Comment by prmph
4 years ago
Until the lethal weapons are turned on those (countries, groups, people) who develop them. Kind of like gun owners are more likely to be harmed (or harm others) by their own guns, notwithstanding the arguments about personal protection used to justify such ownership.
This has already happened with groups the US has armed in the past. The US itself has been the bad guy sometimes.
There is no proper resolution to this struggle, and people who are guided by their conscience should not be attacked for having a "cute philosophy" that relies on "rough men standing ready to do violence on their behalf."
A sibling comment put it well that refusing to wrestle with these important questions is the unethical position as it just pushes the decision off onto other people. "Cute philosophy" is a perfect way to describe that because it's completely untenable if everyone were to think that way.
The gun thing is completely tautological though. Yes, if you have a gun you're more likely to be injured by your gun than someone who doesn't. How would someone who doesn't own a gun be injured by their own guns in the first place? It's like saying you're more likely to be in a car accident if you own a car. Of course you are.
If everyone were to think that way there would be no need for those weapons in the first place.
When I said gun owners are more likely to be harmed by their Gus, I meant as opposed to using the gun to protect themselves. Instead of an incident where the gun came in handy, it is more likely the the gun is used in a wrongful way or against oneself. I’m not sure where the tautology is