The Politics Megathread

[Judas of Vahl]

So after having a conversation with @[member="Akio Kahoshi"], @[member="Krag"], and @[member="Aditya Amadis"] has pressed me into creating a topic for politics and governmental issues. You're free to discuss anything related to Politics in here, but please keep in mind that everyone has differing opinions and I ask that you keep arguments to a minimum and discussion to a maximum. Arguing is okay, but just don't lash out at others' beliefs, that will be your free ticket out of this thread.

So we'll start off with the issue we were discussing over skype:
Since crime is on the rise around the world (discussion aimed at the US), what can we do to prevent this? Increase police numbers? Harsher punishments? Governmental reform?

Please be sure to read the posts above you and be aware that the topic at hand will be ever-changing. If you have any questions related to this, please feel free to PM me with any questions revolving around politics. It's kinda my thing.

Annnnd, you may begin!

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Please not that we in staff will be carefully monitoring this thread. We have a zero tolerance policy towards racism, sexism or any other insulting or degrading comments.

Having said that, good luck, and I hope this becomes a big part of the OOC discussions here.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

...Hasn't crime actually been steadily falling since 1993?

 

[Onrai]

Give civilians access to bigger and better weapons. More guns = less crime.

 

[Judas of Vahl]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

So you're wanting the US government to allow thugs, thieves, and gangs easy access to more advanced weaponry?

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

But would not more powerful weapons also mean greater casualties?

A man with a knife or a club and kill only a handful before being overwhelmed.

A man with a revolver only has six shots before he has to reload, in which time he is vulnerable.

A man with a pistol can fire many shots without reloading, but the range and penetration is not devastating.

However a man with a semi-automatic rifle has the penetration, large clip and rapid fire to cut down many civilians. Can we trust that there will be another person there with a weapon?

Investigations have shown that most massacres are not prevented by armed civilians, however enticing the prospect might seem.

 

[Judas of Vahl]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

This is very true. Although the prospect of protecting yourself and your family, it is not a very good idea. Many civilians aren't trained in firearms use and will lead to more deaths, even accidental ones rising. We can't just restrict weapons either, we have the right to bear arms as said in the US Constitution.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Speaking as someone from a country where firearms are extremely restricted...I'm glad it's this way.

Criminals will always find weapons, but with less in general circulation it means there are less chances of them being used against you.

 

[Onrai]

However, with less in circulation, there's a greater chance you won't have a weapon available to defend yourself with in the event that you get assaulted by someone with a weapon deemed illegal by the current laws. To quote a great Canadian internet pundit: "But then again, laws only stop the honest people from committing crimes."

 

[Judas of Vahl]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

The only way I would see someone in successfully defending their home is if this said person is a trained firearm user such as: Military or Law Enforcement officers. Even in this case, there would most likely be deaths in this situation.

 

[Paige Argous]

Law-abiding Americans must be allowed to excercise their full Constitutional right to bear firearms.

That said, those that are not mentally stable or have a felonious criminal record should not have access to guns.

I agree with @[member="Circe Savan"] that indeed laws would only have effects on law-abiding citizens. Taking into account the fact that there already are many many gun owners across the United States, and the rather unfortunate fact that criminals (who do not follow laws since they're criminals) and that those that have ill-will to cause harms to others already have access to guns, a gun prohibition law of any sort would only rid the law-abiding people of their ability to defend themselves.

 

[Hannibal Oryen]

A cursory glance o'er here would suggest, yes, for the most part crime has been fallin' since the grand 'ol year of '93. A small bit 'o rise here 'an there, but for the most part a steady recession.

Want less crime? Beef up the education budget and fix up the public education system. If the kindela have better things to do and a genuinely inspired interest in some good 'ol book learnin', chances are they won't be out committing crimes. Youngin's accounted for 16% percent of all violent crime arrests, 32% of all property crime arrests, 54% of all arson arrests, 42% of vandalism arrests, 31% of larceny-theft arrests, and 33% of burglary arrests in 1999. There's some nice chunks right there that could possibly be off'd.

Wait, did we already move to guns? Goddamn it.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

And yet our homicide rate is 1 per 100,000 as opposed to 4.7 in the United States...the majority of which are firearms related. In fact, firearm related homicides here are 0.30 per 100,000 whilst the USA has 3.60.
You can see from this that a 4.7 multiplier becomes a 12 times multiplier and that the majority of American homicides are firearm related.

Would adding more weapons really make that better?

