Come Heller high water …
- Oakland University is passing out hockey pucks to faculty and students to chuck at would-be mass shooters on campus. No, really. They are. If that wasn’t so incredibly sad, it’d be funny. We seemingly will do anything to avoid doing anything about guns. Think about that for a second. We would rather have our kids grow up doing active shooter drills as a normal part of their education and throwing hockey pucks – hockey pucks – at people armed with military weapons than do anything about guns. Why do we do this, people? Most of us don’t even own guns and most of us would prefer to put the words “well-regulated” back into the 2nd Amendment (OK, they never left, but we conveniently ignore that part.) So why do we consistently cave into the NRA and the gun nuts? The answer: Mostly because they shout louder and we’re kinda lazy about things until they directly affect us. Again, that’s so sad it’s almost funny. But not really.
- The solution is easy, of course. Collectively we need to tell the NRA to puck off.
- Don’t misunderstand, I’m behind Oakland U on this. At least they’re trying. But from a practical standpoint, what’s the likelihood that the puck-throwers will actually hit a shooter? Have you ever watched people throw out first pitches at Tigers games? They’re as likely to hit someone in the stands as the catcher. Yes, I know the idea is to “distract” the shooter, not to knock him out. But if that’s the case, how about Silly String? What’s more distracting (and nontoxic – safety first!) than Silly String?
- I have a bone to pick with some of you. I ran a “One Thanksgiving Food to Rule Them All” bracket-style tournament on my Facebook page last week. In the finals, oven-roasted turkey defeated mashed potatoes and gravy to take the title, which surprised the heck out of me. I thought most people were like me and thought turkey was, yeah, the bland center of the meal but the true stars were the sides. What is wrong with you people?
- Don’t you think Hugh Jackman, who is often called the nicest guy in Hollywood, gets sick of being so nice all the time and sometimes wants to just rip the tag off a mattress or flip someone off in traffic? I would but that’s me.
- Electric scooters are taking over downtowns coast to coast, including Detroit and, I hear, Ann Arbor. Would you ride one? I’m not so sure I would. I have terrible balance. Plus, you know, I have legs and feet. (Plus, riding a scooter seems like kind of a millennial hipster thing to do, and if I rode one maybe I’d suddenly have the urge to grow a lumberjack beard and put avocado on my toast, so, yeah, no thanks.)
- I’d get one of those Peloton stationery bikes because I like spin classes but the idea of paying thousands of dollars for a bike that doesn’t go anywhere is a bit weird.
- From November 1 to April 1, Michigan isn’t the Great Lakes State. It’s really the Great Zero-Humidity State, isn’t it? My hands! My hands! Has anyone ever died of dry skin? If not, I could be the first.
- By the time “Game of Thrones” comes back, will anyone care? I couldn’t keep the plotlines and names of the characters straight as it was. How lost will I be after a year off? (When the lovely yet formidable Marcia and I watch, we say things like “Hey, there’s that guy who did that thing … you know, in that one episode.” Middle age is an ugly thing sometimes.)
- Dare I say the Detroit Pistons don’t entirely suck this year? They seem like a team that’s a trade or two from suddenly blossoming into a contender.
- The Rolling Stones just announced their 2019 tour. I gotta go. You never know which tour will be the last. I know some people tease them about their age, but I’ll tell you what, if I hope when I’m 75 I can still jump around like Mick can. Dude’s 75!
- “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus.
Image credit: Matt Boulton, Creative Commons
NativeOfMichigan says
A professor said, “It’s just the idea of having something, a reminder that you’re not powerless and you’re not helpless in the classroom.”
Really?
NativeOfMichigan says
The only scooter I ride is the one at Meijer’s for grocery shopping. That’s what happens when you have bad wheels.
jbcsfl says
I have never understood the fascination some of my fellow citizens have with guns.
Everyone has a toy, some have sport cars, boats, bikes, etc. and some have guns.
I am sixty three and I have never owned a gun in my life.
I have never felt that I needed a gun to protect myself from harm.
