Using common sense seems to elude some...

@SumKindaMunster 🤔 So you were indoctrinated to make your reply ?

@softspokenman By whom? Obviously someone would need to indoctrinate me, so in your infinite wisdom, who have I been indoctrinated by?

@SumKindaMunster I have no idea who indoctrinated you that's why I asked. 👉?

@softspokenman Uhh, then how do you know I'm "indoctrinated"?

To be indoctrinated one must be held in thrall by a power that influences my beliefs and opinions...you seemed so sure I was indoctrinated but you have no idea by whom? 🤔

@SumKindaMunster "If you think it's only one side" ??

@softspokenman Hm, I would say that demonstrates that I am NOT indoctrinated wouldn't you say?

So I ask again, who has indoctrinated me? You leveled the accusation, you must believe something, why not just share it?

@SumKindaMunster To be honest, I think it is one side that is the problem. It's the Republicans. I'm not saying that all Democrats want gun control, but if a few Republican Senators came on board with sensible legislation, a LOT of lives will be saved.

@SW-User Ok, and what political motivations do the Republicans have to work with the Democrats on this? What would they get out of it? How is it beneficial to them and their constituents?

@SumKindaMunster I don't know how it is beneficial to them. I'm no politician. It is beneficial to their constituents in that parents will not have to fear for their children's lives so much when they attend school. Do Republicans not want to save the lives of children unless there is something "in it for them"??

@SW-User
Ok, well America's system of government is a "Representative Democracy", we elect people to serve our political needs, wants and desires.

So if these Republicans want to be re-elected, it is in their interest to serve the wishes and desires of the constiuents who elected them for if they don't they could lose their position.


That's a very biased and one sided view of the issue...yes that is something attainable...but at what cost? Taking away everyone's guns?

You have to remember that politics is self interest and practice empathy and intellectual exercises to truly see the issue from all sides.

Political change in this country is through compromise, it's not partisanship. Partisanship is the reason why so many things haven't changed...and this will be more of the same until people wise up....

@SumKindaMunster I didn't actually say that. But there could be so many laws that could be enacted to keep guns out of the hands of dangerously unhinged individuals who decide to run amok mowing down innocent schoolchildren. The ones that I've seen the House pass are pretty bad, although raising the age to buy a firearm to 21 has to be a good thing.

And as for your comment on compromise. Compromise is the worst possible thing you can do, especially in politics. Imagine you wanted to wear black shoes and your wife wanted you to wear trainers. A fair compromise would be you wear one of each shoe. The worst possible outcome! Think of a kidnapping with a $100,000 ransom. You would think a compromise would be to pay $50,000 and everyone's happy! This is a stupid win-win mindset that at best satisfies neither side, and is at worst ineffective and often disastrous; it's why America's politics is where it's at now.

Compromise is bullshit, and that is why nothing will change with America's gun laws while Republicans are being so intransigent (and it is them. I dare you to deny it) and will only countenance tiny baby steps that effectively do nothing but are a "win" as they compromised. We compromise not because it's morally right, but because it's easy and safe. Politicians are mostly driven by fear and or are trying to avoid pain to their constituents. Too few politicians are driven by their actual goals. If they were, they would make the best deals. The best deals always have some form of annoyance, confusion and conflict. Accommodation and compromise have none of that; they're safe. They're also ineffective.

And by the way... Empathy??? Who the fuck am I empathizing with when schoolchildren have been massacred, if not their parents and other loved ones. There is no seeing "the issue from all sides" here! No one is taking away your beloved guns (although I guarantee fewer people will be killed in the ensuing riots than the 17,000+ people killed by gun violence in America so far this year), but banning AR-15 rifles and other mass-murdering weapons would be a huge step forward.

@SW-User You've completely overreacted to my matter of fact assessment of the issue.

You're unhinged response, name calling, shaming, and blaming is exactly the behavior I am cautioning people on exhibiting. It is a dead end, and once again, if you think this is the way forward to affecting change you are bound to be disappointed.

Go ahead and be angry at me for explaining to you the reality of the situation. It isn't going to change a thing, and I speculate you will not feel better, you will feel worse.

Perhaps, when the November 2022 elections pass, you will see the wisdom of my words.

@SumKindaMunster I listened to your matter-of fact assessment of the issue and I explained why I thought compromise was bullshit.

I also refuse to see another side of the story when discussing the banning of weapons that cause mass murder, so forgive me if I was angry on that. Maybe you can enlighten me as to why these weapons should not be banned without hiding behind the Second Amendment.

And yes I am blaming the Republican House members and Senators for the lack of progress on any sort of meaningful gun law reform because it is fact. Sorry. The sooner gun ownership is restricted (not banned) the safer the USA will be as a country. It's certainly not that safe at the moment (despite people claiming that weapon ownership makes them feel safe; if that's the case then why is USA not the safest country in the world?)

@SW-User The thing is, its not me you have the argument with. I'm trying to explain,why angrily blaming a significant portion of the American political system will not affect the change you want.

I gotta ask too, why do you care?

You don't live in America, you don't know what it's like and I cannot understand why you have chosen to scapegoat a portion of the American electorate when really its the entire culture that isnt' interested in changing this.

Again, you are naïve if you think this type of behavior and rudeness is going to get you what you want.

