The Riddle of the Gun. By Sam Harris. SamHarris.org, January 2, 2013.
Harris:
Like
most gun owners, I understand the ethical importance of guns and cannot
honestly wish for a world without them. I suspect that sentiment will shock
many readers. Wouldn’t any decent person wish for a world without guns? In my
view, only someone who doesn’t understand violence could wish for such a world.
A world without guns is one in which the most aggressive men can do more or
less anything they want. It is a world in which a man with a knife can rape and
murder a woman in the presence of a dozen witnesses, and none will find the
courage to intervene. There have been cases of prison guards (who generally do
not carry guns) helplessly standing by as one of their own was stabbed to death
by a lone prisoner armed with an improvised blade. The hesitation of bystanders
in these situations makes perfect sense—and “diffusion of responsibility” has
little to do with it. The fantasies of many martial artists aside, to go
unarmed against a person with a knife is to put oneself in very real peril,
regardless of one’s training. The same can be said of attacks involving
multiple assailants. A world without guns is a world in which no man, not even
a member of Seal Team Six, can reasonably expect to prevail over more than one
determined attacker at a time. A world without guns, therefore, is one in which
the advantages of youth, size, strength, aggression, and sheer numbers are
almost always decisive. Who could be nostalgic for such a world?
FAQ on Violence. By Sam Harris. SamHarris.org, January 7, 2013.
Why does anyone take Sam Harris seriously? By Ian Murphy. Salon, January 10, 2013. Also find it here.
