Blogflog - In Honor of Patriots Day

[blogfloggery.livejournal.com]

Link: In Honor of Patriots Day
Disclaimer: This blog entry is verbatim, as originally posted on LKH's blog. Copyright belongs to Ma Petite Enterprises.

Fourteen years ago today America was attacked, but whatever their goals were, they failed. We’re still here, enjoying our freedom, our modern life, and just being us. Having recently traveled to Europe, I am more aware than ever that our country has a personality, an energy, that is unique to us. I’ll be blogging about that in more depth later, but today is about Patriot’s Day.



In honor of the fallen we have lowered our flag to half mast.

In honor of the constitutional freedoms we have in America I am carrying concealed, because I can. The very different attitude about guns here and in Europe will be part of that other blog. For me and my household, we are armed and proud to say that our founding fathers wanted the populace armed because they understood that armed civilians make for a much more polite government.

In honor of the fact that I have the freedom here to disagree with my government, let me say this, “I think the deal with Iran is wrong.” I won’t argue most of the details, but I’ll say this, as long as they are still holding American citizens prisoner they shouldn’t get their money back. The fact that our sitting president didn’t even try to negotiate for the Americans held shows a lack of caring for the citizens he’s supposed to be leading. But then, every time I visit Washington D.C. I think that most of the politicians there have very little understanding of much of the rest of the country.

Unfortunately, the cities most likely to think they are in charge of our country are the ones that know the least about the majority of it. Washington D. C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York are horribly out of touch with the most of the rest of us. I travel the country, I talk to people in all those cities and in the rest of the country. We are a very diverse nation in every way, and I wish that everyone understood just how diverse we are and didn’t assume that their city, town, neighborhood, was the whole world of opinion. That D. C. is on that list is truly troubling since that’s where our Federal government resides.

I can say the above and not get in trouble with my government because in America you’re supposed to be able to state your opinion. You can disagree with me, because you’re entitled to your opinion, too. It doesn’t make either of us right or wrong, it’s just a freedom we have here.

To all the women and men in emergency services here, armed forces, police, fire service, paramedics, doctors, nurses, and all the people that are on the front lines for us when things go wrong: thank you. You are all heroes every day of the year.

Comments

[bronzed.livejournal.com]

Sue ignore the fine emergency service workers everywhere ELSE who face guns thx a lot. Like my uncle the policeman in Toronto.

Also as a Canadian, EXCEPTING ALL POLITE NICENESS ABOUT 9/11 this blog makes me think this: hahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH oh well bless her little heart, I hope everyone in the southern US doesnt mind me stealing that phrase for I feel it is appropriate here.

[lilisonna.livejournal.com]

Use it with my Southern-Born blessings.

[bronzed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I promise to use it responsibly on any forthcoming blogflog comments!

[rebootfromstart.livejournal.com]

...her "other blog" about gun laws in other countries is going to infuriate me as an Australian, isn't it.

Hell, I'm getting angry already, because while my government seems to be doing its level best to fuck things up right now, I don't think you could call it "less polite" because of our gun laws. I don't like the implication that you need armed citizenry to make a government "polite". I don't think most Americans who are pro-gun rights think that's why they should have the right to carry firearms either, somehow.

(Also, I'm pretty sure historical rights to bear arms were because the colonists wanted as many armed people around as possible if, say, England came along going "hey, wtf is with this independence thing, didn't you get the memo about us being an empire?" Not because the Founding Fathers wanted to make sure that the government they were part of could be forced to be "polite" if the citizenry at large didn't like what they were doing.)

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Look, fellow South Pacific type, you and I just don't get it. The fact we have lower gun crime than they do is just an indicator of our flawed and underdeveloped ways. If we were as good as America lots more of our non-white, non-conservative, non-arsehole citizenry would be dead and that's the way it SHOULD be.

At least this is the vibe I get from Laurell.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

There's a deep strain of paranoia in the US. LaLa isn't the only one who thinks that guns will or would make our government afraid of us. They don't, of course, because guess who has the biggest, most powerful guns? What would make the government fear us/pay attention to us, instead of the 400 wealthiest Americans who basically own most of our politicians, would be if we stood together. But we don't. We listen to those people telling us that those black people or those immigrants or those old people are the ones to blame for all of your woes.

