*They may not even be strictly concrete based - you could make a much nastier concoction by just using lime (maybe quicklime which is even nastier  - not sure how long it takes to set in such a situation though).

**Depending on what you are doing with it gravel is often added - that would be counter productive in this case.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Tabonga