@SumKindaMunster Why do I care? Well, I'm not American, it's true, and perhaps you have no problem with schoolchildren being sprayed with bullets as long as it doesn't happen in your country. But I do care. I care when children anywhere in the world (and not just White America) cannot go to school without running the risk of a crazed gunman mowing them down. Do you honestly think it's right that American schools need armed guards? Do you honestly think it's right that children have to practice what to do in the event of an attack? Do you honestly think it's right that teachers should be armed? This sort of thing happens nowhere else in the world; only in America, where there are more guns than people, and the inevitable consequences of that.

And as for suggesting that "an entire culture isn't interested in changing this" - well, it seems they are interested. 59% of Americans wanted stricter gun laws, even before the Uvalde shooting. That seems like a majority to me.

I'm not going to go into the "angrily" blaming part, except to say perhaps you are happy to confuse passion for anger; especially as I'm a "foreigner". But, again, I will say that a significant portion of the political system is to blame: they're called Republicans. Although, in fairness, the real enemy is the National Rifle Association who bankroll most Republican politicians to a greater or lesser degree to get what they want.

Until Republican politicians grow some balls and stand up to the NRA, this sort of thing will go on, while the NRA will do its very best to offer "thoughts and prayers".

[media=https://youtu.be/ywPZ3fMlpro]

@SW-User
That's a lovely sentiment. And let me be clear since you have implied several times to the contrary, I do, of course, care and would never want to see harm come to innocent children and animals.

Unfortunately though, bad things happen to children everyday, all over the world. Here are multiple stories of children being murdered in Ireland.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10824061/Anguished-mothers-words-toddlers-killer-jailed-life-murder-Ireland.html
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-woman-accused-murdering-three-children-named-publically
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330526/Irelands-day-horror-children-murdered-fathers.html


Uh huh. And what changes are to be made? There are multiple different ideas out there, but you seem to have made your choice(or had it made for you) and there is no further debate, your solution is the partisan solution.


That is propaganda straight from the DNC.

Are you aware that the Democrats were in charge during the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shootings?
Do you remember Columbine? The Democrats were in charge then and guess what they blamed for the shootings? Violent video games and violent Hollywood movies...

I'm so bored of Western Europeans having highly selective visions of America that comes from their well curated, biased choice of media.

Fix your own fucking country. Or if you are so inclined, emigrate to America, become a citizen, and take some responsibility for changing things instead of sitting on your high horse spewing Democrat propaganda.

@SumKindaMunster My apologies, I take that back.

OK, fine. As an American yourself, what would you like to see change that might actually guard against unspeakable events like Uvalde, Sandy Hook, Columbine, etc. happening again (this is not a challenge to you)?

That's deflection. You know as well as I do that unspeakable things happen everywhere in the world. However, mass shootings do not...

...as, I daresay, it was once propaganda from the RNC.

The fact is, at this moment in time, the NRA see Republican politicians as the best way of maintaining the status quo, re guns, just as they doubtless did with Democrats in the past. With pressure building to enact meaningful gun control, the Republicans, at this precise moment in time, can follow their principles and enact some bipartisan legislation that maybe, just maybe, will save some innocent lives. At this moment in time, they are choosing not to.

I notice that you're all about "indoctrination". Are you immune from indoctrination? What sources do you rely on? Are they across the political spectrum... (again not a challenge).

ok chill out. I'm doing my best. I vote Green, I'm a vegetarian, I donate to charities, I occasionally volunteer for community projects. Relax (and note my apology at the top).

@SW-User
As already stated, the name of the game is compromise and cooperation. So that would likely encompass a variety of ideas from both sides including:

Restrictions on assault style rifles and weapons
Restrictions on high capacity magazines and lethal bullets
"Smart guns"
National initiative to collect data to identify and intervene on individuals who might be planning a gun violence event(red flag laws)
Closing loopholes that allow individuals to not register their guns
Increasing the age at which a person can buy an assault rifle or other types of mass killing weapons.

This of course would require a complete do over of the current political environment which revels in blaming the other side, promising to change things if elected, then never fulfilling those promises. And every 2-4 years we complete the same dance.


It's not "deflection", I am not trying to dismiss your argument, I'm calling you out for your hysteria regarding these children in Texas and suggesting you gain some perspective on the issue.


I would again call your attention to previous school shootings in the past during Democrat administrations. They chose to do little to nothing, and of course scapegoated the Republicans and NRA for the problem then as well.

Did you know America passed assault weapon laws in the 90's?


It expired and we haven't attempted to compromise on the issue since. That includes the tail end of the Clinton Administration as well as Obama's administration, both Democrats.


I'm all about pointing out the lies and propaganda that people on here spew as their own, when in fact it comes from authoritative sources that they trust. My focus is to call that out and question how much of what they said they actually thought through and validated through critical thinking.

I read Reuters, AP and news aggregates for general news. I read BBC and Al Jazeera for other perspectives and opinions and I subscribe to several journalists on Substack that I have chosen to trust including Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, and Michael Tracy.

No, I am not immune from "indoctrination" but I've consoled myself with the fact that many times I am correct about things that take a long time to come to light...some recent examples include: the ineffectiveness of the Covid 19 vaccines in preventing the spread of Covid, the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop, the political witch hunt that sought to demonstrate that Trump was a Russian asset.

Additionally I am willing to admit I am wrong at times..recent example: I did not believe the West when they said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was imminent, I assumed it was a political ploy to put pressure on Russia..well I was wrong about that...


I am relaxed. We are just talking here. I use strong words and phrases to portray my passion and interest, I am not angry with you and am not upset by your beliefs and statements...doesn't mean I agree, but I am not upset. 😉