I guess it all boils down to, people don't think and LaLa's a good example of that

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

The people standing together? Why that sounds dangerously like COMMUNISM....

Yeah. She seems to lack empathy a LOT.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

Yep. The richest people have had millennia to figure out how to make everyone else turn on each other and worship them, and now they own all the media too. The more I see, the more I think until we solve this, we're not going to solve anything else.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

I agree with that. We're clawing at each other while the other side is buying up politicians by the gross.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

our founding fathers wanted the populace armed because they understood that armed civilians make for a much more polite government

Well. It's not every day you see the stupidest thing you've ever seen. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Sorry, but this blog is so fucking stupid it has stalled my brain and I can now only talk in memes.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

That's probably the safest response. Her writing (both published and on her blog) kinda feels like something out of H.P. Lovecraft - if you really delve into it, it'll make you crazy.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Now I totally need updated Lovecraft with like VOIP Call of Cthulhu, Necronomicon blog, and non-euclidean Instagram.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

Try Charls Stross's Laundry Files series, if you're not reading them already.

[openidwouldwork.livejournal.com]

*TWITCHES* and *REALLY REALLY WANTS TO QUOTE LAUNDRY FILES* but *sits on hands*

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Cool! I'll keep an eye out for them in my travels.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

The first book, The Atrocity Archives, came out in paperback in 2008, so that might be a bit hard to find. But it's also available for Kindle and from Audible (which I really recommend - Gideon Emery is a pretty good reader). And most of the shorter stuff in the series is available online for free (links on the series' TV Tropes page).

Try not to get discouraged by any of the very high-end math or computer science stuff - most of it's just techno babble.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Washington D. C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York are horribly out of touch with the most of the rest of us.

Pretty sure the one who is out of touch is YOU, LKH.

[a-sporking-rat.livejournal.com]

I think that most of the politicians there have very little understanding of much of the rest of the country.

This is really, really hilarious coming from her of all people

Also she seems under the impression, as many people seem to be, that the USA is the one and only country that has freedom of speech/you're allowed to disagree with the government.

[fangedsekhmet.livejournal.com]

As a non-American, this is how this reads (it's probably me being dumb).

'Having recently traveled to Europe, I am more aware than ever that our country has a personality, an energy, that is unique to us.'

Makes it sound like Europe doesn't have any of those, but it's probably poor wording.

'we are armed and proud to say that our founding fathers wanted the populace armed because they understood that armed civilians make for a much more polite government'

Makes it sound like you both are threatening the government with lethal force to keep them in check and that if they do step out of line then the first recourse will be to violence and bloodshed rather than via law and protest.

Please tell me I'm wrong in how I'm seeing this.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

You are not wrong. That is precisely what dumbfuck wingnuts like her mean.

Also, "we" are not armed. I don't know anyone irl who has a gun. The only people I have ever known irl who had guns had hunting rifles they used purely for hunting. I grew up in a small Midwestern town.

[leigh stevens (from livejournal.com)]

Where I live, we have a gun in the house. Because my roommate is retired security. But it's in the attic in a locked closet. And yeah most SECOND!AMENDMENT!! wingnuts have no idea what the 2nd actually means; or even what it says.

ETA: I've never seen the gun, I just know about it in an abtract way.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

And yeah most SECOND!AMENDMENT!! wingnuts have no idea what the 2nd actually means; or even what it says.

^This.

[jessica collett (from livejournal.com)]

Ah, yes, 'polite government'. Because the governments of every single other country in the entire world are just bareknuckle fighting the instant a disagreement breaks out.

[leigh stevens (from livejournal.com)]

Have you seen the fight fight that broke out in Australia's parliament from a few years ago? It was awesome!!

(fun fact;
Searching fight fight in parliament in Google bring up a lot of really interesting news links about fights breaking out in goverments all over the world. I wish our politicians cared enough to follow similar action.)

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

They used to have physical fights somewhat often, including one in which a pro-slavery politician nearly beat an antislavery politician (Charles Sumner) to death. "Polite." Right. Which actually makes me wonder if LKH has ever heard of our Civil War. Though I would not be at all surprised if she's a Lost Causer.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

If nothing else, that sort of stuff would at least make modern politicians consider their stances on various issues. Would you be willing to risk getting shot (and possibly dying) in a duel over politics?

