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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: rape and firearms
Message-ID: <11602@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 15-Jul-85 17:11:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.11602
Posted: Mon Jul 15 17:11:25 1985
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Another point that I should have added to the "Wild West Theory" discussion:

The point about an armed society becoming a polite society is NOT due to
everyone running about in fear of being shot by someone else. It is due
to the changes in the armed people themselves. When you are armed, you 
become *LESS* free to indulge your angers, not *more* free! You cannot
yell at incompetent drivers, casually insult strangers, etc., because
*any* confrontation has the potential to escalate to a conflict with the
element of deadly force involved. This is one of the basic principles
taught by those all-too-few schools that instruct people in the use of
guns for self-defense, like the Chapman or Ayoob academies.

This desirable state *can* be reached without everyone going about armed;
merely teach every person to act as if every other person was armed. 

(Of course, we can't even teach people to keep to the right side of sidewalks,
so I hold no real hope of anything that depends on teaching and learning...)

Will