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Geohashing Meets an Angry Rancher With Firearms
katicli writes "Geohashing, an obscure xkcd pastime which involves going to random coordinates generated by md5 hashing, the date, and the opening status of the stock market, appears to have just gotten far more interesting. The official wiki reports a warning for other geohashers intending to go to the spot designated for June 14th in the San Francisco area, as several avid fans of xkcd were met by an angry rancher and firearms."
My first reaction is that the geohashing folks overreacted. I might be a little concerned and take photos of license plates if a bunch of people suddenly showed up on my property somewhere out in the boonies.
As to the firearms, were they scared at the mere presence of firearms or did the ranchers actually point them at anyone? If they simply saw the guns in the truck, what possibly could have scared them? Ooooh, guns.... scary.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
If these people were scared by the mere presence of a few guns, this seriously worries me about the future of the 2nd amendment. I guess there is solace to be taken in knowing that the people who would read that comic and go to that place aren't a very good representative set of the people though.
Still it worries me.
Too many people wigging out nowadays with the "unattended package" scares to geocache anymore. If you go out in the woods and leave something hidden, or interact with something hidden, and someone sees you, too great of odds that they will call the bomb squad or DNR or something like that.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
WOW! a bunch of people from San Francisco ventured out in to the real world and found that people have strange ideas like property rights and the right to bear arms. I'm glad they got an education.
Profanity - The sign of a small mind trying to express itself.
Why would somebody owning a gun be "scary" or "a lunatic"? I can understand the fear of guns empowering criminals (even if I don't agree with the conclusions some reach on that basis) but guns in the hands of the good guys should probably be reassuring, not alarming.
So a bunch of citiots tried to go onto private property without permission to have a party and got warned off. Why is this news?
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I dunno why people always think a fear of firearms is irrational, it is a device made for the sole purpose of killing or wounding a living creature, it does so in an instant with the twitch of a finger. couple that with the general fact that people are idiots (the geohashers in this case seemed to be the idiots, but it's a fair general rule to live by, unless proven otherwise: people are idiots.). I'm afraid of firearms, I'd rather they never be anywhere near me. I'm not one to advocate that they all be taken away either because unfortunately the cat is out of the bag there, people have guns and getting them away from criminals AND legitimate owners would be pretty much impossible now.
Anyways, yeah they overreacted to someone just having guns in their truck, but I don't think being afraid of or uncomfortable around guns is all that irrational.
Actually, it is a device made for the sole purpose of propelling a projectile to really fast speeds. Any application of this function is the responsibility of the individual user.
It always amuses me that the slashdot crowd will defend some technology (e.g. vulnerability detection software, p2p, etc) and claim that the individual is responsible for the use, but then say things like what you've said.
By the way, bittorrent is made for the sole purpose of unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works. (see how that sounds? now reread what you wrote)
I guess we only believe in individual responsibility here when it fits our agenda.
Ranchers usually don't carry guns with the intention of chasing off humans. The guns were more likely there to chase of coyotes, or to help keep down the jack rabbit population. Or because the guy's also a hunter and just didn't bother to take the guns out of the pickup before making effort to call the cops on the trespassing yahoos.
The really sad thing is. I grew up in an area where farming and ranching is the primary business. And if these idiots had taken the time to walk up to the ranchers house, explain why they were there and ask permission, they probably would have been welcomed. Or they might have been told pertinent reasons why they should go there. I don't go through neighbors fields just in case they have a mean bull in the herd or a territorial dog.
Bad example - bittorrent *was* - the creator admitted it publicly.
Yes and the purpose of a gun is to kill. Your definition is like saying 'the purpose of a car is to rotate wheels at a specific speed'. It's meaningless.
You're absolutely right, but I'd say it's less a matter of fundamental hypocrisy as it is one of fear. And that's mostly from unfamiliarity ... people are afraid of the unknown. We're pretty much hardwired for that, and in this case I think the government does us a disservice by discouraging people from owning firearms or learning how to use them properly. I'd rather have someone who knows what he's doing with a gun holding one on me, rather than someone who's never fired one before and is terrified of it. That applies as much to criminals as it does to us law-abiding types.
.44 Magnum. If everyone carried a gun, but only a few drove automobiles, we'd all be irrationally afraid of cars.
