that whirling noise you hear

[the_siobhan]

For some reason I always find it really interesting when the media latches onto a story about the media itself. A little bit of meta-journalism, if you will. So when I saw the headline about a big stink going on right now over an article published in the Globe, I went right on over and read all about it.

Apparently a journalist who wrote an article about the recent shootings in Montréal made the statement that Quebecois culture has to take some of the responsability for actions of Gill at Dawson College, and also for the the Lépine shootings at l'École Polytechnique sixteen years earlier.

Because francaphones are "unwelcoming".

I shit you not.

Now the editor is saying the remarks should have deleted before the article went to print and lots of people are demanding apologies all over the place. And I think the whole thing is hilarious.

To be perfectly clear where I'm coming from, I don't think it's funny that Wong printed something inflammatory and stupid. I sure as hell don't think it's the slightest bit entertaining that a bunch of people died because some douchebag was Fucked In Head With Gun and decided to take his bad day out on a bunch of innocent people.

No, what makes me smirk is just how seriously everybody is taking Wong's comments.

I mean, come on people. She actually suggested that some guy shot up a school cafeteria because Quebecois are unfriendly. Roll your eyes, give the girl one of those pointed hats with the big "D" on it, and get on with your day.

This is all fed by my complete inability to understand why we give people microphones when we already know that something stupid is going to come out of their face. Why is Ann Coulter ever able to even get people to interview her? Why does anybody give a man airtime to talk about international politics when his day job is to play a fucking guitar? Why does anybody really care what the head of some religion thinks about our same-sex marriage laws, or in fact, anything to do with anything except maybe, you know, his religion?

And more importantly, having found somebody to give them a platform - what the hell inspires anybody else to actually listen?

On the other hand, if the world wasn't full of Really Stupid Ideas, we wouldn't have the opportunity to make fun of them. That would pretty much eliminate the Daily Show, and things like the The Racist Survivor Theme Song. And that makes a lot of this stuff totally worth it.

Comments

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I've always thought it was a reasonable comparison. Both can be used as lethal weapons, both are heavily restricted in where and by whom they can be used. Both can only used by somebody after going through rigorous testing.

Maybe the tool itself isn't comparable, but the legal requirements can be contrasted nicely.

[montieth.livejournal.com]

40,000 auto fatalities from 'Accidents' in the US , less than 1000 accidents per year in the us from guns. Add in suicides ~10,000 and violent crime 20,000 and you have ~30,000 gun fatalities to 40,000 auto fatalities. Considering that guns are designed to do something and cars are not, the guns aren't doing a very good job.

The main difference between car licensing and gun licensing in the States is:

Cars can be owned/driven/operated on private property without registration or a license. Farm trucks/vehices/etc are all under this rule. 12 year old kids learn to drive in the country on dad's pickup on the farm off of the roads. And your driver's license from Georgia is valid in all 50 states and in Canada and Mexico.

Guns are licensed in some localities on the basis of 1 license = 1 gun or 1 license means you can own the gun, but not carry it. A Concealed Carry License allows you to carry in your state and other states that have reciprocal agreements with your state, but not all states. So my State issued car license is valid in New York State. My State issued Gun License is not. Car Registrations work the same too. New York doesn't make me register my car in their state in order to possess it while visiting New York.

And if I have an accident, no-one comes to my home and takes all my car parts and cars.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I assume this means you agree that the two are comparable in some respects, since here you are, comparing them.

I assume the barrage of numbers and factoids is an attempt to draw me into a debate on the merits/flaws of gun control. And since I've already said I'm not interested in participating, I'll just let them lie.