I never thought the government was coming after me or the martians were coming.
I was never into hunting, it was of no interest to me but is was of interest to may others.
Many of my friends would go deer hunting with guns every year, they enjoyed it.
I think many of them went deer hunting every year just to get another five days off work for free as many took a week off for for deer hunting at General Motors very year and management never blinked an eye.
At the GM plants management polled who was going deer hunting and the workers would take the time off, even if they did not hunt…lol.
Many employees took the time off for deer hunting even if they had no vacation time left, they took off anyway, management took no disciplinary action, they just went without pay.
All the employees who said they would be gone were replaced by employees from other shifts who would work 12 to 18 hour days to cover their fellow employees who were off “hunting”.
It worked out good for everyone involved.
The true deer hunters got to hunt, the fibbing hunters got a free week off work, and the employees who remained on the job were rewarded with overtime pay.
I have never had the desire to own a gun as I had no use for one for any reason.
I fully support the 2nd amendment, but I really do not think that our founding fathers would have imagined in their wildest dreams that the right to bear arms would be bearing arms anything similar to the kind of arms we now have today.
These assault style rifles and semi-automatic weapons have no place in the hands of ordinary citizens.
The rifles my friends had for deer hunting would blow away a human these new assault style guns are far worse.
Hockey pucks or anything else against a gun has no chance.
I am repulsed by the NRA and their supporters who continue to allow assault weapons to be readily available to the public.
I am equally repulsed by the easy access to semi-automatic weapons.
I know there are many citizens who disagree with my view of guns and what I have wrote.
I am sure there are many who disagree with me on my view of guns, I was friends with a few who did just that.
One thing though is I never have come across anyone who who supports assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons to be in the hands of ordinary citizens.
It is these weapons of mass destruction that are mowing down our fellow citizens at an alarming rate at schools, concerts, malls, and other places where there is an easy target for the deranged citizens who legally get their hands on one.
Enough of my rant.
Cathy says
Yes! Well-put, jbcsfl ( & Andrew ). I so agree with your ‘rant’ re: guns, as does almost everyone I know. “Puck off” 🙂
Jims says
Puck chucking! Reminds me of the old Flint General hockey games. You would by a rubber puck for a dollar with a number on it. Between periods, I don’t recall which one, you would throw the puck on the ice. The one closest to the center ice face off dot won something. There were some horrible bad arms for sure. Hopefully they never have to throw a puck at a guy with an AK47. It would not be good.
Kathy says
That’s still happening at the Muskegon Lumberjacks’ games!
Kathy says
The Pistons are fun to watch. No one player is dominant, and they all admit they have another level to achieve before they can be true contenders. The win over the Warriors last night was a great team effort. The Wings are beginning to gel, too. Lots of youth and enthusiasm and drive.
Fred says
Wait a minute…when did Tom Hanks stop being the nicest guy in Hollywood?
jimiii says
Only a not very intelligent liberal/socialist/democrat can come up with such a silly idea. Like Andrew said most people cannot throw with any accuracy. More than likely they will hit anything but the shooter.
let us look at drug overdoses deaths just to compare death rates.
Drug overdose death rates: 2000: 20,000+, 2003: 24,000+, 2004: 30,000+, 2005: 30,000+ ….
2016: 63,632, 2017: 2017 over 70,000+ final figure not in yet.
These deaths include overdoses/suicides/doctor mistakes.
Opiods alone: 2016: 42249, 2017: 49068 www. drugabuse.gov
in 2017 over 40,000 deaths from car accidents with 2000+ children died that year.
texting while driving 2015: 3477, 2016: 3450
in 2015 13,286 died from firearms, excluding suicides.
There is a good chance that you die from being in an automobile accident than you will by gunfire.
As to the words “well regulated”, Andrew is right those words were never removed. What is a “well-regulated militia”? In the 1770’s it was all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 to 45.
It was not the National Guard or the Army reserve or Marine Corp. It was the common farmers and town citizens that had their own personal firearms.
