Was out walking around the countryside today, near some farms about 1.5 hours from Tokyo when I stumbled upon this sign by the road... You often hear from pro-gun control advocates that Japan does not have a gun problem like the United States because guns are illegal in Japan. That is patently false.
I think this picture speaks a lot more than a thousands words... I also would like to note how the sign includes English for foreign hunters in the area. How polite! Want to know just how really absurd it is to compare the USA with Japan? Read this for a real eye-opener: Gun Control and Japan - Mike in Tokyo Rogers on the truth. If that link doesn't work, copy and paste this: http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers255.html
This is mind-boggling! No matter where you stand on guns, this needs to be deeply considered.
Gun Control? - How To "3D-Print" A Semi-Automatic Rifle
"Gun Control for us is a fantasy. In a way that people say, 'Wait a minute! You're being unrealistic about printing a gun.' I think it's more unrealistic now, especially going forward to think you could ever control this technology."
When it comes to gun control in the USA the
logic of the progressives works in a very curious way. They often like to cherry
pick nations from around the world to compare with the USA. One of their favorite
nations to use as a comparison is Japan.
The argument goes like this; “Gun crimes are
out of control in the United States! In America, over eleven thousand people
are killed with guns every year! Japan has strict gun control laws and only a
handful of people are killed with guns annually. Therefore Japan proves that
gun control works. The United States should have gun control laws like Japan!”
You’ve heard this argument. I’m constantly
hearing it; “If the United States were more like Japan”… “If the United States
had gun laws like Japan, then gun crimes would virtually disappear.”
Is this true?
Well, it is certainly true that overall Japan
is a much safer place than the United States. The data show this to be fact. I
would also venture to say that, in many ways, it would be better if the United
States and American people were more like Japan and the Japanese people. But I
suppose that’s a samurai sword that cuts both ways; there are plenty of
unfortunate things about Japan and the Japanese that sometimes make me wish it
were more like the USA and American people.
Is directly comparing Japan’s gun laws and
crime rate with the USA a good and logical comparison? Does this make sense? Are
the progressives bringing up a point that is difficult to argue against? Can we
make an apples-to-apples comparison using Japan against the USA?
The answer is no. Unfortunately for the
progressives, we can’t sensibly make that comparison and I want to show you why
it’s absurd to even consider it. The only things that might make sense in a
Japan versus USA comparison might have to do with economics, automobiles, love
of sushi and baseball (and I’m not so sure about the baseball part). If we are
talking about gun control, crimes, or even universal health care, Japan and the
United States are two animals that are as different as night and day.
We probably can’t even fairly compare Japanese girl’s fashions
Let me show you why and then when anyone makes
this sort of comparison, you should smile and remind them of these few points…
You want to compare the United States to Japan?
The United States is a country that isn’t even
250 years old.
Some people consider that the USA has a huge immigration
problem. In the United States, there are estimates of up to 20 million illegal aliens in the
country.
Japan is not known to have an immigration
problem. Japan is extremely strict on immigration. About 150,000 people per
year are allowed to immigrate to this country.
Any child born in the USA is automatically
awarded citizenship even if that child’s mother is in the country illegally.
This accounts for about 380,000 new Americans annually.
Just because you were born in Japan doesn’t
mean that you can get Japanese citizenship. Even those living here today, as permanent
residents, whose grandparents were brought to Japan as slaves from Korea or
Taiwan over one hundred years ago, are not given Japanese citizenship upon
birth.
“Cultural Identity” and “United States of
America” are not words that I often note in the same sentence. The United
States is a good example of a country that is considered a “Melting pot.”
The Japanese have an extremely strong cultural
identity. Japan is a good example of one of the world’s few homogenous
societies.
The United States was born in a revolution against
a monarchy and all through its history it has had a civilian population that
has always been well armed.
Japan was a caste society for thousands of
years. The people – the peasantry – have never been armed. There was never any
idea of democracy in feudal Japan and the people never considered rising up
against the aristocrats and the warlords.
