On 2012-12-22, at 8:29 PM, Jordan Hayes wrote:
> One issue is that I'm lazy: it's easier to pick off blatantly false statements than it is to posit My Solution to all social problems. But I think you'll find that I've written extensively on-list about other subjects, including but not limited to: health insurance, interest rates, the housing bubble, the deficit, the death penalty, public transportation, AIG, "higher" education, unemployment ... ok, that's just since July.
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> Oh, and cursive writing.
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> Another reason is that when there are these events, The Chatter can be counted upon to create a, ahem, target rich environment for such criticism.
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> In a sense, it's your fault that I've had to tell you that you're wrong so many times.
Mud wrestling is not my sport.
> It's a simple summary: you've invented a problem that's not a problem, and a solution that doesn't even fix the problem you've invented. We're not really sure (yet) what The Problem was with Adam Lanza, but if you think there's a "gun problem" then I say "we have a violent crime problem" instead, and you haven't once responded to that. It's really that simple.
Good lord, is this what we've been discussing - whether there is a "gun problem" OR a "violent crime problem"? There are obviously both, in mutual reinforcement. Unlike in other countries, US gun laws in effect ensure an abundant supply of matches and kerosene for a large pool of potential pyromaniacs. I thought we equally understood this, but evidently not. Moreover, these problems aren't "inventions" to those experiencing them, and we who lack the experience have little to contribute. In this case, as in others, there seems to be an unfortunate relationship between the absolute confidence of left-wing intellectuals, bordering on hubris, in the analyses and prescriptions they offer to working class communities and institutions, and their social and political distance from them.