On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 23:56:06 GMT, "Greg"
wrote:

Accepting YOUR logic, I assume that you also don't own a car and are against
private car ownership - leaving the driving to "government" agents. The
slaughter on our hiways matches or exceeds firearms related events. And
those are considered "accidents", mostly. Again, using your own statistics,
if I have sane family, self included, I actually have little to fear from
gun violence. With the number of cars on the street though, you have a far
greater chance of encountering an incompetent driver than a crazy gun toting
individual.

One of the statistics I remember from the era of Vietnam was that many
more people were killed every year on american highways that in 'nam.

Many people have irrational fears far out of step with the risks.

We ban drugs because they are dangerous but we lose 50 times as many
people to legal substances - cigarettes and alcohol.

We are as a nation hysterical about the dangers of terrorism when
there has been no terrorist attacks since 9/11. Are terrorists
dangerous? Perhaps, but nobody will ever be able to take over a jet
with just a box cutter again. The only way they did on 9/11 is that
the old paradigm was that if you sit down and shut up during a
hijacking you are more likely to survive than if you try to interfere.
The fourth plane - where people knew what was happening - is proof of
this. Had they known at the beginning, they would probably all still
be alive.
Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)