The United States was also founded on the
principle that “All men are created equal.”
In Japan’s feudal caste society, 98% of the population
was the peasantry; the remaining two percent were aristocrats, warriors and
merchants. People were far from equal.
In the United States, the law of the land,
written in the 1780s, says that the people have the right to keep and bear
arms. People in the United States have a history of a country awash with guns.
In ancient Japan, the people were not even
allowed to carry swords. The Great Sword Hunt was carried out in 1588 and
disarmed everyone. The only ones who were ever allowed to carry arms were the
warrior class. Guns? What guns?
According to the Global
Peace Index, the United States ranks a lowly 88th
place (One rank above the People’s Republic of China). Japan is ranked as the 5th
most peaceful nation in the world.
In the USA, the official numbers show
unemployment at 7.8% of the population. Unofficially, according to Shadow Stats, the unemployment rate is
about 23%.
In Japan official unemployment stands at about
4.2%. Unofficially it is at 5.7%.
And that’s just a few of the big differences.
There’s much more but I think you get the picture,
Now, you tell me, after considering the above, is
comparing Japan and the United States fair when it comes to gun control or even
Universal Health Care?
Can we find a cure for gun crime in the United
States by looking at how another country with a vastly different history, culture
and people with a completely different experience have dealt with it or do we
have to look within ourselves and our own nation?
Could it be that the gun crimes and murder rate
in the USA have little to do with the numbers of guns and everything to do with
what Henson Ong said at a gun violence
prevention public hearing said,
“Gun control does not work. Your own history is
replete with high school rifle teams, Boy Scout marksmanship merit badges. You
could buy rifles at hardware stores. You could order them – mail order them –
delivered to your home. Your country was awash in readily available firearms
and ammunition. And yet, in your past, you did not have mass shootings… What
changed? It was not that the availability of guns suddenly exploded or
increased, it actually decreased… What changed was societal decay…”
I think it must be pretty obvious to anyone who
thinks about it when talking about gun control and crimes (or even universal
health care) comparing the United States to Japan is like comparing a steak
barbeque to a slice of fish.
Men may be from Mars, and women are from Venus,
but never forget that the Japanese are most definitely from Japan… Americans
are from who knows where.
This is an
open letter to one of my friends who is pro-gun control... Well, that's not exactly
true; he doesn’t just want gun control.
He wants to make all guns completely illegal.
Dear Jean (his real name),
About gun
control: I agree with you. We need to protect the children. I understand that
the best entity to do that is undoubtedly the US government. They have a proven
record of success that cannot be matched!
Perhaps
you should tell everyone who is against gun control about how the U.S.
government protected them when they killed about 1 million Native Americans (who, by the way, didn't have guns). Those
Native Americans were savages and they had to die to make way for our God-given
manifest destiny and us.
Sure,
sometimes there are tough choices to make, right? But remind everyone that the
US government are always the Good Guys, with God on our side. Everyone makes
mistakes, but at least our government means well.
Isn’t it
wonderful living in the greatest country in the world?
9/11? What?
There another 3000 died. But no one could possibly imagine that our benevolent
leaders would intentionally allow the world's most powerful, most feared, air
force to sit at base doing nothing at the time, right?
Blowing
away a few to several hundred troublesome Americans matters to no one except
conspiracy nuts and terrorists, right? I mean, if they are troublesome, they
can’t be “real Americans,” anyway!
We need to
protect the children. We need to take guns out of the hands of the citizens and
give it back to the government….
After all,
history shows that the US government is our best protector. They've proven, over and over, that they will take care of us!
