Such a peaceful people...

[UberTong]

Your media comment aside, I don't think the actual outcome would be any different at all. There would be just as many hateful comments and people acting stupid, because it's not really an appropriate venue. The media, of course, would claim it's racism... Either way, I think parties on both sides would be idiots.

I think its easy to say both sides would be idiots...so lets say for argument sake there was a big bill coming down to ban all 'assault rifles'. And down at the capitol building there was a huge group of people protesting the sale and ownership of said evil guns. But say you wanted to go down there and calmly talk about why guns are important to you, try and make 'believers' out of non gun owners by making them see what kind of guy you are etc....just playing devils advocate here. Are you an idiot then? Same situation, different issue. Oh and the libs are yelling things at you, cuz they hate your American bad ass self owning guns and they want to see them stripped away from you.

[ghettodub]

I think its easy to say both sides would be idiots...so lets say for argument sake there was a big bill coming down to ban all 'assault rifles'. And down at the capitol building there was a huge group of people protesting the sale and ownership of said evil guns. But say you wanted to go down there and calmly talk about why guns are important to you, try and make 'believers' out of non gun owners by making them see what kind of guy you are etc....just playing devils advocate here. Are you an idiot then? Same situation, different issue. Oh and the libs are yelling things at you, cuz they hate your American bad ass self owning guns and they want to see them stripped away from you.

I see your point for sure, and I may be generalizing, but when people go and do something like this, it's typically not their goal to actually have people change their mind or learn. It's to make a statement, or inflame the people with the opposing view. Does Westboro go to military funerals to get people to follow their beliefs? No, they go for shock value. Do anti-protestors go to the KKK or Martin Luther King parades to get people to change their views? Not really. Some people "may" do that with good intentions, but that percentage is small, and would you bring a camera?

in your scenario, I wouldn't do that because I believe there are better avenues to educate people with different beliefs than mine.

[UberTong]

I see your point for sure, and I may be generalizing, but when people go and do something like this, it's typically not their goal to actually have people change their mind or learn. It's to make a statement, or inflame the people with the opposing view. Does Westboro go to military funerals to get people to follow their beliefs? No, they go for shock value. Do anti-protestors go to the KKK or Martin Luther King parades to get people to change their views? Not really. Some people "may" do that with good intentions, but that percentage is small, and would you bring a camera?

in your scenario, I wouldn't do that because I believe there are better avenues to educate people with different beliefs than mine.

Fair enough, thanks for the honest response.

I see your point as well, and not the way I would I handle my own situation either. But, despite what you and I think and how we would handle ourselves he can peacefully read the good book where ever he chooses, and I found the Muslim response not so peaceful, thats all. If you guys would rather not have me post this kind of stuff, thats fine. If we just want to talk about guns and ammo, thats fine as well. I just feel this huge cultural shift in America now from when I was younger, and frankly it scares me.

[Hoosier]

I think its easy to say both sides would be idiots...so lets say for argument sake there was a big bill coming down to ban all 'assault rifles'. And down at the capitol building there was a huge group of people protesting the sale and ownership of said evil guns. But say you wanted to go down there and calmly talk about why guns are important to you, try and make 'believers' out of non gun owners by making them see what kind of guy you are etc....just playing devils advocate here. Are you an idiot then? Same situation, different issue. Oh and the libs are yelling things at you, cuz they hate your American bad ass self owning guns and they want to see them stripped away from you.

I think idiot is a strong word to use, but lets just say that you're standing on a street, with a large group of people holding signs. Maybe they aren't even shouting or chanting, but that seems unlikely. The people there all feel strongly enough about an issue to have gone to the craft store and bought whatever it takes to make signs, and then driven downtown to stand outside and shout about it. So these aren't the moderate undecideds. I don't think you're going to get into a nuanced conversation with someone that can lead to one of you changing viewpoints or even finding any middle ground.

You might have better luck inviting one of them to sit down in a coffee shop, where you can both access The Google to find sources and make compelling arguments based on facts. Good luck with that!

So yeah, the people behaving badly here are idiots. Group IQ is more or less inversely proportional to the number of people there. You'd find similar bad behavior were someone wearing Islamy clothing to appear at Sturgis and try and preach the Qu'ran, right? That'd be an ugly scene I wouldn't want to see either.

Just like the gay jerk thread, there are retards of every stripe, religion, nationality, and hair color. If you want to argue about the relative percentages for each category, well, seems like winning the 100m in the special olypics.

H.

[Ronin13]

Just watched a program on History International last night about 9/11 conspiracies and they showed footage of conspiracy nuts vs rational thinkers and both can get pretty heated and out of control when arguing. Same here applies. Those who keep a level head and present their argument rationally and calmly will usually win, those who get crazy and start screaming come off as irrational and nutty, and look like a**holes.

[udaddy]

Just watched a program on History International last night about 9/11 conspiracies and they showed footage of conspiracy nuts vs rational thinkers and both can get pretty heated and out of control when arguing. Same here applies. Those who keep a level head and present their argument rationally and calmly will usually win, those who get crazy and start screaming come off as irrational and nutty, and look like a**holes.

I agree...you put enough people together and a their own personal beliefs go out the door and the group think/ mob mentality comes into play. Any group of people can be idiots....

What did you think was going to happen? That's like a minority at a Klan meeting...or a Klan member on a college campus If he was just a white dude walking around enjoying the festivities this video wouldn't even exist.

'Such a peaceful people' is what you think up for a title? Let me guess you have no Arab friends to speak of so this what their culture is like to you?

Isn't this just like when people see guns all over the media used in crimes and immediately assume that all guns and gun owners are evil? Isn't it?

[Byte Stryke]

I agree...you put enough people together and a their own personal beliefs go out the door and the group think/ mob mentality comes into play. Any group of people can be idiots....

What did you think was going to happen? That's like a minority at a Klan meeting...or a Klan member on a college campus If he was just a white dude walking around enjoying the festivities this video wouldn't even exist.

'Such a peaceful people' is what you think up for a title? Let me guess you have no Arab friends to speak of so this what their culture is like to you?

Isn't this just like when people see guns all over the media used in crimes and immediately assume that all guns and gun owners are evil? Isn't it?

without getting all personal
/agree


as with any group you are going to have extremists, rioters, assholes, etc...

[Ronin13]

I agree...you put enough people together and a their own personal beliefs go out the door and the group think/ mob mentality comes into play. Any group of people can be idiots....

What did you think was going to happen? That's like a minority at a Klan meeting...or a Klan member on a college campus If he was just a white dude walking around enjoying the festivities this video wouldn't even exist.

'Such a peaceful people' is what you think up for a title? Let me guess you have no Arab friends to speak of so this what their culture is like to you?

Isn't this just like when people see guns all over the media used in crimes and immediately assume that all guns and gun owners are evil? Isn't it?

Can't argue there, and I have only one Muslim friend to think of, and that's where I draw an exception... most that I've encountered aren't American Muslims (Afghans/Iraqis) and their perspective on tolerance is pretty understandable and reasonable. They all rally against the "terrorist" Muslims, but their culture is very different from what we're used to. Masses do tend to get a little out of control and violent (such as an experience I had one time in Denver during Cinco De Mayo- which got me in hot water because I stated to a friend "I don't see the American significance of the 5th of May, nor do I see why Americans are celebrating, we don't celebrate Boxing Day, or Victoria Day.")