They would gather so often, maybe weekly or whatever time that was decided by them to practice moving together in unison, such as marching and weapon handling. They may have covered other topics that we do not know about.
These were the men that gathered at Concord and Lexington to defend themselves from the British who were coming to those towns to seize the gunpowder, lead shot, canons and whatever arms were stored in those cities. They were also going to try to take away the citizens personal weapons. Which by the way were equivalent to the military arms of that time.
Unlike the modern-day liberal/socialist/democrat the writers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights lived under the heavy hand of a tyranny type of government. When they wrote the 2nd Amendment they meant for the average citizen have the means necessary to defend themselves a government that wants to disarm them and imposes a dictatorship/socialist type of government.
If you want to write a reply to this missive, I strongly suggest that you write your reply by candlelight, written with a quill pen with an inkwell. Then have it delivered by a rider on horseback.
Abner Devereaux says
NRA members are not committing mass shootings. You are making complete strawman arguments when you try to demonize the NRA and it’s members.
Andrew Heller says
Nonsense. The NRA supported by its members lobbies for minimum gun laws that help put war weapons in the hands of the angry, lonely, crazy and desperate.
Abner Devereaux says
“put war weapons in the hands of the angry, lonely, crazy and desperate.”
These are the false words of delusion. I sincerely doubt you even have much working knowledge of firearms. You just demonize firearms and their owners out of political desperation. Your words on this topic are hollow.
Andrew Heller says
Bullcrap. I know what bullets do to human beings. Your toys and your hobby are leading to mass slaughter.
Oldugly says
Andrew, Without resorting to to profane or vulgar language I have to ask you to point out which NRA member did the last “mass shooting.” Every NRA member I know (and yes, I am one) is as appalled by these events, as are all other responsible citizens. It is so easy to point to the misnamed “assault” and “semi-automatic” weapons and scream that we must ban all privately owned firearms. It is much more difficult to make a serious effort to discover what has changed in our society that causes people to perform these atrocities. And yes, as a 20 year Air Force (and Vietnam) veteran I know what bullets can do do human beings. But, I also know, they don’t do it by themselves.
I would bet a doughnut that if you would ask those who went to school 40 or 50 years years ago, you will hear many many stories of firearms being taken to (and into) schools and no violence resulted. What has changed?
I would suggest that instead of all of the finger pointing at the tools, we start looking at what caused the users to do these horrible deeds. What has changed that would make such atrocious acts even be thought of as an option?
Andrew Heller says
Isn’t that sort of like saying, “Sure, we produced the crack cocaine and sold it and lots of people died because of it but we’re not to blame – no one forced them to smoke it.” Same for cigarettes. The NRA and its members have bought protection from sane gun laws. The majority want common sense gun laws. The majority don’t own guns. if you’re an NRA member, you’re enabling their actions. Simple as that.
Fred says
You are missing the point. NRA fights hard to stop any gun control measures. Therefore making it easy for the wrong people to get guns. You are effectively enabling shootings with your passive stance. Shame on you. And, stop being so gullible. NRA only cares about making money, It’s not your friend.
You know what’s ironic? The people who stand against laws that would make it harder to purchase and own guns are the same people who support laws that make it harder to vote.
Oldugly says
Andrew, Isn’t that sort of like saying, “If I can’t think of a logical answer to your suggestions, I will offer some nonsensical statement and hope no one notices.” If the access to firearms has not significantly changed in the last 40 to 50 years, what has changed that allows these tragedies to occur?” That to me is the real question.
Fred says
Gun violence and mass murder has been around since the days of the old west. It just wasn’t so widely reported by cable news or captured on video. And before that, sword and knife violence wasn’t unheard of.
You might recall the sniper at University of Texas in 1966, and I am sure you heard of the bombing at a Michigan school in 1927. This kind of behavior caused by mental illness or lack of empathy is not new.
What has changed is magazine capacity and the ability to spray a massive amount of bullets per minute, therefore increasing the number of causalities greatly and making the incident more news worthy.
