Andrew Furst's Blog, page 54

Sell Your Cleverness – Quotes

Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

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Cleverness

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Life Is Memory – Say What?

Say What?  is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip. 

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What Things Don’t Get Better With Practice? – Modern Koans

Question: What Things Don’t Get Better With Practice?

Response: Mastery through repetition is a technique that we use to teach a skill.  In this arrangement, there is a goal or something to measure success against.  For instance when we learn to tie our shoes, the measurement might be two well-formed loops that come apart easily when one end of the string is pulled. Most mental and physical activities have a purpose or goal.

What could possibly be exempt from purpose?  I think there is only one thing; not doing or just being.  Anything that is free from a particular end or goal eludes qualitative measurement.  If you’re not expecting anything, there’s nothing to compare with the outcome.  Some good examples of this are certain types of meditation.  Sitting and counting our breath – the most fundamental technique– being the first that comes to mind. Gently noticing and letting go of thoughts, sensations, and so on has no end or purpose.

So why are so many people so focused on using meditation to improve their lives?  Mindfulness is a cure for everything nowadays.  It seems to me that if people are meditating with a goal in mind, there is an expectation of improvement.  But how can you improve doing nothing?

There’s an interesting question underneath yours which I’ll ask. How can doing nothing improve your life?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important then their answers.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton

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All Unique The Same – Quotes

Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

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View From the Tube – Tiny Drops

A little art for Wednesday

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All Tiny Drop photos Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

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God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins – Compass Songs

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

.              It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

.              It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

.              And all is seared with trade; Bleared, smeared with toil;

.              And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;

.              There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

.              Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

.              World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Thanks to Joe Foleno for pointing me to Gerard Manley Hopkins

Image from the New York Public Library digital collection

 Compass Songs is an ongoing series of works by poets that I enjoy. Poetry, as the Zen Masters have said, is like a finger pointing to the moon. It speaks the unspeakable.

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Top Ten Bad Gun Arguments

Estimated reading time: 28 minute(s)

The Question (that nobody is asking):   What is the most sensible approach to dealing with gun deaths?

Response (to the empty room): Well, I’m glad you asked. It seems like media coverage, twitter and facebook memes, and comment threads are filling up with the usual sound byte talking points.  There’s no adjusting for facts. There’s no reaching out to understand differing points of view, and of course there is no need to worry about excess civility (probably beside the point anyway).

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been bristling at the inane oversimplifications, mindless repetition of talking points, and irrelevant distractions.  The rhetoric is steeped in dogma and intractable posturing. It’s frustrating to listen to and it sometimes gets me going. I thought I’d expend some of this pent up energy to poke some holes in the rhetoric. I’ll also be developing a framework (mostly for me) to better understand what the problems really are and what kinds of solutions might actually address those problems.

Mouths Wide Open, Minds Shut Tight

First, I’ve been listening to this argument for a little more than forty years. The bullshit built into the pro and anti gun rhetoric is pretty obvious from where I sit. Both sides have invested in significant campaigns to lobby lawmakers and the public to their side. Campaigns like this are not won through comprehensive and measured fact gathering and debate. They are won with brief, clever, sound bytes that manipulate the powerful emotions associated with the issue.

Be it Gabby Gifford’s heartbreaking story of being shot in the head point blank to the heroics of an elderly private citizen with a concealed weapon successfully fending off several youthful criminals. While awareness about the issues is kept top of mind with these memes, they are too simple to represent what’s really going on. Most importantly they don’t contribute towards understanding.

The Top Ten

So here goes.  My top 10 list of bad gun arguments. My goal is to spend equal time on each side of the argument, because both sides are shoveling the BS.

1. Guns Don’t Kill People, People Do.

I get the cleverly constructed rhetorical device.  It’s a distraction and not genuinely true. It is a way to to take guns out of the picture when we talk about solutions. If you think that guns don’t play a role in gun deaths, then you’re not part of this conversation. I mean it. You can’t be taken seriously.

