In article <1993Apr16.194708.13273@vax.oxford.ac.uk> jaj@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:  >What all you turkey pro-pistol and automatic weapons fanatics don't seem to >realize is that the rest of us *laugh* at you. You don't make me angry, you >just make me chuckle          That's nice.  We strive for entertainment value.  :-)       >- I remeber being in Bellingham, Washington and seeing a >pick-up truck in front of the car that my friend and I were in. It had a bumper >sticker proclaiming "Gun Control is a firm grip on a .45." Now I'm sure that >that wanker thought he was pretty cool. >What he didn't realize was that we took a photo of the back of his truck, and >showed it to our friends when we got back to Vancouver,  Canada (where I'm from >originally). People were guffawing at the basic stupidity of such a >sticker, and the even greater stupidity of the person who put it there in the >first place! :)         In the first place, you have to realize the feeling goes both ways.  Canadians laugh at the U.S., and Americans simply shrug and woner why the hell we let them be a State in the first place.  ;-)         >I knew somebody else who went to one of your "Gun-mart" superstore places, just >so he could experience the sight of people putting guns and ammo into shopping >carts! I didn't believe it myself until I drove by one in Vegas last year!!!         Interesting strategy, posting here with complaints about people elsewhere.  >Now that I live in Britain, I can see how the rest of the civilized world >perceives you gun-nut morons.           Courtesy is apparently a dead commodity in the rest of the civilized world.  "Gun nut morons," indeed.          >The BBC recently referred to the American  >penchant for pistols, automatic weapons,etc.  very  appropriately - it was >called a "national eccentricity."          We've got guns, they've got a monarch and an economy on the verg of collapse.  Finger pointing across the Atlanticis a waste or time.  >The only problem is that Canada, I hear, is suffering from your national >eccentricity, in that easy to purchase weapons are being smuggled cross the >border.         Canada has been blaming the U.S. for their problems for years. The simple fact of the matter is this:  Ten years ago they crowed about how great their system was because they'd gotten rid of the guns and the U.S. would be so much better if they'd just get into the divine light shining from the North.  We pointed out that it was cultural differences, and pointed to their pre-control crime rates.  We also pointed out that the history of the entire world contained smuggling, and that whenever something was wanted, it was smuggled in.        If the problem were based on U.S. guns, it would have surfaced years before.         Now more Canadian criminals want guns.  And they are being provided. Canada has its own version of the drug problem.  Yet drugs are prohibited in the U.S.  >Hell, here in Britain, the cops don't even carry guns. (That's another funny >thing - you see a US border guard, and he's got his .45 or .38 on his belt, >with tons o' spare ammo - never know, maybe some canadian shopper might get out >of hand. Hell, as I recall, in People's Court, even Rusty carried a gun! Never >know, some plaintiff might go nuts. :)  )         Saw a news report out of Britain that armed crime is on the rise, and several police agencies are considering have permanent "firearms officers" to deal with it.         According to U.S. News & World Report, British handgun deaths have risen over 250% over the past twelve years.  The U.S. number has dropped 5%.         Maybe they're smuggling them across the U.S./U.K. border.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  >CYA!         Have a nice day, Steve.  Learn a little common courtesy and politeness.