'Come And Take Them!'

As I’ve often said, while there are certain themes I routinely gravitate towards, I designed this blog to be topically open-ended. This would allow me to address pretty much any subject without having to be concerned about going “offbrand,” so to speak. So, while 99% of Flaming Pablum may be devoted to ruminations, photographs and videos concerning life in New York City, music and parenting, I have indeed deviated from those normal threads to address stuff like politics and various bits of news of the day. This is going to be another one of those instances, so if you were expecting an entry about some of that other stuff, you’re going to have to wait a second.

Between the ongoing Puerto Rico morass and the horrific events in Las Vegas, I’d pretty much lost all my enthusiasm to post anything. Again, waxing nostalgic about shuttered record stores and the like seems like the quintessence of meaninglessness when the world seems like it’s falling apart. I, of course, had some things to offer about the tragic and unexpected passing of Tom Petty, but I just couldn’t summon the drive to do it.

But in my frustration in the face of the senseless events of this week, I quickly posted a by-now clichéd selection to vent my spleen, that being XTC’s anti-gun anthem from English Settlement, “Melt the Guns” (presciently penned in 1982, before mass shootings had become so routine). The title of this post, meanwhile, comes from a comment left shortly after I posted that entry (presumably to be voiced with the provocative bark of Gerard Butler in "300'). It was left by a reader who calls himself Parabellum. For those curious about the definition of that term is: A type of semiautomatic pistol or-machine gun. Charming.

I was also tempted to re-post an entry I penned in 2012, in the wake of a shooting here in NYC. In that post, I confessed my complicity in unwittingly celebrating gun culture via my fandom for various bits of pop culture. If you’re curious, you can find that here.

On Facebook, I posted a series of similarly declarative statements (“Destroy the NRA and Melt the Fucking Guns! Wise Up!”), but Facebook -– as discussed before -– tends to be something of an echo-chamber for the like-minded. That said, I do have a couple of friends who are law-abiding gun-espousers, as hard as it is for me to get my head around that.

Now, I do understand why certain folks might feel the need to own a gun for “protection,” (although, personally speaking, having a gun in house along with children strikes me as a ridiculously risky proposition). I also understand that certain folks are hunting enthusiasts. While I in no way endorse or empathize with that brand of “sport,” it’s obviously something very real for a lot of people.

But, this week’s events aren’t really about that shit. They’re about ASSAULT WEAPONS, specifically ones modified to maximize one’s kill count. To paraphrase a quote on a friend’s thread, they are lethal devices intended for lethal results, full stop. Outside of the theatre of war, no one -- NO ONE -- should feel the need – let alone be allowed -- to own such weapons.

I’ve heard a lot of anemic assertions suggesting that collecting assault weapons is a legitimate hobby. Being no stranger to collector culture, I suppose I can empathize with that theory, but -– by the same token -– I, personally, remain roundly unable to kill droves of people with my unwieldy collection of comic books. Nor, for that matter, would a dangerously unhinged individual be able to slaughter scores of innocents in the event that my painstakingly alphabetized collection of CD’s fell into their hands.

If you’re having trouble parsing these clunky analogies, I’m basically telling you to FIND ANOTHER FUCKING HOBBY!

Do your part.

 

Comments

[Fluid Francis]

Did you really assume Parabellum's gender? Shame on you!!

[Alex in NYC]

http://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/2016/09/filtering-through-the-feedback.html

[PARABELLUM]

THIS IS NO HOBBY

SO I (AND THERE ARE MILLIONS MORE LIKE ME) REITERATE:

COME AND TAKE THEM

WE ARE WILLING TO FIGHT AND DIE FOR OUR CONVICTIONS. ARE YOU? YOU'RE ARROGANT ENOUGH TO THINK YOU CAN TELL US WHAT SHOULD AND SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED, BUT ARE YOU PRINCIPLED ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? WHO WOULD ENFORCE YOUR RULE OF WHAT IS/ISN'T ALLOWED? ARE YOU READY TO "DO YOUR PART" AND PICK UP ONE OF THOSE EVIL "ASSAULT WEAPONS" AND PERSONALLY IMPOSE YOUR DELUDED FANTASYWORLD ON THE REST OF US?

