BTGBullseye

The correlations here break down when you consider the Commonwealth.

What commonwealth? The one in Massachusetts?

Specifically the wealthier and more developed nations. Canada, the U.K., and New Zealand. Nonsecularism, hetero/cisnormativism, family values, and all of that jazz aren't significant cultural values of any of those countries, yet the people of those countries are living in safe and sane societies relative to the U.S. who's been far behind them in pretty much every social regard.

1. They have a very different culture there, one that isn't directly compatible with that of the USA.

2. Prove that their social systems are "better" objectively, and not just in your opinion.

3. Safe is not what I would call it in the UK, where you're far more likely to get physically accosted than anywhere in the USA.

4. Please provide objective proof that their conditions are "sane", and what conditions would be insane.

5. Why are you bringing up countries that aren't related to the conversation?

And what about South Africa?

What about it? It wasn't a part of the discussion.

While they are technically a secular nation they're more Christian than the United States. While gay marriage technically has been legal there for over a decade, there's still no penalty for LGBT hate crimes, and there are LGBT people there being killed and correctively raped there at higher frequency than the U.S. Gun violence is technically lower but violent crime overall is still higher.

They just recently got rid of Apartheid as well. None of this actually discusses anything in relation to the subject at hand. You're going off topic.

The U.S. does have a societal/cultural issue but it's not that our traditional values are being challenged and subverted.

You're about to contradict yourself... It's coming right up...

The U.S. has always had its values challenged and subverted since it became an independent nation, and even before then. Now is no different.

And there it is... Self contradiction.

One thing I have yet to see anybody talk about is just how many guns this country has. we have 1 gun per citizen in this country and I'm pretty sure that's more than any other country. It's more than fucking Somalia. I'm 90% sure the biggest contributing factors to gun-related crime in this country are culture and availability. I see lots of folks talking about how a criminal will get a gun either way, but not about just how many guns exist on the market. They're fucking everywhere, why don't we try to knock that number down a notch?

That is very much a political discussion, please restrict that sort of conversation to the Gun Control thread. This thread is for discussing the weapons themselves, not relating to politics.

Those homeless numbers are pretty accurately representing the truly homeless, but not if including those that don't have their name on leases or deeds.

Multiple housing (multiple people sharing the rent) shouldn't really be considered for this, as that may or may not be because of an inability to afford it alone.

Modern society is messed up. That's the TL;DR.

Here's a bit longer version. Modern secular society has popularized so many things that are inherently unhealthy for our human minds. (the devaluation of family, the blatant hate directed towards all religions, the emphasis on trying to make people experiment with being LGBT, single parents, etc.) In addition, it makes it seem as though not having the newest shiny is the same as being worthless as a human being. This has gradually resulted in an incredibly self-centered populace that doesn't care about anything else, (including the other people in their lives, whom they treat as objects) so long as they get what they want. This is why not only is this movie "relatable" to modern children, but also doesn't even try to tell them it's wrong. (it's not telling them it's wrong because even the writer isn't sure anymore what is right and wrong) Kids are taught to feel "empowered", yet power almost always leads to abuse of the power, and a feeling of superiority over others they perceive as "beneath them". There aren't any losers anymore, everyone is taught that they should be rewarded for simply showing up, even if they put no effort into it.

Society is killing us.

Necrobump. Almost 2 years since last post.

Just making it easier to find for new people. Remember, this is for discussing the weapons only, not for the politics surrounding them.

Necrobump. Over 2 years since last post.

Would rather have gun control thoughts that appear to be arising from recent events coming her than other threads.

These two threads cover much about firearms opinions held by many of the members of these forums.

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=1520

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=5915

Note: Many may have changed their opinions over time, so give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'd expect pretty much this, except I figured you'd be higher in thinking.

I've always hovered around the middle for thinking and feeling... Apparently that just means I'm balanced between the two.

Well, I'm still INFP-A...

Introverted - 89%

Intuitive ----- 77%

Feeling ------ 53%

Prospecting - 79%

Assertive ---- 78%

I can still switch to INTP-A mode though... No problems doing that. (not like that's any great achievement when it's only 3% away)

So... Which team are you on?

[EDIT} Found it... Arstotzka.

Honestly, it really is too bad I can't play it with you... I had that game down to a science. Rolled the points over maximum multiple times.

But that's not as fun as having a challenge that involves the destruction of the vast majority of the human race!

Honestly, I doubt we'll ever see anything resembling true sentience in a computer program in our lifetimes.

More often than not, the scripture is actually the source of those teachings, not the other way around.

Everything in moderation. Funny how that's mentioned a lot in Christian scripture isn't it...

Those 3 are the primary focus of most religions, some of which are even called the root of all evil. Interesting isn't it?

So in a sense, every religion holds some shard of this great truth, but it's muddled and buried, and entirely possible that even if someone had 100% pure intentions to record what they experience as accurate as possible, it could still get muddled because the only way humans can experience this great truth is by relating it back to what they already know. And beyond that, over time this shard of this great truth gets buried even further as time goes on as the story itself changes.

You should read the book of Daniel... It describes what appear to be helicopters and MLRS launchers in terms that he could relate to. It's a great example of "we don't have words to describe this yet".

Honestly, I have trouble holding a grudge through the night... I'll still argue or disagree, but no grudges are ever held by me.

But not the fluids Data drank there.