It's a machine people. Yes, it's one that requires some knowledge and self-discipline to own and use safely, but that's all it is. Would that We the People spent as much time bitching about the poorly-trained drivers we have in this country as we do about gun owners. The untold millions of four-wheeled sociopaths on the road today are responsible for a hell of a lot more death, destruction and general mayhem than all gun owners combined. But that's okay, you see, because cars are technology that we all find comfortable and familiar, in spite of the fact that a car is just as much of a weapon as a
Personally, I'm far more concerned about being killed on the way to work by some lobeless, cell-phone-wielding, SUV-driving thimblebrain than I am about being shot. If the Feds really (I'm mean, really) want to make our lives safer, they should force the states to implement some serious training requirements for obtaining a driver's license. That should mean a CV (Commercial Vehicle) license for anyone that wants to drive a big SUV. Do that, and leave gun owners alone, and they would save a lot more lives each year.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
It doesn't seem to mention an encounter with the owner of the vehicles/guns, though. Perhaps because they apparently wet themselves and fled at the sight of the gunrack in the pickup (where my family lives, gunracks in pickups are so much a part of life that the only time you notice them is when the pickup does NOT have one)/
I do, however, agree with this statement by one of the geohashers - "in the future, we should respect property owners". A lot of trouble can be avoided by following that guideline.
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
All of my handguns must be broken, since they've never killed or wounded any living creature!
Additionally, most firearm murders* are criminal on criminal. If you're not a criminal, hanging out with criminals, you're as safe or safer in the United States than you are elsewhere. Personally, I blame the war on drugs.
*I'm excluding suicides because they'd just find another, and accidents because the real accident rate is insignificant.
I don't read AC A human right
Mod parent up, of particular amusement "Because someone picked up their gun, and showed it to an aggressor, thus ending the conflict before it ever becomes violent." - if drawing down on someone isn't an escalation in violence I have no idea what is. +5 informative my ass.
Entering private property without permission is trespassing and is illegal just about everywhere. Clueless induhviduals think it's OK. They enter someone elses land just as recklessly as they would enter someone elses computer. It's called RESPECT, people! Learn it. Do it. Get some.
I own several guns. Several of those have never even been pointed at a living thing, despite having thousands of rounds put through them. One of those was designed and manufactured "for the sole purpose" of punching little holes in paper (hopefully, very close together). Another, for breaking small clay disks.
You fear is irrational. It springs from ignorance. There are a great many things that are far more likely to cause you bodily harm than firearms. Granted, there are some gun owners who shouldn't be trusted with anything even as dangerous as a pointy stick, but there are, for example, even more automobile drivers who shouldn't be trusted with anything faster than a skateboard. Do you likewise have a fear of cars? I'll wager that you do not, despite that fact that you are far more likely to be gunned down by some arrested-adolescent speeding through traffic in buzzing import car than you are by a gun owner.
I live in a rural area in the Midwest. If a horde of people I didn't know suddenly descended on my property, and I don't see some badges or blue and red lights accompanying them, those people would see a gun too...and mine wouldn't be in a rack.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
2nd amendment and all that.
"Being visibly armed is a threat."
No, "pointing and brandishing" arms is a threat.
The distinction matters.
Arms in a gun rack or shouldered on a sling are not a threat, though their potential should be taken into account.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
huh. So... during heated domestic arguments, does a gun owner actually have less of a chance to shoot his wife in the heat of the moment than the non-gun owner? Like guns all you want, but guns cause far more violent gun crimes than they prevent them (you count up your hero stories, and for each I'll find you 10 gun murders.)
The Admin and the Engineer
It sounds like typical media scare. Think of all of the stories you see in the paper or on the news about "man with a gun." It's as if the mere presence of a gun denotes wrong doing.
One of the weakest arguments to ever show its face in slashdot. Six deaths over 130 years? In comparison, black widow spiders have killed at least 63 people in the US between 1950 and 1990 (according to wikipedia). You do the math.
The mods are crazy, that should be +5 Insightful, not funny...
On another note, I grew up on a farm outside America. We had guns. Locked up, inside the house, where they could be retrieved if absolutely required. Anyone who drives around with guns on them all the time, on a farm or elsewhere, has a few screws loose.
"I dunno why people always think a fear of firearms is irrational"
Because it is irrational to fear guns. If your fear is based on ignorance then it is a rational fear, and can be corrected.
Your post attempts to rationalize your fear with the injection of a form of understanding. If you Fear an inanimate object simply based on its designed or perceived designed purpose then it is an irrational fear.
Hoplophobia along with Agoraphobia, Arachnophobia, and any of the other host of phobias are all defined as irrational fears.
If in fact your fear is based to a degree on ignorance (unfamiliarity with the workings of firearms), I suggest you spend some time taking lessons at a local shooting range.
As for the guns are designed to kill thing.... Well yes, most guns are deigned to, or are based off of guns designed to kill. But the truth about that is, some things need killing. Animals don't sacrifice themselves to be food on a table. If its made of meat it was killed to be put on your plate. If its made of red meat, then it was killed with a gun (firearm or captive bolt) to become food. As for killing people, "couple that with the general fact that people are idiots" you summed up why some people need killing, because some idiots will take your life for their personal or political gain.
...lions are dangerous. If you get near one, they are way more dangerous than spiders. Which by your own arguments you won't get near one so they aren't dangerous. You should be disappearing in a poof of logic about right now.BTW I enjoyed all the made up statistics. I enjoy some good fiction.