Only in the most restrictive states is training required, and even then it's generally just a class about the laws and regulations. That's not going to help you in a "standoff".
I admit I don't have stats for this, but it seems that most people who get CCWs do practice regularly or at least have extensive experience with firearms.
I don’t have the stats handy at the moment, but ISTR that the number one way that police officers get shot/killed is by having their own gun taken away from them by criminals and then used against them.
Now, granted, many police officers don’t have anywhere near as much gun training than your average NRA member, but I submit they still have way more training with guns than the average person on the street.
Given that, I can’t see how the solution to the gun problem is by having more guns.
Nah, to do that you need to curtail people’s freedom. What I’m proposing is simply that we privatize large parts of society and exclude people from the private areas based on their tendency to be bad actors. It’s not about restricting freedom. It’s about enabling free safe association for everyone who opts in. Like a massive HOA.
What I’m proposing is simply that we privatize large parts of society and exclude people from the private areas based on their tendency to be bad actors. Have these people been convicted of crimes? Because if they haven't, then yes, actually you are absolutely advocating restricting freedoms, and stumbling dangerously close to advocating redlining which has been illegal in the US for decades. Edit: Pardon my double p…
No more than you're curtailing my freedom by not letting me into your home. I've been convicted of nothing but you won't just let me into your home.
The point was that the package owner can make the situation worse for themselves by engaging in a revenge scheme. It highly depends on the local criminal culture. I some countries, I can see a gang deciding that the homeowner needs to be "taught a lesson". Police might catch them even, but the package owner might be in the hospital or morgue by then.
Yeah, in some countries the criminals are taught a lesson.
We call those countries Texas, Virginia and Florida.
Maybe with ubiquitous accurate facial recognition we could name and shame these individuals. You could then be walking around and identifying criminals as you go, denying them service, food, shelter, or water. We could create isolated communities of criminals, wall off the rest of the world, and deliver ourselves from evil.
Ooh! And we could expand it! What if it could identify for us who is republican or democrat, who is jewish or catholic, who is some other demographic? That would be terrific, wouldn't it?
I mean, sure, right? It's like living in a big mansion with your friends and choosing who gets to visit. I think that's perfectly okay. If you want to restrict me out I'm okay with that.
Nah, to do that you need to curtail people’s freedom. What I’m proposing is simply that we privatize large parts of society and exclude people from the private areas based on their tendency to be bad actors. It’s not about restricting freedom. It’s about enabling free safe association for everyone who opts in. Like a massive HOA.
You are absolutely proposing restricting freedom, just that you want to be the one defining how to do so, i.e. you want to be in charge. It is a story as old as time.
Would you let me into your house? How is this any different?
Nah, to do that you need to curtail people’s freedom. What I’m proposing is simply that we privatize large parts of society and exclude people from the private areas based on their tendency to be bad actors. It’s not about restricting freedom. It’s about enabling free safe association for everyone who opts in. Like a massive HOA.
I am trying to understand the mentality of someone who can say Like a massive HOA while thinking that this is a good thing. Have you never dealt with an HOA in your life? Have you never known someone who has?
I mean, like half of all Americans choose to live in HOA covered areas. They love to hate them. They don't actually hate them.
I just told this story on HN, but my car window was smashed on 10/13/18 and the theives got my wallet and house keys. They used my credit card at foot locker (~$500), The Store Manager confirmed two guys made the purchase and corporate said they would turn over the video if police just ask. A month later the bank fraud dept informed me someone was trying to cash a fake check ($1,600) against my account at an ATM usin…
Have you tried escalating the complaint? The 'let me talk to the manager approach.' Try to mail, call, meet in person anyone on the city council, police commissioner, etc. Tell them your situation and demand to know why no action is being taken. It still may not work, but it may be worth a shot. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I'm not the OP, but anytime ive tried this with the police it doesn't usually end up beneficial. The best response you might get is go see a judge who will tell you they don't care.
This is basically the point of the police, imagine this crowdsourcing thing did exist, but instead of everyone being able to see it only a select number of people who had been trained how to capture people and bring them to the courts without harming them could see it and respond. And they got paid to do this by everyone in the local area paying some money for them to do it. That’s what the police should be.
That's not the police, that's a paid private militia to round up people you "identify", with no accountability. Do you not see how that can go wrong?
The “people in the local area paying money” is tax. And from what I hear of US police, there doesn’t seem to be much accountability, certainly nothing like in the UK.
If I paid you $200, would you spend two weeks in jail? If getting that $200 meant risk to you (someone confronting you, someone else taking your money, risk of an officer giving you a beat down), would you still take it? It doesn't take a lot of risk to offset the "value" of stealing $950 labeled-worth goods (which will net you <$250 in cash).
If I was poor and did not see a light at the end of the tunnel, I would go to jail for free. Your tax dollars would pay for my lodging, food, exercise and hanging out with my friends. Jail is also a great place to network and improve your knowledge of the system and criminal techniques.
I was in jail for awhile but, regrettably, learned no new criminal techniques. In fact, most people seemed pretty reticent to talk about crimes or why they were in there. I did learn how to make a nutritious paste from commissary food, how to hide sugar packets in a mattress, and how to make a chess set out of toilet paper and toothpaste. I also found out that drugs are extremely cheap in jail--costing just one or two candy bars--since many people in jail have child support judgements against them and are effectively barred from using the commissary. Having access to the commissary can have a profound effect on your comfort in jail, so if you're a homeless person with some small passive income (and no child support!) it might be all right. I could see doing it through a harsh winter, but personally I'd probably choose the streets most of the time. The food you get might not be as regular, but it'll be more varied and probably more nutritious than what you'll find in a cell.