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Saturday, February 02, 2013 

Dan Slott's weak arguments about gun control

Reading what comics writers and artists have to say on Twitter is no easy feat, because like many other tweeters, they too can post busloads all within a short time span and if there is anything eyebrow raising to note, it can get buried pretty fast under every consecutive entry. But I've been trying my best in recent weeks to see what's going on, and now, I see that Dan Slott is arguing ambiguously with everybody about gun control laws. It began with this:

But did CNN ever report about any of the innocents who successfully defended themselves and other innocent people against criminals? Probably not, because it wouldn't be politically correct or coincide with their leftist positions, now would it?

Then does he have any problem with the troubling laws passed by the NY state assembly and backed by Orwellian mayor Bloomberg that make it difficult even for police to do their job? And, does he have any problem with Chicago's very own laws that still don't provide safety? The New York Times says:
CHICAGO — Not a single gun shop can be found in this city because they are outlawed. Handguns were banned in Chicago for decades, too, until 2010, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that was going too far, leading city leaders to settle for restrictions some describe as the closest they could get legally to a ban without a ban. Despite a continuing legal fight, Illinois remains the only state in the nation with no provision to let private citizens carry guns in public.

And yet Chicago, a city with no civilian gun ranges and bans on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, finds itself laboring to stem a flood of gun violence that contributed to more than 500 homicides last year and at least 40 killings already in 2013, including a fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl on Tuesday.
The girl they spoke of, by the way, was an honor student who attended Obama's inauguration (via Big Government).

Slott, who met with disagreement over his awkward arguments, goes on to say:

If they don't have them, that's because they got better education systems then the USA does. But look at Britain, where violent crime by guns has gone up, and even a news company as awful as the BBC was willing to admit what I found earlier, that crime rose in the UK. And in Australia, there was a 42 percent increase in crime since their own gun laws were passed (H/T: Vox Popoli).

And his assertion that movies and games aren't a problem is getting old too. NBC recently published a poll (via Big Journalism) where a sizable number of people have said they view movies and irresponsible parenting as the causes for violence. If Slott really has a problem with guns, he could at least argue first about the quality of the education system in the USA, and whether it's really dedicated to raising people to the best of standards. He's wrong about the rest of the world having the same movies, by the way: compared to Hollywood, not many European countries go out of their way to spend big on special effects. In France, dramas like Eric Rohmer's are usually the main output. Not many action/adventure blockbusters of the size and scope you see in the US there.

Slott goes on to attack the NRA and any politicians who support them:

What about moviemakers who don't care about good education? Why not them?

Again, what about the education given to the people who see the movies and play the games, and even read the comic books? And if he considers real guns a problem, what about real knives, screwdrivers, baseball bats and metal pipes? What about real rapists?

Does he care if a parent/teacher doesn't teach his or her child why what we see in a Doom game shouldn't be copied in real life? He even goes on to say the following:

Well if that isn't one of the most classically sloppy claims I've ever heard! Since when wasn't mental illness a concern? It most certainly is, especially if it hasn't been treated right. A parent - well, anyone who's aware of a basket case in their midst - should try to warn authorities immediately, lest disaster fall upon sane society. Next thing we know, Slott will probably say the Koran is a scapegoat without even researching any of the verses and themes inside. The creep who committed the murders in Connecticut was mentally ill, and he has the gall to say mental illness is trivial? Oh my god.

With that last tweet there, Slott has proven he has no talent for arguing politics any more than for writing comics. It's bad enough people in showbiz will claim violent entertainment has no ability to indoctrinate, but it's worse to go off saying that mental illness has no impact. His retort is a textbook case of not thinking things through.

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Why is it so hard for people who believe in gun confiscation to just say so?

Oh, right. Because they know it's wildly unpopular and indefensible. Thus, the dishonesty.

Re: Dan Slott - and spoons made him fat. Does he want to confiscate doughnuts too? He can't seem to stop scarfing down literally dozens of them a week.

His obesity raises questions about both his self respect and his judgement so if it's all the same I won't be using such an aberrant person as an advisor on... well, anything, actually.

Cripes, this dolt has all the intellectual rigor of a piece of bread.

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  • I'm Avi Green
  • From Jerusalem, Israel
  • I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.
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