I have been railing on the idea that guns should be controlled or banned in the USA. I do that because it is obvious that inanimate objects do not control human behavior. (For more on that read: Obesity is the Number 1 Problem Facing America Killing Over 300,000 a Year! - Ban Spoons! Enforce a "No Pie Zone" Over the USA!) Usually when I do write about "gun control" I get some silly illogical mail from some people that merely tout nonsense and has no sound logic as a basis for discussion. Basically, I get the "You are a member of the NRA!!!!" (Nope. I don't even think there is an NRA in Japan.) But today, I did get one email that is rational. It's from Bill. Please read: I think there is a misunderstanding about gun control and gun bans. I personally do not own a gun and have only fired a hunting rifle. But I do think that in America that there should be a right to own guns. But my question to the people that want to own assault weapons is this: why? Anyway, this gun violence in America is more than just guns. It's violence. And mental health. The country after Reagan closed most of the Federally funded mental institutes in the 80's let all of those individuals out on the streets. The place that many of them now reside. The other home for them is prisons. As if that's not a tax payer burden. So maybe the country is not doing enough to assist and protect its citizens. Instead the gov't spend tons on wars. And another reason that all of this violence? The society here in America. Or better yet, the government breeds violence. We're violent country. There were 20 kids killed in CT recently and that's horrible. But American troops kill endless amount of children in foreign wars all the time. Where's the outrage about that? But back to my first question. Why do you or anybody need to own an assault rifle? And the answer is not the 2nd Amendment. That's not a good enough answer. I wouldn't mind hearing one. - Bill Thanks Bill. It's nice to get a mail that's not written from someone who is foaming at the mouth. I agree about the foreign wars and killing kid and violent country part, but I think, Bill, that your argument is solid up to that point. Please see the video below as to why. Anyway, thanks Bill. Here is what I wrote back: Bill, Thanks. You ask a good question. May I humbly suggest that you get better information on what you are talking about? Specifically, "What is an 'Assault rifle'? Please watch this video made by a former policeman with testimony from the Bureau of Tobacco Alcohol and Firearms: "What Is An "Assault Rifle"? - You've Probably Been Lied To" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yATeti5GmI8)
Now, you tell me: In a nation that was built on violent revolution and gun ownership with such a violent history of murder (War Between the States killing over 700,000 Americas), genocide (American natives estimated over 4 million dead), the largest prison population in the world (over 2 million people in prison), an out of control level of urban violence (gangs) and constant foreign war and police brutality in general - along with the fact that there are now over 300 million guns in a nation with the population of 311 million people... The utter idea that gun control will work seems preposterous on the face of it. I wonder if Head-banger Jason, now a member of the Crips, or Renaldo, member of the bloods, will turn in their guns... Sure if they trust each other to do so...) For more on the absurdity of thinking inanimate objects cause crimes, see: Obesity is the Number 1 Problem Facing America Killing Over 300,000 a Year! - Ban Spoons! Enforce a "No Pie Zone" Over the USA! Also watch: "Choose Your Own Crime Stats" (The stats they'd rather you not hear). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0)
NOTE: I have owned guns before and hunted before. But I don't like guns at all and, of course, do not own one now. (If I lived in the USA, I would and I'd be trained on how to use one)... But my entire reason for writing these things is that I don't believe that I have the right to tell you how you should live and what you should do. Nor do you have the right to tell me what to do and how to live. The federal government certainly does not. To outlaw law abiding citizens from owning an inanimate object on their property (and on themselves) is the opposite of freedom. I write these things because people need to wake up and see that this is not really an issue about guns, it is an issue about freedoms. To control guns means that you just create another excuse for the police to come on your private property and take away your right to peace and privacy. Why people cannot see that astounds me.
Here's a final thought about guns and control and banning perfectly legal activities before the New Year. Actually, it's not so much about guns per se, but about a philosophy. That is a philosophy of freedom.
Let's see... What's the most effective? Banning human behavior or banning butter knives? I know! Let's ban gangs and drugs! How well has that worked out so far?
