9 ms·

Poland is actually the site of one of the biggest uses of personal firearms in international conflict. The Jews held off the Nazis for about 5 months. https://

Poland is actually the site of one of the biggest uses of personal firearms in international conflict. The Jews held off the Nazis for about 5 months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto_Uprising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto_Uprising Might have been nice if it happened all across Poland rather than just Warsaw.

reitanqild 10y ago
Thanks for bringing up this. This is actually a really good example for why we don't want to ban weapons: Genocides are often perpetrated by the country the victims actually belong to. Examples: Germany under Nazism, former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, -I'm fairly sure the list goes on. I feel totally safe and I'm actually happy knowing that many of my neighbors have weapons. Especially here in Norway were I know there are strict background checks on who gets permits. (For Americans: What I would do is start cooperating with NRA like Nordic countries has traditionally done with their local equivalents. Work not to prohibit guns but to promote safe storage and safe practices.)
- Lordarminius 10y ago
  Genocide is an extreme condition and a poor reason to extend gun ownership. There is a very long list of countries that are doing better than fine and severely restricting gun ownership. Long before it becomes the case that you need guns to defend your space, you may want to take a long hard look at the politics of your community / country.
  - yummyfajitas 10y ago
    There is a very long list of countries that are doing better than fine and severely restricting gun ownership. There are long lists of entities who safely ignore tail risk events - that's true almost by the definition of "tail risk". That doesn't mean buying a cheap insurance policy against tail risk events is a bad idea.
    - dreamfactory2 10y ago
      > cheap insurance policy in Europe, having guns widely dispersed throughout society would be considered about as expensive as it gets (and far more likely to kill the patient than offer a potential cure under very particular and exceptional conditions)
      - yummyfajitas 10y ago
        Do you have any evidence that guns cause any significant amount of harm? I've never seen studies that conclude much of anything. Also, there are many things significantly more dangerous than guns. Should we ban those things too? If not, why not? https://www.chrisstucchio.com/blog/2016/are_gays_or_guns_more_dangerous.html https://www.chrisstucchio.com/blog/2016/are_gays_or_guns_mor...
        dreamfactory2 10y ago
        Yeah gun deaths in the US vs EU. (Most people from Europe would consider it a completely stupid conversation to continue this far)
        yummyfajitas 10y ago
        The EU also has far fewer beating deaths, stabbing deaths, etc. Do you attribute that to gun control as well? I'm aware that Europeans have their own unique culture with their own unique unsupported assumptions and myths. That's not really a substitute for evidence. Also, you dodged the question of whether we should ban other things that are vastly more dangerous than guns. Weird.
        dreamfactory2 10y ago
        > The EU also has far fewer beating deaths Irrelevant to guns as you say yourself so why bring it up. You seem generally confused about the distinction between correlation and causation > That's not really a substitute for evidence. Nothing to do with myths or opinions. The numbers speak for themselves > Also, you dodged the question I didn't dodge anything - your whataboutism is in fact dodging so I ignored it
  - sealthedeal 10y ago
    I have heard lots of reasons to not own a gun, but people that make statements like you just did make me want to run to my gun shop and purchase even more. That kind of thinking is dangerous for a country...
Lordarminius 10y ago
If the lesson of the Warsaw ghetto uprising was that guns make for safety, Poland would not have very low gun possession rates today. I think rather that the lessons learned from WWII was to avoid isolationist policies, push for a more integrated Europe, build more robust institutions and deter wars on the before they start.

reitanqild 10y ago

Thanks for bringing up this. This is actually a really good example for why we don't want to ban weapons: Genocides are often perpetrated by the country the victims actually belong to. Examples: Germany under Nazism, former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, -I'm fairly sure the list goes on. I feel totally safe and I'm actually happy knowing that many of my neighbors have weapons. Especially here in Norway were I know there are strict background checks on who gets permits. (For Americans: What I would do is start cooperating with NRA like Nordic countries has traditionally done with their local equivalents. Work not to prohibit guns but to promote safe storage and safe practices.)

Lordarminius 10y ago
Genocide is an extreme condition and a poor reason to extend gun ownership. There is a very long list of countries that are doing better than fine and severely restricting gun ownership. Long before it becomes the case that you need guns to defend your space, you may want to take a long hard look at the politics of your community / country.
- yummyfajitas 10y ago
  There is a very long list of countries that are doing better than fine and severely restricting gun ownership. There are long lists of entities who safely ignore tail risk events - that's true almost by the definition of "tail risk". That doesn't mean buying a cheap insurance policy against tail risk events is a bad idea.
  - dreamfactory2 10y ago
    > cheap insurance policy in Europe, having guns widely dispersed throughout society would be considered about as expensive as it gets (and far more likely to kill the patient than offer a potential cure under very particular and exceptional conditions)
    - yummyfajitas 10y ago
      Do you have any evidence that guns cause any significant amount of harm? I've never seen studies that conclude much of anything. Also, there are many things significantly more dangerous than guns. Should we ban those things too? If not, why not? https://www.chrisstucchio.com/blog/2016/are_gays_or_guns_more_dangerous.html https://www.chrisstucchio.com/blog/2016/are_gays_or_guns_mor...
      - dreamfactory2 10y ago
        Yeah gun deaths in the US vs EU. (Most people from Europe would consider it a completely stupid conversation to continue this far)
        yummyfajitas 10y ago
        The EU also has far fewer beating deaths, stabbing deaths, etc. Do you attribute that to gun control as well? I'm aware that Europeans have their own unique culture with their own unique unsupported assumptions and myths. That's not really a substitute for evidence. Also, you dodged the question of whether we should ban other things that are vastly more dangerous than guns. Weird.
        dreamfactory2 10y ago
        > The EU also has far fewer beating deaths Irrelevant to guns as you say yourself so why bring it up. You seem generally confused about the distinction between correlation and causation > That's not really a substitute for evidence. Nothing to do with myths or opinions. The numbers speak for themselves > Also, you dodged the question I didn't dodge anything - your whataboutism is in fact dodging so I ignored it
- sealthedeal 10y ago
  I have heard lots of reasons to not own a gun, but people that make statements like you just did make me want to run to my gun shop and purchase even more. That kind of thinking is dangerous for a country...

Lordarminius 10y ago

If the lesson of the Warsaw ghetto uprising was that guns make for safety, Poland would not have very low gun possession rates today. I think rather that the lessons learned from WWII was to avoid isolationist policies, push for a more integrated Europe, build more robust institutions and deter wars on the before they start.