 

[Ginnie Dib]

On weapons defence: As a Martial Arts Instructor by trade, I can tell you that from a self defence stand-point, the difference between defence versus club, knife, gun is semantics and distance. One does not need a gun to defend oneself from a gun. A chair, a scream, a run, a quick mind are equally effective. Of course, that means training, and training brings us back to EDUCATION.

I posit that the crime rate would lessen worldwide with the rise of both education and opportunity for the individuals regardless of class, race, sex, or predilection. If we educate and find the giftings in a person, then give them the ability to USE those giftings to find their way in life, the need for crimes of desperation will decrease.

SO: How do we increase that education and opportunity?

 

[Judas of Vahl]

@[member="Aditya Amadis"]

The education system here in the US, as in all countries, are based around money. All schools and colleges need funding to operate. This brings us to the topic of the global economy, which isn't that great at the moment. China has the US deep in debt and many other countries are struggling to try and stabilize the economy. China and the US both have massive militaries, but the US tends to reach out more towards aiding other countries and is currently engaging in conflict in the Middle East.

Though I enjoy that the US has a large, strong military, we don't exactly need to reach out to others first. Granted, it looks good, but we need to be able to sustain ourselves properly before we extend a hand to poorer countries.

 

[Vereaux]

I do want to point out that the US Constitution doesn't say "bear arms", it says that we have the right to arm and maintain a militia. For those who don't know, a militia is not the military; two different things.

Personally, I think crime would go down if everyone, let's say 18 and up to give an age, is required to learn how to use a gun, have a gun license, and maintain a gun. My line of thinking is that if I'm a criminal, I'm going to avoid the house I know has a gun somewhere in there. Stealing is not worth my life. I cannot be sure that no one is home when secretly the person is in their room with the lights off, they hear something, then decide to bring out their shotgun.

I've heard too many stories of how something like this almost happened accidentally >.> It's funny and scary at the same time. Tony and Deb, husband and wife, have a house on the south side of town, and Tony comes home early from teaching. Thing is, Deb doesn't know it's Tony because she's not expecting him for another two hours. Tony takes two steps into the house, hears the audible click of the hammer of her revolver, and he says: "Debby, it's me! Put...the gun...down..." A few seconds later, she gently sets the gun on the floor and says: "Now you unload it." Deb only knows one way of how to unload the gun: shoot. She hates guns but will use them without a second thought if she needs to.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

The vast amount of money spent on the United States military is indeed something of a double edged sword.

On the one hand it provides employment and strong protection, but on the other it uses a massive amount of funding to do so.

Is it worth it? Probably, but at the cost of it...well...costing so much.

 

[Ginnie Dib]

Being a Canadian, I only know so much about American Education, myself, being able to speak more on the Canadian and Canadian Private School System. Education starts with funding, yes, but also dedicated teachers. Even with limited resources, teachers can help grow students who learn, and who wish to work toward something. Build goals, confidence and discipline.

Gun control itself is interesting, as a member of a Country who keeps guns under lock and key. The end result of the sentiment for Deb having a gun loaded and ready is force avoidance. So, how can we create an environment of force avoidance without the use of violence?

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

The problem the USA faces is that it HAS lots of weapons there. Thus unlike Australia where even before 1996 there weren’t a huge amount, America had a huge number and variety.
The issue is what to do now, and that’s an issue which has baffled minds for over 40 years….

 

[Vereaux]

So, how can we create an environment of force avoidance without the use of violence?

Unfortunately we can't.

I love the idea of furthering education. I am all for it, but there are problems with it, such as money, that make it harder to accomplish. There is also the problem that some people don't care about learning for one reason or another. You can have the best teachers in the world teaching you but unless you are wanting to learn, it won't work. I unfortunately have experience with this already at my high school and college.

Rather than limit people's access to a means to defending themselves, such as weapons or martial arts (something I wish more people had training with), give them all the access they want. The lawless care not about laws and will find ways around the laws to get what they want. Same with drugs. They will get around any and every law, no matter how hard we try, because for every villain, they consider themselves heroes. To combat this, learn how to defend yourself with every means they also have. Martial arts is highly recommended, but distance matters, because it can be the difference between living or having a bullet in your head.

We cannot avoid violence. Trying to only invites it into your lives in horrible ways that you will be unprepared for. Rather, prepare yourself for it so that when it does happen, you know what to do to make sure you, and your loved ones, stay alive. This includes martial arts, education, weapons training, CPR, first aid, and everything else you can eventually get. It'll take time because it costs money, but it is worth it in the end.