On the flip side, if you don’t acknowledge that people are the only thing that pull triggers, you’re part of the problem too. Personal responsibility is at the heart of this issue. Ideology, poverty, or any other factors perceived as contributing to gun violence do not excuse murder or shield criminals from the consequences of their actions.

2. You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself For Not Voting For That Bill

What bill?  What were the details?  Did we somehow come up with a comprehensive, logical, and easy to enforce solution to the problem?  I doubt it.  The conversation about gun deaths has been impeded by a lack of data and clarity on what the actual problem is.  If you’re voting to restrict a liberty, you better be able to tell me why.  Gun bans don’t seem to work.  There’s lots of reasons why, but the only solutions that the anti-gun movement has to offer is more restrictions.  More of what isn’t working doesn’t feel like a winning strategy.

It’s also true that if your lobby has pushed legislation preventing the collection of data about gun deaths, you’re a part of the problem too.

3. It’s Those Terrorists

Terrorists aren’t shooting guns at us. They’re aiming airplanes at us. They’re constructing and planting bombs. They are fighting an actual war. Terrorists plan for months and years at a time, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. These efforts are organized and executed by teams around the globe. Even in San Bernardino and Orlando, where the perpetrators claimed allegiance to ISIL, these acts weren’t directed by foreign terrorist organizations.

The connection between gun homicides and terrorism is tangential. There is no evidence that terrorist organisations are contributing significantly to homicide rates in the US. These shooters are angry people.  In the cases of mass shootings, ideology is at best an excuse, not a cause.  The cause is angry people with guns in their hands.

It’s also worthwhile pointing out that the vast majority of gun violence in the US unrelated to terrorism. Don’t conflate the issues.

4. Gun Show Loopholes Are the Problem

Did you know that most guns that criminals use are purchased legally. That tells me two things.  One, it’s legal to sell weapons capable of killing a lot of people in a short period of time. Second, it tells me that the background check process is either not working or not being implemented correctly.  Am I the only one that’s thinking we should be looking at the government and gun dealers for reasons why the weapons they monitor and sell end up being used for crimes. I say, follow the money.

Where do criminals get their guns? That’s a great question.

5 & 6. Islam is Bad OR Islam is Good    

Even though I’m a Buddhist and someone who aspires to a temperate approach to most things, I don’t have much good to say about a lot of socially backward Muslim beliefs about women, homosexuality, and so on.  But, what the heck does that have to do with gun deaths? Sure, some percentage of homicides are perpetrated by Muslims.  But many more are Christians. Nearly all of them are male and fifty percent of them are black. Later on, I’ll talk about how most gun deaths (almost 65%) are suicide, followed by homicides (35%) and some very small fraction being accidents. I can’t see how blaming this on Islam makes any sense.

7. Good Guys With Guns

I think this little adage can both help and hinder the conversation. First, Americans own a lot of guns.  Most of them are good guys (Yay). But what impact do they have on criminals.  There’s a lot of angles to consider.  The NRA points out that in states where you can conceal carry, gun violence is lower. That’s a good thing. But when it comes to intervening in shootings, the good guys don’t show up. Trained law enforcement personnel are the people dealing with gun violence. I think that’s good.

But I think the the good guy adage can offer some insight in the form of a thought experiment.  First, think of the classic Dirty Harry scene.

“Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you’ve gotta ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?”

You could see this scenario playing out between a criminal and an armed good guy who just happens to have a bigger gun.  But does the adage work just as well with an AR-15? The NRA tells us that

“large-capacity magazine can make a crucial difference, especially when you recognize that people firing weapons under pressure do not always hit their targets and that assailants are not always stopped by a single round.”

Can you imagine something worse than Omar Mateen firing off at minimum 49 shots?  I can. How about two people shooting at each other, both of whom have 30 rounds to unload before they have to switch out a magazine. Both of whom are freaking out; missing their targets in a crowded bathroom.  Where do all those stray bullets end up?

I want to take a few points from this discussion

There are in fact a lot of good guys with guns. I’m good with that.
The good guy effect is limited (and may not necessarily be causal)
We can use the adage to explore boundary cases to help see where some types of weapons do not contribute to personal safety.

