Monday, June 9, 2008

Taking Liberties (Ban Them!)

Mayor Greg Nickels proposes concealed weapons ban in Seattle parks

"Under this order, people with concealed weapons will be asked to leave or to hand over their guns," he said. Nickels believes case law gives him authority to establish the prohibition.

Why am I suddenly reminded of the Great Depression?

Nickels' order comes in the wake of a Memorial weekend shooting at the Seattle Center that left three people injured at the Northwest Folklife Festival.


We'll be SO much safer now. We all know that all it takes to stop a crazy person from going on a killing spree is an executive order from the Mayor. Fortunately, he included knives in this ban. While crazy people will still have access to knives, the ban will encourage them to stay home lest they break the law. Unfortunately, since it is just an executive order it only applies to crazy government workers. I have no idea what percentage of the problem this might represent. It would apply to the mayor himself though. That's at least a decent start I suppose.

Seven shoppers murdered in Tokyo knife horror

A man armed with a knife has killed seven people and injured 10 others in central Tokyo.

Had there been a knife ban he would have been absolutely powerless.


Nunchaku
It is also possible that the weapon was developed in response to the moratorium on edged weaponry under the Satsuma daimyo after invading Okinawa in the 17th century, and that the weapon was most likely conceived and used exclusively for that end, as the configuration of actual flails and bits are unwieldy for use as a weapon. Also, peasant farmers were forbidden conventional weaponry such as arrows or blades so they improvised using only what they had available, farm tools such as the sickle. The modern weapon would be an effective flail.

Okay, okay. We could clearly ban all blunt instruments too. That surely would solve the problem.



OMG! Ban cars at malls! I completely forgot how dangerously blunt they are!!

Burnout
Attitudes are contagious. Mine might kill you.

If we stay on the path we are on, it is only a matter of time before my attitude and thoughts are banned. I see it as a post Great Depression level risk. The risk would only become a reality if our government embraced the concepts of torture (waterboarding) as our economy begins to unravel (It's Only Going to Get Worse). What are the odds of that though?

This poster is from the 1938. The caption: "Germany is free!"

See Also:
MaxedOutMama: Kitchen Knives And Cargo Cults

4 comments:

DannyHSDad said...

It seems that 3 out of 7 murdered were due to a rental truck (the guy couldn't rent a car).

So, rental cars & trucks will be banned, of course. [As well as training, licensing and psychological examine to buy any knife, as well.]

Stagflationary Mark said...

DannyHSDad,

Kato 'claims job despair made him kill'
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080611TDY01301.htm

According to a 34-year-old colleague of Kato, he arrived at the factory at about 6 a.m. Thursday and could not find his work clothes. He then angrily destroyed the work clothes of another worker and left, the colleague said. Kato told his colleagues that he was worried that he would lose his job. The colleague said, "He might have mistakenly thought that he had been fired [because his work clothes were missing]."

Ban work clothes!

Anonymous said...

I have never understood why we did not make laws forbidding assault and murder.It would solve the problem so much more simply.Perhaps the mayor could walk through some of the rougher neighborhoods alone so as not to appear threatening and engage in productive dialogue with the disadvantaged inhabitants.I am certain reason would prevail,after all sociopaths are very reasonable people...

Stagflationary Mark said...

Anonymous,

Mayor Nickels has a grand plan.

Remove the guns.
Remove the bonfires.
Install the cameras.

Fun times. Fun times.

Mayor's concealed-weapons ban may land city in court
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/366336_guns10.html

"It's highly unlikely we're going to be posting metal detectors or having pat-downs at the entrances of our parks. I wouldn't support (that) and I don't think we're going to get to that point."

I wish I was actually relieved and not just highly likely relieved.

Beach bonfires may be banned
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/366025_bonfire06.html

"They have to try to take everything away," she said.

Sara Russell, 34, who also was walking her dog, rolled her eyes at the idea of banning bonfires to stave off global warming.


Fortunately, eye rolling hasn't been banned yet.

3 more Seattle parks to get security cameras
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004468032_parkcameras10m.html

Ignoring warnings from one member that Seattle government is becoming more like Big Brother, the City Council decided Monday to install surveillance cameras at some city parks.

I've been dwelling too much on the 1970s. Clearly it is closer to 1984.