Oh, Evan, I agree *wholeheartedly*! I think you misunderstood. I
agree wholeheartedly that Jp's mentality equals an executioner's
mentality. I've disagreed with JP on...well, on almost
everything, but I'm really thoroughly disgusted by his attitude
re: shooting people.
However, I rephrased your points using "shoot" instead of
"execute" in my response to JP in an attempt (no doubt futile) to
make him see the sense of your explanation. "Execute"
*definitely* does carry a different connotation than "shoot," if
only in that "execute" carries with it an intent to kill whereas
the much broader term, "shoot," could be read *by JP* as
"shooting to protect" or whatever.
JP obviously doesn't see himself as an executioner (even though
his vigilante attitude indicates he considers himself qualified
to be judge, jury AND executioner), and I think he was responding
more to your tone (i.e., the perceived negative connotations of
"execute") than to the sense of your statements. So, by replacing
the loaded term with a more neutral term, maybe he could see that
you were making perfect sense.
Doubt it worked, but I don't point out the inaccuracies of wackos
like JP for their benefit, because I've never known anyone to
change the mind of a gun fanatic. I respond because (as in my
argument with Joshua) I think to let such crap pass uncommented
upon is to allow it to grow in strength.
(Everything you say below, BTW, is utterly accurate and sensible,
too.)
> First of all, when you shoot people with modern guns, they
demonstrate a
> high probability of death, unless you shoot them fairly
carefully.
> Secondly, if you aren't actually trying to kill someone, why on
earth
> would you be putting bullets into them, as opposed to various
other
> options (starting with plastic bullets, for example)? Thirdly,
I'm fairly
> sure that the gospel of gun ownership includes "if you shoot,
shoot to
> kill" (doesn't it?), for the obvious reason that if the person you've shot
> didn't have a reason to kill you before, they sure as heck do once you've
> wounded them.
>
> Therefore, "shoot" = "attempt to execute", basically by definition,
> especially when you're talking about a target some distance away, and in
> the dark. I'm defining "execute" as "deliberately kill"; this is the
> polite term, because it implies having some sort of possible justification.
> The impolite term for this is "murder", but that implies a total lack of
> justification, and I didn't want to beg the question.
>
> --
> Evan Kirchhoff, kirchh@umich.edu
>
-- Greg Ritter gritter@felix.vcu.edu ritter@urvax.urich.edu http://www.urich.edu/~ritter