Why America Fell for Guns(aeon.co)
aeon.co
Why America Fell for Guns
https://aeon.co/essays/america-fell-for-guns-recently-and-for-reasons-you-will-not-guess
4 comments
>The U.S. may have many guns per capita but countries like France, Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, etc. all have huge percentage of gun owners.
They also regulate and restrict guns to a degree that would be impossible in the US. And have cultures with social cohesion where rights are understood to confer responsibilities - again, impossible in the US.
>"It (guns) insures that the people are the equal of their government whenever that government forgets that it is servant and not master of the governed."
They do no such thing. The American government has shown absolutely no compunction whatsoever about putting the boot to their citizens heads whenever it likes, be it through illegal domestic surveillance, plutocracy, experimentation on its own citizens, endless unpopular wars, unjust incarceration or a militarized police force that all but robs them openly and hunts them for sport. Indeed, recent history even demonstrates that many American gun owners will welcome authoritarianism with open arms (pun intended) so long as the boot doesn't come down on them.
Guns are not a substitute for a well informed, engaged populace, and the fantasy that guns equal liberty is poisonous to society. The government fears a well informed, engaged populace. It does not give one single rat fuck about the pistol you keep under your pillow.
They also regulate and restrict guns to a degree that would be impossible in the US. And have cultures with social cohesion where rights are understood to confer responsibilities - again, impossible in the US.
>"It (guns) insures that the people are the equal of their government whenever that government forgets that it is servant and not master of the governed."
They do no such thing. The American government has shown absolutely no compunction whatsoever about putting the boot to their citizens heads whenever it likes, be it through illegal domestic surveillance, plutocracy, experimentation on its own citizens, endless unpopular wars, unjust incarceration or a militarized police force that all but robs them openly and hunts them for sport. Indeed, recent history even demonstrates that many American gun owners will welcome authoritarianism with open arms (pun intended) so long as the boot doesn't come down on them.
Guns are not a substitute for a well informed, engaged populace, and the fantasy that guns equal liberty is poisonous to society. The government fears a well informed, engaged populace. It does not give one single rat fuck about the pistol you keep under your pillow.
Not sure about that last para in the age of explosive drones.
I can only guess which sort of drones you have in mind, but from my view, the routine use of cheap, hobbyist-level FPV racing drones to disable tanks in the Ukraine/Russia war rather supports the idea presented in that paragraph.
Kinda doubtful "hobbyist-level FPV racing drones" can reliably disable tanks..
"In an interview with Foreign Policy, a NATO official said that Ukrainian first-person-view drones, known commonly as FPV drones, were responsible for two-thirds of recent Russian tank losses."
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-l...
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-l...
The premise of the article is that Ukraine is not being able to disable tanks using conventional ways anymore because of lack of artillery shells. Also, "NATO official" tells nothing about quality of this report, it could be some clerks opinion.
I did read the article, yes, and I'm not sure what your point is. The existence of better weapons, which the Ukrainians cannot afford, changes nothing about the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago. Doubt the unnamed NATO official all you like, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how the Ukrainian army uses drones against tanks; it is completely routine.
> the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago
its not a fact to me, I don't know who is that "NATO official" and how reliable his data. From another hand I rely on common sense that main battle tanks are hardened against direct middle caliber fire, and one need good amount of explosive to produce such impact. Javelin's warhead is 9kg, so your drone need to be able to carry it on solid distance, and this is not the level of "cheap racing drones".
its not a fact to me, I don't know who is that "NATO official" and how reliable his data. From another hand I rely on common sense that main battle tanks are hardened against direct middle caliber fire, and one need good amount of explosive to produce such impact. Javelin's warhead is 9kg, so your drone need to be able to carry it on solid distance, and this is not the level of "cheap racing drones".
If you are determined to remain skeptical of something which is being done every day, with a great deal of news coverage and abundant video documentation freely available to anyone who spends five minutes looking for it, there is nothing I can say that will help you. Have a nice day!
I challenge your statements about happening every day and great deal of video documentation.
https://xkcd.com/1053/
https://old.reddit.com/r/combatfootage is a good place to start.
Every day. You could also search reddit for the keywords "turret toss".
There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs
https://old.reddit.com/r/combatfootage is a good place to start.
Every day. You could also search reddit for the keywords "turret toss".
There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs
> There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs
that video is 1h long, on which timestamp "hobbyist-level FPV racing drone" disables tank?
that video is 1h long, on which timestamp "hobbyist-level FPV racing drone" disables tank?
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You also need RPG warheads and cable ties, which kinda makes the drones not really hobbyist level anymore.
I am more concerned that rpg weight and range add more requirements beyond "racing drone".
There's also many videos of the Ukrainian drone factories with 3D printers making parts for them.
I remember one video panning around in a basement with literally thousands of drone frames stacked up.
They look exactly like basic hobby drone frames and the videos even show the same Betaflight OSD as any FPV hobbyist would recognize.
I don't know why you are so reluctant to believe it despite the kazillion videos out there.
A PG-7VL Single-stage HEAT RPG warhead is 730g of explosive. So just the warhead end is prob 1kg. It's not going to maneuver well but a large 7" drone can carry that.
I remember one video panning around in a basement with literally thousands of drone frames stacked up.
They look exactly like basic hobby drone frames and the videos even show the same Betaflight OSD as any FPV hobbyist would recognize.
I don't know why you are so reluctant to believe it despite the kazillion videos out there.
A PG-7VL Single-stage HEAT RPG warhead is 730g of explosive. So just the warhead end is prob 1kg. It's not going to maneuver well but a large 7" drone can carry that.
What's your point? There are people who engage in private drone ownership more or less for the same reasons commonly put forth for private gun ownership.
If explosive drones became legal for militae less well regulated than the National Guard I'd expect school "shootings" could be exciting indeed.
No there aren't. They would also need grenades and RPG warheads, which aren't readily available.
"The prioritisation of individual gun rights in the US over community safety has become a danger to innocents. Americans are locked in a self-perpetuating arms race that makes all of us only less safe. The exceptional gun culture of the US demands a critical reassessment of the nation’s priorities and policies to ensure a safer future – one in which it’s known for something other than guns."
Great article.
Great article.
In a country in which tens of millions of people own guns, public safety becomes a personal responsibility, and so individuals often decide that it is in their best interest to protect themselves by buying a gun. This desire to be protected against those who have guns by getting a gun, multiplied across millions of people, has resulted in an arms race that makes everyone less safe.
Reads like a runaway feedback loop.
Reads like a runaway feedback loop.
Because guns won the Revolutionary War?
You should read the article before commenting.
I did… the core of any discussion about per capita gun ownership numbers in the country starts there.
The U.S. may have many guns per capita but countries like France, Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, etc. all have huge percentage of gun owners.
And let's not forget this:
"It (guns) insures that the people are the equal of their government whenever that government forgets that it is servant and not master of the governed."