Depends on your tastebuds... Wine is good though. Much antioxidants.

Even if the Trans-Pacific-Partnership was lopsided, along with the Paris Climate Acts, they were bills that STOOD FOR SOMETHING.

Those were both terrible deals for everyone except for the shareholders of a select few companies... Anyone who can't see that needs to get their eyes checked.

Green energy is not just a pipe dream at this point, it is something actually feasible. Nuclear fission reactors are one of the best ways in which we could become independent of fossil fuel. The only reason we don't have any more of them being built is because scientists around the world had to screw it up a few times to perfect it. And even if Nuclear Fission is too deadly for you, it's still far better than mining coal and natural gases, and we have other alternatives such as solar and wind. Battery technology today is leaps and bounds further than it has ever been.

1. Nuclear is the only way to get enough power for the national grid efficiently enough, short of fossil fuel plants. Solar and wind are both extremely temperamental, more polluting, more lethal, and more costly.

2. Battery improvements are not sufficient enough to allow for a full transfer from fossil fuel to electric vehicles en-masse, especially considering that the average battery STILL only lasts a year or two. (you'd have to spend a minimum of $10k each time to replace the battery at their current cost)

3. Natural Gas is a severely underappreciated fuel source. Most gasoline powered vehicles could be converted to use it for less than $1000 per car, for a 1-time fee. This would reduce pollution by around 90%, reduce all fuel costs, (after the initial CNG cost rise to compensate for the demand) improve mileage, and allow for a great many more resources to be devoted to "green tech" research.

And pardoning Joe Arpaio is NOT a legitimately good thing, in fact it's terrible. It says that a racist which is corrupted mentally, on levels of Donald Trump, are legally okay to have positions of power.

I have read nothing but unsubstantiated rumor about him in regards to the accusations you're making. If you have supporting evidence, please provide it.

Do I even have to talk about Pence? He is homophobic and believes in conversion therapy, where people who differ from what he determines are the social norm are electrocuted and abused into fear of being anything else. It is one of many reasons why LGBT people are more likely to commit suicide once they are public, along with families abusing them because of it.

I have read nothing but unsubstantiated rumor about him in regards to the accusations you're making. If you have supporting evidence, please provide it.

Do I have to talk about Planned Parenthood? The clue's in the name. You plan your parenthood. Who cares if someone gets an abortion? It's something that affects that person, not you, yourself. It's kind of like arguing that birth control is a good thing but continuing to make it more expensive, while silently sliding the abortion clinics out of the way. And the changing of stances about that sort of thing is just hilarious more than anything else. And this logic kind of carries over to... well, you'll figure it out. 'Yes, let's blame the woman for just happening to be in said location.' "We can't let her show skin here or else men can't control themselves, and instead have to go through a series of decisions which they could consider to be a bad idea at any point and could stop."

One of the major reasons that Planned Parenthood was defunded was because of their repeated use of scaremongering to push people to get abortions at clinics that gave kickbacks directly to PP. These clinics also had reputations for being incredibly bad at their job, occasionally even removing the child alive, then leaving it to die of exposure, or simply beating it to death. PP however was protected by their friends in the government, and so was never shut down, despite being proven to be corrupt way beyond even what the government is.

Another reason is that it was using tax dollars to directly fund this corruption, effectively forcing people with religious prohibitions on the support of murder of unborn children to fund the murder of unborn children. (please don't argue the "they're not a person yet" thing, as that definition is false according to any form of scientific scrutiny that has been used to define it)

Fluids and rest. Hope you feel better soon.

In response to Templar Knight:

There have been many situations in which you've made a wild provably false claim

Unfortunately your definition of "provably false" is completely different from every official definition I've ever heard/read.

This happened twice when your claims about your experience with TF2 and hackers didn't add up

And yet never was any proof presented to counter my experience. Just because it doesn't add up with your own limited personal experience, doesn't mean that it can't ever happen anywhere ever.

and once just half a year ago when you claimed science was a religion

And nobody ever truly countered that. People still treat science as a religion, blindly following the teachings of those that claim to be scientists, irregardless of their actual methods.

All of these situation could've been de-escalated if you didn't feel such a stubborn need to defend everything you say as factual and correct.

Same could be said for anyone else in those situations. It takes 2 to argue, and I have always stated that I don't back down from an argument just to appease someone who tries to misinform or mislead people. (intentionally or not) If factual evidence that is not controversial is provided to counter my position, then I will back down, but so far that has not happened.

If we're on bad terms and if for whatever reason you care enough about me to talk it out, add me on steam or discord. Both links are in my signature.

I would, but I have the policy of never sending invites out to others, except inside a game, and then only to those I am already friends with. (it is a good way to keep from having trouble with many of the truly bad people that are out there)

Well... I have a machine gun.

Happy b-day Ross!

Red Faction Guerrilla was a far superior game. Open world, fully destructible buildings, extensive weapons selection, upgrades, mods, you name it.

That said, this was a decent game, until it decided that saving at 1 specific checkpoint was no longer something it wanted to do on my system. (impossible to progress because of it, tried nearly 20 times)

#59 was the #1 issue for my entire family, and why we voted for him.

Just an FYI to anyone I may have offended in the past... I am very blunt, and don't change my beliefs based on information that I don't consider to be proof. If that has caused offense to people, I am sorry, none was intended.