The Hand Sign for "Gun"

[level_head]

Most people who practice with or use guns on a regular basis hold it upright, often one-handed. (I'm reminded of the old line: "Gun Control" means "using two hands.") Many people grew up knowing how to make an imaginary gun, pointing the finger out and shouting "Bang! Bang!" -- there was even a popular song about this gestureStreet people,

Comments

[eric_hinkle]

I have just one question as concerns this comment:

Is considered to be one of the world's great intellectuals (#3 according to Foreign Policy Magazine in 2008)

Why does it sometimes seem as though the vast majority of people praised as "intellectuals" are either wannabe tyrants or fans of the same? I really can't think of anyone I'd call an intellectual who praises democracy and liberty without calling for the slaughter of everyone who opposes them.

And the bit about Qardawi's frothing Jew-hate and that of his equally savage co-religionists (as compared to the non-murderous ones) is no real news, sadly; and the people who need to see it the most are the ones who'll just handwave it all away in any event.

[level_head]

The concept of "intellectual" seems to have fallen into disrepute, and been in some sense almost inverted as a result.

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[eric_hinkle]

I remember how as far back as the late 70's I read a dig by Poul Anderson (who was no moron or uneducated boob) in an introduction to a collection of the Hoka stories to the effect that "Some ideas are so foolish, only an intellectual can believe them."

[deckardcanine]

For a moment, I thought you were going to talk about how public schools (and possibly other places) won't let you make a pretend gun with your hand. I have been hearing a bit lately about absurd zero-tolerance policies on this sort of thing.

I was not aware of the new kind of "intellectual." I figured the main reason for the term's disrepute was an anti-elitist movement. Perhaps the tyrannical types now hog the concept because they try hard to get people to believe they know what's best for a nation. (Yeah, that doesn't reflect well on Obama.)

[level_head]

I think the touchstone for intellectuals, in the opinions of certain other visible folks who consider themselves such, is the degree of disdain one holds for the United States, the West in general, and capitalism. Thus, the odd arrangements of Nobel prizes, the elevation of fiercely anti-Western thinkers like Qaradawi, and the promotion of "poet laureates" who evince their fierce hatred for America.

I should include Christianity in the list as well -- being fiercely anti-Christian will always be good for some brownie points, though being anti-religion more generally is dangerous if you let on that you think Islam is included.

Better to blast "fundamentalists" -- starting with US conservatives. No courage is needed there; US conservatives will not kill you over a perceived insult.

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[torakiyoshi]

But "Islam is a religion of peace!" My president said so, and so does the kid in my 4th period class! *eyeroll*

On the "intellectual" discussion: this actually may be a solid point. He could be a significant theologian of Islam. After all, some of the intellectuals I most admire are theologians of my own preferred brand. If this is the case, then we can disprove the "religion of peace" bit right here and now; the people who most deeply study the Quran are the ones most interested in destroying Jews and anyone of a strong non-Muslim religious bent.

-=TK

[witteafval]

The gun sideways thing reminds me of a Simpsons episode I saw where Chief Wiggum and his assistants were about to break down someone's door. One of the other cops said, "Hey chief, can I hold my gun sideways? It'll look more cool."

At around the same time I saw that episode, a guy I knew told me about when he was shopping for a handgun. As the salesman watched him hold one, he commented that he could always tell which customers had watched a lot of TV shows yet knew nothing about guns by whether they held the guns sideways or not.

[level_head]

I read a webcomic recently in which a villain's sideways grip allowed the protagonist to disarm him. I don't recall which one it was, and spent a few minutes looking. It wasn't one of my "regulars."

The relevance of the "shooting" sign here, it seems to me, is that an imaginary pistol kills an enemy individually, but an imaginary machine gun symbolizes the jihadists' clearly stated goal of genocide.

I am troubled when such people are defended, rather than denounced, by Western media and by soi disant moderate practitioners of Islam.

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