You wanted to know what has changed in the last 40 to 50 years? THAT is what has changed. 40 to 50 years ago, nobody had an AR-15 or an AK-47 in their closest. And, we weren’t seeing them on the shelves in gun shops. They didn’t even have semi-automatic handguns with 10, 12, or 18 round magazines. 6 shot revolvers were still being used by most police officers until the early-90s. Revolvers, pump shotguns and bolt-action rifles were good enough for firearm owners.
Your attempt to try to swing the blame to a younger generation, video games, music, movies or lack of religion is not helping anything. You are basically just saying “I don’t have a solution, so I am just going to blame the kids.” You are ignoring the real problem and allowing it to grow.
Again. What has changed in the last 40 to 50 years? AR-15s, AK-47s. semi-automatic pistols with available magazine capacity up to 50 rounds and rifle magazines with up to 100 round capacity have become easily obtainable to anyone who might want them, and are already in the hands of millions of citizens. These weapons can be used at any time to kill a large number of people just because someone was having a bad day. THAT’s the problem.
Shirley says
Mark Twain, “Diapers and politicans should be changed regularly–and for the same reason.”
Jims says
I used to be a member of the NRA when I was young and foolish. I own several guns. Once I really figured out what the NRA was about I canceled my membership. Problem with members are they are brainwashed into all the NRA ideals and principles. When Obama was elected I had friends go out and buy a gun and told me to hide mine because they are coming to get them. Guess what I still have them all. I belong to a labor union and do I believe and go along with everything they say and do? Hell no. People need to be realistic about what you have shoved down your throat by the NRA. Use common sense and make your voice heard or follow the rest of the lemmings of the cliff.
Matthew says
I know several Americans who love their guns. Guns are at the very center of their lives. I do not get it, but, please believe me, it is true. People such as this are everywhere in the USA.
I have no guns, but I have had fun with them. I know how to use guns. I learned how to handle them from my father, at the YMCA, at summer camp. Part of this instruction came from the NRA.
Please, let us just regulate new gun and ammo sales. We must make purchasers take an NRA course, and give them certificates, certifying that they have learned how to handle guns safely.
Fred says
So the lack of knowing how to handle guns safely is what leads to shootings? Some of these shooters were in the military, you would think they learned firearm safety there, but I guess not.
Matthew says
I am thinking many of the whacky shooters might not pass the course, or would not even enroll. This idea is a start. Probably the most we can hope for, now.
jimiii says
Stop the liberal concerns about gun control. I mean it needs to stop now. According to the Daily Signal, a Democrat State Representative from Detroit has introduced a resolution in the State Legislature to enact toy control.
Yes, State Rep. Leslie Lowe, D-Detroit has introduced legislation to have kids meals sellers from putting gender specific in the kid’s meals. Yes, I printed it right. She wants to ban gender-specific toys from being handed out. No mentioned of what the penalties will be if a fast food restaurant does not comply with this possible new law. She has at least 14 other lawmakers to sign onto this piece of legislation.
Whew! Another deadly crisis might be avoided if this passes.
jbcsfl says
I am not a liberal, I am more conservative than liberal.
John Kasich was my pick in 2016 and I hope he runs against the fibber in chief in 2020.
I am all for greater gun control, the banning of assault weapons and the banning of semi-automatic guns.
One does not need to be liberal, or a democrat, or a socialist to understand that no good comes from the possession of these weapons of mass destruction of human lives.
America needs to wake up, everyone is not of sane mind and those who are a little short from whatever ails them can cause severe damage just by exercising their 2nd amendment right.
Matthew says
Right on, jb!
Fred says
I am sorry that makes you uncomfortable. I know how you right-winger types are petrified of change. But, don’t worry, nobody will die from it. Let’s stay focused on gun control.
Matthew says
Jimmie the Third: This response is completely off-topic, but it the best-written post you ever have done. Are you working with a new English teacher, over there in Kamchatka? Great progress, Comrade!
Andrew Heller says
And this concerns you? If lawmakers focused on substance, well, then they wouldn’t be lawmakers. Seems like a lot outrage and umbrage over nothing.