8. Banning Handguns Will Save Lives

Have you read the Constitution? No?  Go do that.  You should also read District of Columbia vs. Heller.  A handgun ban is a non-starter.

9. Gun Violence Is Getting Better By Itself

The US is the worst amongst developed countries in terms of number of gun homicides. The NRA disputes this by saying that we’re ahead of Jamaica and Puerto Rico, but is that where we want to set the bar – and last I heard Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. Sounds a little slippery to me.

I don’t say this to force a knee jerk response like passing whatever the next bill in the senate offers for a solution.  Because I bet the next bill won’t offer any new insight or viable solutions.  It will more likely be political grandstanding in a presidential election year.

But it is still true that the US spends $4 billion dollars a year treating gun violence victims. It  makes sense to try and lower the death rate and the costs.  If other developed countries can do it, I don’t see any reason why we can’t.  The solution just needs to work in the context of our republic.

10. You’re An Idiot

Really? Do I have to pull this car over? Grow up. Get over yourself – both of you.

 

Are We Asking The Right Questions

Here is a list of questions that I think are worth exploring as a framework for better understanding.  We should start at the beginning, which is asking: What is the actual problem?  Seems like that’d be helpful.  Right?

What’s the Problem?

What are the actual problems associated with guns

65% of gun related deaths are suicide – can we do anything about this?
Almost 35% are homicide – can we do anything about this?
Small percentage accidents – can we do anything about this?



What Can We Do About Suicide?

Whether we can do anything about this has an impact on how we can look at the problem. If we make the choice that we can’t prevent this, then a majority of mental health issues fall off the table.

What Should We Do About Crime?

Our solutions should be designed to minimize impact on law abiding citizens
Our solutions should be focused on data about how guns get into the hands of criminals
If most firearms used in crime are legally obtained, where is the break in the system?
What can the government do better or how can the government get out of the way of itself?
Are some percentage of people who pass background checks actually criminals?
How do they get through the cracks?
How do we make data available for better, comprehensive, and more efficient background checks
Are firearms dealers not doing their jobs? Would enforcement here be the solution?

Can We Do Anything About Accidents?

Should we legislate accidents?

If you answered yes, go to the back of the line.



What Does the Constitution Actually Say About Guns?

How can we use the SCOTUS District of Columbia v. Heller ruling to determine what is sensible gun control?

Let’s step back from the rhetoric, ask better questions, read up on the issues, and see if there are some sensible solutions to gun deaths.

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio

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Are You Part of the Problem? – Dialectic Two Step

Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

Here’s a Big Part of the Problem with Gun Control

Reactionary liberals on one side are screaming to get rid of guns
Reactionary conservatives on the other side are screaming “you’re oppressing me”.

Conservative’s are right in this argument.  We can’t solve the problem by getting rid of guns.  It’s against the rules.  So reactionary liberals need to stop making this the argument and proposing the blanket gun ban solution, you’re feeding right in the NRA’s playbook.  It makes you look naive and frankly dumb.

Where are the people talking about sensible ideas to decrease gun deaths?  If you’re one of those folks screaming, pipe down and let the people who want to help law abiding citizens keep their guns and reduce gun deaths make some progress.

 

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio

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Lead Us – Quotes

Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

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Vessel – Verse Us (Poems by Me)

(The association between hollow utensils and boats appears in all languages [Weekley])

Shape clay into a vessel;

Its form is for grasping

Its space is for life.

I have been known to beg to her

“Carry me there in your emptiness.”

She is the grail

Her shapes enticed and danced me in.

But the void is inexhaustible

Consuming me into weariness.

Being the source

I have no choice but to endlessly feed it.

Renewal and death

Is the cycle

Each hour, day, and eon.

The earth forms the vessel,

The Goddess fills the spaces.

He gives

She relentlessly receives.

Verse Us - Poems I write: haiku, senryu, mesostics, free verse, random word constructions, I might even use rhyme or meter once and a while.

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