Monday, May 01, 2006
Gangs claim their turf in Iraq
It's heartening to know that gangs are enlisting their members in the military in order to receive urban combat experience . I suppose this gives the gun lobby another reason to repeal the ban on automatic weapons. After all, don't these vets, who fought for the U.S. in Iraq, deserve the same access to weapons and equipment here? Homeland security, indeed... [sigh]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Mr. Dahl. I don't appreciate your tone, but your deafness to the irony in my post suggests that you probably were oblivious about your rudeness. That's ok. Of course we all get angry and overreact sometimes, but, dude, you need to learn some netiquette and to control your temper. Apparently you were upset because you believe that I had "conflate[d] veterans with gang members." That's way off. In any case, here's a few quick comments in reponse to your post.
First, nowhere did I suggest that all vets are gang members. I only commented on reports there is concern in some quarters of the armed forces about signs of U.S. gang activities in Iraq. One concern, for instance, is that U.S. gangs may be deliberately enlisting members in the armed forces so that they get training in urban combat.
Second, I'm not calling anyone names, particularly the U.S. soldiers or the law-enforcement officials who, for the most part, do an honorable job protecting American citizens here and abroad. Again, if you read the Chicago Sun-times article you'd learn that one of the main sources cited is Jeffrey Stoleson, an Army Reserve sergeant in Iraq who works on a gang-interdiction team in a Wisconsin maximum-security prison. Stoleson doesn't call anyone names either, though according to the report "he does not relish the idea of working alongside gang members, whom he does not trust." So, I guess you could say that Stoleson calls or at least implies that gang members are untrustworthy. But that's something quite different than suggeting that vets are unlawful. Where the hell did you come up with that? Again, neither Stoleson or I are suggesting all vets are unlawful gang members.
Third, it's my business whether I do or do not own a ny guns, but I'd be damn foolish to advertise one way or another whether or not I do. However, I will let it be known that I do not own an assault weapon.
Fourth, here in Chicago the assault-weapon ban has proven quite effective. Of course some criminals still own them, but assault weapons are used in far fewer crimes than before the ban was in effect.
As for defending my self against armed gang members and other professional criminals, I prefer to let the police and other law-enforcement professionals do that. Turns out that the cops prefer it that way as well. Oh, and they're against repealing the assault-weapons ban as well.
Finally, I suggest that you work on reading (or listening) more attentively. Pay attention to what others are actually saying, and don't rush to impose your own views on them. Check out the chapter on "Reading Analytically" in the textbook Writing Analytically. My students find it useful, and I suspect you might as well.
Post a Comment