Debate about Gun Control

[Bob Butler 54]

(06-14-2017, 09:21 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: So far, no patriots per se; but Dylann Roof conceived of his attack as an attempt to start a race war. The Orlando shooting was justified by allegiance to the Islamic State.

That might not be a bad example.  If one sees flaws in a western or Marxist government, how greedy evil individuals can come to dominate a culture or government, and one sees Islam and/or ISIS as the comparatively pure will of Allah alternative, you can see how those impoverished and dominated could see such young men as heroes and patriots.

Now, I see Orlando as counterproductive to foolhardy.  I'd easily throw around a label like 'lone nut' in Roof's case.  If one shifts focus, though, one can easily find a member of an oppressed culture trying to fight back using the only means available.  Overt conventional warfare is no way to take on the West.  Conflict becomes a contest in escalating terror.  Being very good at conventional warfare is apt to build opposing cultures favoring terror tactics.  That's part of why the Middle East is falling apart, part of why we are seeing terror used as a tactic against the West.

A lot of the time, it seems like something must be done, so one has to do what has to be done.  Flip the coin, though, and you see lone nuts abandoning morality for futile gestures.

Yes, I'm contradicting myself again.  I find it too easy to find reasons behind cultures developing as they have.