This exchange began on another blog which ran an article discussing the current popular protests in Ukraine that began when Ukraine's president went back on his promises to bring the country stronger ties with the European community. Writing as "Gelsomino Pasqualino" I ended up in a verbal ping pong match with someone who seems to think that, no matter what the problem, guns are the solution.
This person will likely respond to my final post (and it is the final one from me, I've shot my bolt with this guy) and I may follow up here if there is any interest.
I post this because I think it reflects some of the extreme viewpoints out there on the right, i.e. "The cause is already lost and it is time to stock up on ammo." I find such folk terrifying on many levels, not the least of which is that they could literally live next door and I would not know it until the bullets start flying.
gelsomino pasqualino posted:
The red and black flags tell you that these are not ordinary Ukrainian protesters, rather they represent the nationalists who are viewed locally by their neighbors as little better than anarchists and neo-Nazis. The extremists, which this fringe is a part of, would happily subvert the peaceful protests going on now in Ukraine, to their own agenda, which includes outright civil war and a eventually the foundation of an authoritarian state that excludes ethnic, religious and cultural minorities. Sunday 5:53pm
shotgunbffl @gelsomino pasqualino:
That is what's needed for change. Monday 10:08am
gelsomino pasqualino @shotgunbffl
Given your moniker reflects a love of guns and presumably gunfire, I can well understand why you may be salivating in anticipation of broadcast images of blood in Ukraine's streets. No thank you, we have enough gunfire-caused blood running in US streets to wish that horror upon anyone. Monday 8:52pm
shotgunbfflgelsomino pasqualino
Yes. Instead we get to see the horror of a corrupt regime beating protesters to death in the streets via government-paid cronies in riot gear. Thank god these people can't defend themselves. Tuesday 2:29pm
gelsomino pasqualinoshotgunbffl
Ukrainians can change their government without need of bloodshed. Certain Americans live with lurid fantasies of armed revolt, but civilized people are beyond that point. Guns are not the solution, they are the problem. But I'm talking to a wall so have a nice day. Tuesday 3:44pm
shotgunbfflgelsomino pasqualino
LMFAO sure, let's see how much change comes from peaceful discussions on the merits of ideals. Tuesday 4:43pm
gelsomino pasqualinoshotgunbffl
When guns are the be-all and end-all of your life, I'm sure they affect your thinking about everything. Tuesday 7:58pm
shotgunbfflgelsomino pasqualino
lol what are you even talking about? I support gun ownership and use to defend from a corrupt government so they are the be-all and end-all of my life? You are so funny. Good luck on your ethics debates. I'm sure they will pan out great. Might as well get used to the taste of pepper-spray now. Yesterday 9:42am
gelsomino pasqualinoshotgunbffl
I'm sure that you and your shotgun will face the US government's Bradley's and Abrams tanks with great courage on the day when Obama's FEMA camps activate and the howling Liberal commie hordes come looking for you. Until then, you might wish to schedule a couple of sessions with a psychiatrist because there is help out there for clinical paranoia...and it helps to know who the real bad guys are in this world, other than those of one's own imagining. Yesterday 2:15pm
shotgunbffl @gelsomino pasqualino
Good goy. Trust that the government is your friend. I will defend myself to the death. Have fun sucking some government dick when they put YOU in a FEMA camp. You're the type to bend over and take it lustfully, knowing that the government has only your best interests at heart. Yesterday 3:11pm
gelsomino pasqualino @shotgunbffl
I do hope you get to a mental health specialist before you or some innocent victim pay the price for an untreated mental disorder. Good luck to you. Yesterday 9:28pm
shotgunbffl @gelsomino pasqualino
Yeah I'd hate for the innocent government to suffer at all too. Today 10:07am
gelsomino pasqualino @shotgunbffl
One last word for you: ignorance. You seem completely oblivious to the fact that, as an American citizen (and I'm assuming you are one,) you have full voting rights. The government you seem to hate so much is YOUR GOVERNMENT. If you don't care for who is in office, then vote to change them. If you don't care for a law, tell your elected officials to change it. You are not a victim, you are a citizen and you have responsibilities to yourself and to your fellow citizens. The Founding Fathers did not create a bunker to hunker down in, they created a marketplace for ideas, and the superior ideas are going to win, as long as the citizens of the country maintain a democracy that allows all voices to be heard and no rights to be squelched. And democracy means that the majority rules, while respecting the rights of the minority. If your party is out of power, work within the laws to restore it to power. If your party is in power, then recall that the laws and policies that are passed, have to be for the benefit of all citizens and not just for a few. But if you wish to see yourself as a helpless victim of some government that is a great threat to you, recall first that you as a citizen had - and have - a primary responsibility to follow the laws of the land and to respect the rights of others. And the way to change the laws is by ballot and election, not by threats and guns and bloodshed. Unless, of course, you are a Bolshevik or a Nazi. So stop being a self-pitying paranoid victim of some nameless government boogeyman, grow a pair and a brain and start acting like a responsible and well informed citizen. Just now