An Armed Society...

is a polite society. That has long been my contention, it still is. Every time some whacko with a weapon kills some people as in the Virgina Tech and Omaha Mall incidents, the usual suspects start bemoaning the fact that the USA needs more gun control. It does not work that way. Nut jobs will find a way to kill; take away their guns and they will use box cutters and jet air planes.

This morning I read this article by Jeff Perry about gun accidents. It contains a lot of very enlightening facts that you won't find in the articles by the usual suspects.

But why, you ask, do I think that an armed society is a polite society. Well if you read Jeff Perry's article he attributes it to training and knowledge. He may be right, but here in the south I think it has more to do with something else. I saw it best described a few days ago in an article by Charley Reese. In the article Charley said

"In the South, there is a cultural rule: Never insult a man you are not prepared to fight, and never fight a man you are not prepared to kill."

In an unarmed society, this applies mostly to men big enough and strong enough to fight and possibly kill each other, but as they said in the west, "God created man, Sam Colt made them equal." Put a gun in the pocket or purse of a person of small stature and immediately they become capable of defending themselves. Along with that capability comes the cultural rule that Charley talked about. So I say again, an armed society is a polite society.