This ridiculous nonsense about banning guns is getting out of control. As my good friend Red Brown points out; "Gun control will only serve to criminalize large numbers of citizens and give police more reasons to violate our privacy." Yep. Think about that. If guns are made illegal then it will criminalize what law biding citizens do. 99.99% of all gun owners in the USA do not commit gun crimes. Why would we want to make their ownership of an inanimate object a crime? Isn't this similar to drug laws? Think about it. Under a true philosophy of freedom, like Libertarianism, you are free to do as you wish as long as you don't bother other people. You are free to own private property and to seek happiness. The important part of private property that people need to understand is that the most basic private property is ownership of oneself. You own you. You know what's best for you. I don't know what's best for you and certainly the government doesn't either. I have no right to tell you what to do and how to live. You have no right to tell me what to do and how to live. Certainly the government does not either. If you want to take drugs then are you hurting anyone? No! If two consenting adults want to have sex, is there a victim? No! If someone wants to gamble their money away, does that hurt you and me? No! If someone wants to have a gun on their own property does that hurt you or me? No! Hell if someone wants to be stupid and drive without a seat belt, does that harm you or me? No! Definitely not (hopefully Darwinism can be put back into effect!) Allow people to do with their private property as they wish as long as they do not hurt other people. Also, think about this; the utter idea that an inanimate object like guns are the cause of gun crimes is incredible on the surface. I read an intelligent quote once. It said, "If guns are responsible for gun crimes, then it follows the same logic that video cameras are responsible for child pornography." There was another one that said, "We don't blame cars for drunk driving. Why do we blame guns for gun crimes?" Anyway, the philosophical point is that we cannot curtail people's freedom. Like I wrote, the vast majority of gun owners do not commit gun crimes, why do people want to outlaw what they do? By what right do people think they can do so? And, finally, is anyone so daft that they think if they outlaw guns that criminals and Bloods and Crips and other gangs are going to suddenly become good boys and girls and turn in their weapons? Laughable. The biggest problem with this banning and registration (control) of weapons (or any behavior for that matter) is that we start down a very slippery slope. First registration, then more curtailments, then banning of some arms, then wider restrictions; finally a total ban. Don't think so? Well history proves that I am right... Oh, and for you folks who think that the citizenry should be unarmed and only the government should have weapons, well, 20th century history shows you where you are completely wrong about that. Governments killed over 200 million citizens in the last 100 years... From Predatory Politics:
During the 20th century, around 40 million people died in international and civil wars. Yet nearly 200 million, about five times as many, were killed by their own government for their race, religion, imputed political dissent, to fill a murder quota for no reason at all.
Watch the video below for further proof....
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - Edmond Burke
Oh, but this time it's different. Banning guns is not the same thing....You think this is a big joke? You think this is stupid? Really? Well I did mention about the slippery slope. Read on: British Doctors Call For a Ban on Kitchen Knives to End Stabbings: "A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on the increase – and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings. They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon. They consulted 10 top chefs from around the UK, and found such knives have little practical value in the kitchen. None of the chefs felt such knives were essential, since the point of a short blade was just as useful when a sharp end was needed. The researchers say legislation to ban the sale of long pointed knives would be a key step in the fight against violent crime. “We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure that would have this effect.” There is also a humorous quote at the start of the article. It says, "The good news is that if we ever do get that assault rifle ban, followed by a handgun ban, followed by a ban of anything that can shoot bullets, the “Banners” will still have a banner year of banning all the other ways with which people kill other people." Yeah. When will the stupidity ever end? Not soon. Now a woman wants to ban beer drinking glasses and glass beer bottles because her husband was killed by a broken glass in a bar brawl. You can't make this stuff up! Campaign to ban glass from pubs goes to Downing Street "A widow whose husband died after being stabbed in the neck with a glass bottle is taking her campaign to ban glass from pubs and clubs to Downing Street. Philip Sherriff who was from Preston was attacked at a London nightclub on a night out in April. Tomorrow she's going to London to lobby the Government to change the law. Philip Sherriff Credit: ITV Granada His wife, Jane, says his death was totally preventable and has launched the campaign in his memory. She said: "I don't want anyone to go through what we've gone through, the devastation has been enormous." Will the idiocy end in 2013? Nope. Remember when Politically Correct language was fringe? I do. Now it's everywhere. This banning all sorts of behaviors (because you are too childish to be able to handle a butter knife or spill your drink) will only get worse. Have a Happy New Year...