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

I do not want politicians to be afraid because they might be physically hurt. Note who did the beating in the example. He was angry that Charles Sumner pointed out that slavery was based on rape. And so he nearly killed him. Charles Sumner told the truth and so some pissy aristocrat decided he had the right to murder him.

Those who are willing and able to physically hurt people having the most power is what civilization, at its most basic level, exists to COMBAT. "Might makes right", bullying, the strong harming the weak: that does not make for "politeness." It is nothing but tyranny.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

I meant it more as an incentive to find solutions to various issues (and thus avoid violence), as opposed to screwing each other over because they happen to have different letters after their names.

Of course using violence as a means of resolving problems is a bad idea. But IMO, all politics are school-yard politics - the only difference is that the school has adults to step in and make everyone play nice.

[leigh stevens (from livejournal.com)]

I didn't know about that, but it is not at all surprising. And, yeah, LKH probably should have gone for a degree in history rather than bio. Although, she probably would still screw up historical events.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

Her current ideas of history are utterly, completely totally vile, despicable, and just wrong at the most basic level. We don't want her. We've already got to deal with David Irving.

[leigh stevens (from livejournal.com)]

Ugh, Irving. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit....

[northernwalker]

I will steal one of my old entries to answer this:

So I was recently trying to articulate why concealed carry makes me nervous. Then I remembered being in a bookstore and glancing up as someone walked by to see a gun displayed on his belt. This was not a cop, it was a private citizen. My heart stopped. I drifted over towards the cashier, who had also seen it. We were both scared- was this a robbery, or something worse? He noticed our ill-concealed worry, finally, and told us that A) it wasn't loaded and B) he was wearing his gun openly to protest an upcoming potential law restricting concealed carry. (I know, I know, IDGI either.)

Someone who thinks it's ok to scare everyone around him to make his point is not someone I want carrying a gun. I can picture LKH doing that.

[apep727.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that does kinda rub up against the limits of "peaceful protest". Just because that guy knew his gun wasn't loaded doesn't mean everyone else would magically know that, too.

[northernwalker]

Not to mention, the clerk and I were both female, and this was a standalone store. After he left, we both admitted we'd been afraid of him for one very obvious reason. Your peaceful protest stops when innocent bystanders think there's a rapist in the store.

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Nobody tell Laurell that in other countries you're also allowed to express your opinion, vote etc, because it might be a little bit too much for her muse to handle.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

Considering her books, I don't think she LIKES that people are allowed to express their opinions, and certainly not that they're allowed to vote. She wants might to make right; hence her adoration of guns to the exclusion of all else. Right to a fair and speedy trial? Freedom of religion? No cruel and unusual punishment? I don't think she approves of those.

[cygnusrex.livejournal.com]

In honor of the constitutional freedoms we have in America I am carrying concealed, because I can.

No, you're carrying concealed because



let me say this, “I think the deal with Iran is wrong.”

And let me say this: get someone to beta your damn blog entries.

But then, every time I visit Washington D.C. I think that most of the politicians there have very little understanding of much of the rest of the country.

...She's voting Trump, isn't she.

I wish that everyone understood just how diverse we are and didn’t assume that their city, town, neighborhood, was the whole world of opinion.

Maybe if the inside of her ass wasn't her whole world of opinion, she'd have a better book series.

I can say the above and not get in trouble with my government because in America you’re supposed to be able to state your opinion. You can disagree with me, because you’re entitled to your opinion, too. It doesn’t make either of us right or wrong, it’s just a freedom we have here.

Says the trope namer for Dear Negative Reader.

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

You ever arch your eyebrow so high that you're pretty sure it lifted right off your face and flew away? That happened when I first read this and I lost the other one when I re-read this just to make sure it was as WTF-filled as I originally thought.

Until they come back to me, I'll just sit here and try not to think about anything else she's written and just laugh at her calling anyone else out of touch.

Just thinking about what her gun rant is going to be makes me twitch based on this little preview alone.

[dagonista.livejournal.com]

I can say the above and not get in trouble with my government because in America you’re supposed to be able to state your opinion. You can disagree with me, because you’re entitled to your opinion, too. It doesn’t make either of us right or wrong, it’s just a freedom we have here.

I would comment on this, but obviously in Britain and Europe we're not allowed to state our opinions.

[jessica collett (from livejournal.com)]

shhhhh don't let Big Brother know we're expressing our opinions

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

You would be if you carried guns. You fools.