I was with you up until the "I would still get one for safely" part. We must clearly live in different kinds of areas, I've never felt the need to own one for any reason.
this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2025
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Unpopular Opinion
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OP is right though, there are parts of the world where self defense is not as clear cut. The question you need to follow up with is "is this self defense against nature or people?".
For example, there are places in the far north where polar bears are a problem, I doubt anyone other than Greenpeace would not have a problem with you shooting an animal attacking you. Its tragic, but by that point its not really avoidable.
The issue most of us have is the "defense against people" where lines get drawn, the problem is how inconsistent that line is. Im in the camp where survival is fine, and sport is conditionally ok, but outside that there are no ethical reasons to persue gun ownership, but others will say collections, historic preservation, or self defense are valid reasons. Culture has a lot to do with it, some places handle it well, like Switzerland, but the elephant in the room is America and their, I would argue very unhealthy, relationship with guns.
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Then you're privileged.
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I've played shooter games since a kid and I've never wanted to own a gun. it's 100% a special kind of brainrot/power trip to want to hold and own deadly weapons and you won't convince me otherwise
yes hunting is a thing, I promise you the vast majority of American gun owners are not hunters.
Thank you! You have a way with words.
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i own a gun whose sole purpose of being manufactured was to kill himans - it is a war rifle.
i have killed as many things with it as i want to: zero.
i am not a gun nut, but i do enjoy the history of it. i learned a lot about yugoslavia just because i was curious about the time period it came from.
i agree that some guns are created with the sole purpose of killing people... i just dont feel like killing people with it. never have, never will (its not for protection, etc.. its for history)
They're tools designed specifically for killing, not just for killing humans.
The people who take umbrage at that distinction are an actual problem.
It's sad to see this is an unpopular opinion (context from the community rules: if you agree that the opinion is unpopular give it an arrow up. If it's something that's widely accepted, give it an arrow down.)
Have I disturbed the peace of this community
I agree, but I doubt the majority ever will.
They are helpful as someone who sometimes needs to cull animals,
Apart from that I see them more as a symbol of power. I would never go to a protest with a loaded gun, but carrying a gun while protesting facism shows we are serious, we have power.
I agree it's about power, and people get hopped up on feeling that power.
However, please stay the fuck away from any protests. You're likely to get other people killed brandishing guns whether they are loaded or not.
It’s more about a tit for tat, in my area we have right wingers open carrying around leftist protests. So our anarchist groups open carry (unloaded) guns as a sort of “you’re not going to intimidate us” response.
i prefer to call them what they are 'human killing devices'.
for example; its ludicrous that american police are armed unnecessarily with human killing devices their entire shifts. it just demonstrates their cowardice and incompetence with regards to policing.
I had a rabid raccoon on my farm a little while ago. What do you suggest is the best way to handle that situation?
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You are exactly the person that shouldn't get a gun.
Many are actually engineered to take the lives of animals, when you factor in the design of a hunting rifle and its hunting ammo. Those designs allow for the hunter to fill their freezer with high quality meat for far less cost than it could be purchased.
Pistols are generally designed for killing people though. Pistols are used more often in any kinds of homicide than any other type of firearm, yet strangely enough most modern gun control legislation tends to be focused on rifles.
I had to go look up if this was a tongue-in-cheek obscure reference to Frank Miller. It's not, apparently.
Gun fanatics always talk about stopping an evil government but we clearly see they have no intention of doing that, instead I just see them used to slaughter innocent people on a regular basis.
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