Originally posted by Dowding:
Are you serious? What the shreck are you on Miko2d? What romantic view of the world you have! Is that the your vision of utopia?
If I had to live in a society in which teachers carried M16s, I'd be soon blowing my head off with said automatic weapon.
Dowding,
I would not have reacted to this post as I did if it contained any argument to the subject under discussion besides a personal attack on my character.
You did not have time to compose a reasonable responce, like the one you posted later, but you felt bad not having the last word? Quite understandable.
Many people would post a message "Respectfully disagree, will elaborate later". You chose to imply that my statement was so idiotic as to only be explained by my being on drugs and not worthy of a reply.
Firstly you criticize me for being offensive, and then launch into some tirade about how much of a banana I am. I'm violent, deranged and sociopathic? An interesting example of "How wrong you can be". You find it illogical that after finding your post unprovokedly offencive I did not serenade you but replied in kind (except for the foul language)? So only you can offend other people whenever you feel like it. And they cannot reply because it hurts your feelings?
I guess I should have made a reasearch on what your environment is like and the degree of offensiveness you ment to exude in your post lest I lose your respect...
FYI, 'shreck' is not considered offensive over here - it passes independant TV censors with no problem unlike the word 'diddly'. Easily confused, as be it may. That is what I am talking about. There is a whole world outside yours "over here". And many people would consider a deviation what you consider a norm.
I will teach my children not to use that kind of language with grownups. Neither will I use it in a company of people who are not my close friends (some of them, who would not be offended).
Many people do the same where I live and in other places.
When I saw your post that you were not serious (I kind of hoped I would see such a post), I immediately started printing my appology but before I could punch it in, I you posted a counter-attack. Can you make up your mind? Offend? Appologise? Take offence? Lose respect? Continue discussion? Your style today is quite different from the usual Dowding. Is that you there posting?
In case you do decide to come back to a rational discussion and for rational people out there:
Israeli teachers are not armed to the teeth to "get through the day". They do not use those weapons because Israel is safer to the kids then USA or England. They are just ready to.
Doesn't it make sense to safeguard the most precious thing we have with all available means? Teacher may be the only thing standing between a child and a danger. Whe know that it will happen - according to the statistics. We just hope it happens to someone else's kid. Is that a good approach?
If you need a target for dispelief, how about metal-detectors and searches at the school entrances and children being suspended from school for drawing a gun, ban on sale of the box-cutters and utility knives?
Doing this we (US citzens) openly recognize that our environment is full of dangerous people. So why not protect the children as much as we can?
You would not let you child into the woods without an armed adult around, would you?
By the way, many New York schools do have armed guards posted on every floor - and I am not talking about inner city schools.
Another point is that Israel is one of the most gun-rich environments and they do not have a problem with school shootings.
As for the police and soldiers (and other kinds of mercenaries - with all due respect) protecting us while all we do is pay their salaries - I would think that the right and even responcibility to protect oneself is more important then any other one (like freedom of speech) - they are all fiction without enforcement.
miko