David Gerard believes that guns have personalities
I heard it explained like this in grade school. A person can pound nails with a hammer, or a person can hit someone over the head with it. The hammer is neutral. What people do with a hammer can be good or bad.
The National Rifle Association uses the argument in defense of guns: Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.
I don’t attribute complete neutrality to things, though. Oatmeal and rice cakes are close to neutral, but that’s about it.
A hammer, a simple tool, is not impersonal. And the more complicated tools and machines get, like guns, the more personal they get. Guns don’t like living beings. Their goal is to eliminate living beings. My computer at work doesn’t hate me, but I’m telling you, the thing barely tolerates me.
Saying “A computer is neutral and that it’s only what we do with it that determines good or evil†doesn’t tell the whole story — just like saying “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people†doesn’t cut it.
As an additional bit of information on Mr. Gerard, here he is washing the car he drove in college.
Found at Alphecca, who called Mr. Gerard the “Idiot Thinker of the Day”.
Sounds reasonable to me.
It’s long past time to round up these lunatics (and I’m using that word very literally here) and uh…well…you know what I’m getting at.
People like this DO procreate, you know. Can’t afford them any chance of infecting the world with their disease, whatever the color.
Idiot. Guns are designed to fire a projectile at high speeds. It is the user that selects the target, not the gun. The gun cares less, as long as something goes “bang”.
And the reason the computer barely tolerates Mr. Gerard is because the computer knows Mr. Gerard isn’t qualified to use anything more technical than a hammer.
I swear, guys like this should just do us a favor and move off into the wood somewhere with nothing but a tent and safety scissors (because, ya know, knives are designed to harm people and critters. Knives hate everyone!)
Oh, and a final note – I’m not a mechanical person. I don’t do well with engines and things of that nature. Electronics, yes. Mechanicals, no. But even I know that the my 1911 pistol is much less complicated than a VW engine. I can take apart and reassemble a 1911. I could take apart a VW engine (maybe) but I would have to pay someone to put it back together. Guns are not complicated machines. At least, the good ones aren’t. 🙂
One more point to show that Mr. Gerard doesn’t know anything about the topic.
– R.S.