Ted Nugent

[commissardowey]

is a very scary man with very different views on gun control. He did get me thinking though. Who is one Man to take anothers life? Then how do you respect every Man's right to live, without infringing upon one Man's right to defend him/herself

Comments

[bliss_imperfect]

No, I don't really mean "an eye for an eye." Though I am a fan of the Mal school of thought (if somebody tries to kill me, I'm gonna try to kill them right back).

What I mean is more that living in our society confers a set of rights. We call them unalienable - that's debatable. But one of those rights is life. If you decide that my life is worth less than the cash in my wallet, and you're willing to endanger my life for that cash - if you're willing to go against central tenants espoused by the society in which you live - then you are in effect declaring yourself separate from society. If you don't choose to live by society's rules, you believe yourself separate or apart from them. And if you are separate from society, I can damn well do whatever I like to you right back.

There are of course degrees in this. In my argument I am focusing on harm or endangerment of others, much as the law does. If someone breaks into my apartment and steals my TV, well, yes, they're an asshole, they deserve to be punished, but I'm not going to go Rambo on them. But if someone breaks into my apartment while I am there and threatens my personal safety through word, action, weapon, etc., all bets are off. I don't see why society should protect someone who is clearly in contempt of its processes.

The argument is generally made that we treat others as we do because of who we are, not because of who they are. I would be hard pressed to argue that in a court of law. If someone is willing to go against one of the core beliefs of the society in which they live, they should not expect to be protected by that same society.

(Yes, I'm aware that all of this could be gleefully taken out of context and used against me. I'd like to point to this disclaimer - that I am referring to reactions to violent, unethical crimes. We can debate that definition if you would like, but I think you know what I'm trying to say.)

[commissardowey]

*nods* I see I see. (and yes, I understand the context to which you are limiting what you say)