Paul Ryan Criticized over "Thoughts and Prayers" Comment

[henryp]

Do you think we should ban all guns?

Yes, ultimately.  You see people, even supposedly Law Abiding Responsible Gun Owners ( L-ARGOs) are too fucking careless to have that kind of power.  The "All Hail The Second Amendment" thread has story after story of supposedly trained and careful gun owners who made that one little mistake and now they are short one kid.

It's not worth it.

Hey BRIAN37!  Remember how you talked about how "We" don't want to ban all guns and people should stop buying into that lie, and I said you doing speak for everyone?

Out of curiosity, Min, you think we should ban alcohol as well?

A side note, how comes when Brian says nobody wants to ban all the guns, and it's just a big lie to scare people, you don't speak up and say "Hey, a lot of us do want to ban all the guns. It's the common sense solution to the problem."?

[Rev. Rye]

Bear in mind, alcohol isn't specifically designed to kill people. Sure, it does kill more people than all the illegal drugs combined, but that's not the intention.

Meanwhile, a gun is specifically designed to put a hole in something so it stops being alive; that's kind of a big difference.

[FFaith]

To clarify, my statements about prayer have been general. I don't know what Paul Ryan said, don't know much of anything about Him or his politics except that's hes republican.

That's the unfortunate thing about you: you're kind, thoughtful (honestly, the first memory I have of you is trying to save a suicidal poster's life), and you certainly use your devotion to Catholicism in positive ways, but sometimes, you fail to look at the subtleties that make all the difference in a given discussion.

I don't think she was trying to defend who Paul Ryan is as a politician. Just saying that it's better he says "thoughts and prayers" than nothing at all. If all Republicans just said nothing at all, then the gun control advocates are still pissed, and the families victims of the mass shootings don't get the same sense of comfort from hearing that so many are praying for them. Is that really any better than where we are right now? Bringing up gun control might actually bother the victims families here too, seeing as they're in Texas and many of them may not even want more gun control. Some of them may even be disgusted that Dem politicians are using their fallen family members to try to push for further taking away people's rights.

[Joods]

Countries in Europe who have banned or outlawed guns seem to be doing a lot better than the US in terms of murders etc.

I think those countries are doing it right.

[henryp]

Bear in mind, alcohol isn't specifically designed to kill people. Sure, it does kill more people than all the illegal drugs combined, but that's not the intention.

Meanwhile, a gun is specifically designed to put a hole in something so it stops being alive; that's kind of a big difference.

That's one meaningless way to look at it. 

One that might make more sense:

Guns by design do not cause people to commit crimes.
Alcohol by design causes people to commit crimes.

---

Countries in Europe who have banned or outlawed guns seem to be doing a lot better than the US in terms of murders etc.

I think those countries are doing it right.

It'd be nice to disarm the US.  I'm not sure how well sending cops into minority neighborhoods to take away the massive criminal organizations' guns would play out.  On paper, it seems like there could be a few hiccups.

[The Grand Nudger]

It would play out like any paramilitary sweep of a civilian neighborhood plays out.  Lot's of civvies dead, much loot confiscated.

That;s only a hiccup if you mind killing the folks in question...and cops are already taking to that task with at least -some- enthusiasm.

One of the surreal moments in an small arms sweep (gettin sassy!)...is when you've got all the guns piled up and you realize that if those people had done even the slightest thing about it, they had enough firepower to kill you ten times over....but they never do.

[Jackalope]

I didn't know  about that. But maybe you could have as part of a universal background check that that stuff gets reported.

The pro-gun lobby has fairly consistently opposed such reporting. Between that and vetoes, hasn't happened.

[Jackalope]

To clarify, my statements about prayer have been general. I don't know what Paul Ryan said, don't know much of anything about Him or his politics except that's hes republican.

He's the guy who's too busy trying to strip healthcare from 20+ million people and give tax cuts to the wealthy to be bothered with such pedestrian problems as this.

[The Valkyrie]

If I ever get two extremely lazy and useless cats I'm naming them, "Thoughts" and "Prayers".

[Pat Mustard]

To be fair to CL, not everyone has deep pockets nor can spend time advocating. My objection is to the logic of ALL theism, not just her.

If all someone has to offer is kind words, sometimes that is really all they have to offer. But, on a national political level, for those who DO have the money and means, there is no excuse. That cliche is far to political, and used by opportunists to keep power. But when she offers her condolences I believe she means it. I simply don't agree with the logic that prayer works. I am talking about the power level, and those in power who offer it up, to keep support. Action is more at the top, in those who have the power. Everyday laypeople cant do what the rich do to solve these problems. They cant do what politicians do at the same level. I do think grass roots helps, pushing at the bottom sure. But I am not going to say that everyone can end up being a Martin Luther King Jr, or a Malala or JFK. 

I am tired of "thoughts an prayers" as well. It is hollow and meaningless. All the world's religions pray for their respective heros and holy leaders to protect them. And it still remains the ride ends, even for their leaders, even for the rich. Actions do matter, but to me, the responsibility starts at the top.

That's why I said in my second post making the point that one of the things you could do is go over and sympathise (and maybe bring a pot roast or a stew or something). Even donating a small bit of money to a fund is infinitely greater help than prayer (and lest anybody think I'm not au fait with poverty, I've spent quite a time unemployed and my highest paying employment is my current one where I'm grossing €22.5k per annum [got a good pension plan though being a civil servant] and I've always been able to give money to worthy causes, if I'm careful with managing my money).