OR I'M GUESSING YOU'D RATHER JUST SIGN A PETITION AND HOPE GOVERNMENT WILL SOMEHOW DO IT FOR YOU... HOW CAN YOU STAND IT? HAVING TO JUSTIFY THE HYPOCRISY OF OUTSOURCING A GOV THUG UNDER A PRESIDENT YOU HATE WHILE YOU WATCH FROM THE COUCH? ARE YOU REALLY THAT WEAK-MINDED?

IT'S OBVIOUS THAT YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH FIREARMS AND HAVE NOT PUT ANY THOUGHT INTO WHAT YOU SAY SO SADLY IT SEEMS THIS IS JUST ENTERTAINMENT FOR YOU. WE BOTH KNOW NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR GOVERNMENT CAN DISARM US SO MAYBE THIS IS JUST SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO IN BETWEEN A COMIC BOOK AND THE NEXT CD?

I PUT ANOTHER 500 ROUNDS DOWNRANGE YESTERDAY WITH AN "ASSAULT WEAPON"... WHAT DID YOU DO? "LAMENT" A TV SHOW?

SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM

[Alex in NYC]

Yet you still haven't answered the question. Why do you feel you need assault weapons?

[was proxy]

Been a while ... this is another case of "my rights don't end where your feelings begin" - the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution is primarily so the PEOPLE can guard against not only foreign enemies but also a rogue domestic government (not that that would EVER happen....)

So yes when the next time the government needs repelling we shall need assault weapons. It's pretty simple.

[Alex in NYC]

Hey there, Mr. P. Nice to see you back here. I don't agree with you, of course, but that's nothing new. Cheers to ya. Thanks for reading, as always. -A

[PARABELLUM]

YOU DON'T AGREE SO WE'RE NOT "ALLOWED" SO WE SAY AGAIN:

COME AND TAKE THEM

[Alex in NYC]

Yeah, I was talking with Proxy, who communicates with a bit more finesse. Never mind.

[Alex in NYC]

Also, just a friendly word to the wise: No argument is well served by typing in all caps. It just makes whatever you have to say seem entirely unhinged, regardless of the merit of your argument. Take a little time, expend a little more effort and learn to type in fluid sentence structure. It'll handily amplify your messages in a more coherent and credible manner.

[PARABELLUM]

THE ALL CAPS? I'M SHOUTING, TRYING TO PIERCE THE BIZARRE UTOPIAN TORPOR THAT SEEMS TO HAVE ANESTHETIZED YOU AND THE REST OF THE COLLECTIVIST AUTOMATONS CURRENTLY POLLUTING THIS COUNTRY! AND UGH HOW TYPICAL THAT YOU CAN ONLY RESPOND BY ATTACKING APPEARANCE NOT CONTENT... CAN'T ARTICULATE ANYTHING OF SUBSTANCE SO YOU TRY TO SOOTHE YOUR EGO THROUGH SMUGNESS AND A FALSE SUPERIORITY... JEEZ DO YOU TRULY NOT KNOW HOW AWKWARD AND PRETENTIOUS YOU SOUND? YEAH BEEN HAVING A HARD TIME LATELY TRYING TO "HANDILY AMPLIFY MY MESSAGES", THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONDESCENSION!

GET IT STRAIGHT: THIS IS NO ARGUMENT. I'M NOT TRYING TO CHANGE YOUR MIND OR CONVINCE YOU OF ANYTHING. I'M ONLY TELLING YOU THAT WE'D RATHER DIE THAN OBEY SO IF YOU REALLY MEAN WHAT YOU SAY:

COME AND TAKE THEM

PS: MY DAUGHTER AND I WENT THROUGH ANOTHER 650 ROUNDS TODAY... THE REAL FUTURE OF AMERICA. SHE'LL PEPPER ANY SOYBEAN-ADDLED PAJAMA BOY OUT TO 300 YARDS SO WHEN YOU FINALLY GET THE NERVE TO BACK YOUR (POORLY THOUGHT-OUT) WORDS WITH ACTION MAKE SURE YOU'RE WRAPPED IN KEVLAR!

[Alex in NYC]

Sincerely, if all we're going to do is reinforce each other's preconceptions, I don't think there's much point in continuing this dialogue, ... such as it is. I believe we're done here, sir. Good luck to you and yours.