You missed my point......I'm not giving up on anything. I'm just saying that there is a much larger group of people supporting firearms than there would be people to support a very small minority of pet owners that keep tarantulas and the gun supporters are losing even though they have large numbers and lots of money supporting their cause. Its not apples and oranges in the eyes of people who would want to blame something besides themselves for problems or unfortunate occurances and who think they are "protecting children". Thank you for trying psycho analyse me via a message board but you would not qualify to do so in person let alone via text interaction. I apologize if you took my blunt comment as an attack on you personally because it wasn't intended to be. Your optimism is comendable but in the context of our hypothetical situation its still not rational and would not realistically make a difference in the most probable outcome. You also need to remember that we are talking about here is in the USA, not everyone on these boards are in our country so our only close estimation of the numbers of people in our ranks is lower still than one would initially think. No Joe thug isn't going to rob, rape or kill with a tarantula but I have read one account of assault and criminal harrassment using one so don't underestimate the sheer stupidity of other people in the world. To an arachnophobe a big hairy spider could be more frightening than a gun. Guns also aren't available to anyone of any age via a faceless interaction on the internet like tarantulas and scorpions. Neither guns, tarantulas or scorpions are inherently dangerous until a person with a lack of responsibilty and good sense is in possession of one then dangerous things can potentially happen and when it does the MAJORITY will allow them to be regulated or ban them out of fear, ignorance or indifference. Put all the factors that have been presented and try to look at it from the point of view of an arachnophobe which is essentially going to be the MAJORITY.
You make a good point, John. We may well count our blessings! But I hope against hope that things may get better, not worse. I personally am working hard to convert the whole US populace to our way of thinking--especially the young, malleable ones
I'll make you a deal. If you can turn everyone in the US into tarantula nuts like us, I will not genetically engineer a breed of killer tarantulas that actively seek out human beings to kill and devour.Originally posted by Joy
You make a good point, John. We may well count our blessings! But I hope against hope that things may get better, not worse. I personally am working hard to convert the whole US populace to our way of thinking--especially the young, malleable ones
Joy
Except on the east coast, sounds like they got a lot of time on their hands over there.
I think the human race is actually de-evolving, as the stupid people are less able to figure out birth control and thus make many more little stupid people.
Except for one thing though. People are still unwilling to give inverts a chance. I was carrying a dragonfly around a week ago and most people on my campus thought it was a grasshopper. One guy, which was big and muscular, said "EWWWW keep that grasshopper away from me!"Originally posted by Joanie
I think the human race is actually de-evolving, as the stupid people are less able to figure out birth control and thus make many more little stupid people.
Back on topic, I think inverts as a whole are more in the public eye than ever before (notice all the butterfly/dragonfly decor/clothes/jewelry/etc?) and that provided there isn't any huge disaster, like a kid getting nailed by a pokie, this is the ideal time to get the public interested in t's and other inverts. The base of interest is already there, all we have to do is strike!
JOANIE
LOL! My last job a really big tough guy that I worked with who was also a bouncer on weekends at an unlicensed underground club in the city wouldn't go near his truck to open the rear door because there was "a giant mean green cockroach " on the handle. He tried to get the other guys on our shift to help but all could only bring themselves to walk so close before they would scream and run around in circles.....so finally they came and got "the crazy white boy" which was my name there. I had to laugh because its was a Preying Mantis. A large beautiful one too. I picked up a stick .....coaxed it to climb on and let it go in a nearby bush outside and then went back to work after I called them all punk ass bitches =D
=DSpeaking of de-evolution , if the guy didn't know the difference between a dragon fly and a grasshopper, it was probably Havard campus, and he's probably 8th generation, and a football player.